A map of the colleges participating in the Rural College Design and Data Academy
projects

Rural College Design and Data Academy

By designing for and prioritizing the needs of the new majority rural learners, a cohort of 14 rural higher ed institutions across 11 states will catalyze broad transformations across the postsecondary education-to-workforce landscape.

Overview

The Rural College Design and Data Academy will provide a unique opportunity for 14 rural higher education institutions across 11 states to learn the Lab’s human-centered design process and apply those learnings in the design of prototypes and pilots that build upon the BRIDGES Rural design project. There will be a specific focus on the needs and capacities of rural communities as it relates to driving transformative practices. Additionally, there will be a focus on data structures, governance, processes, and enhanced data capacity for non-degree programs/alternative credentials. Each institution will receive a $50,000 incentive grant for pilot implementation and sustainability.
Through one of five Emerging Models of Interest, the institutions will design and deploy transformative opportunities that address rural learner and community needs.

Emerging Models of Interest

  • Earn + Learn Models
  • Micro-communities + Place-Based Marketing Strategies
  • Community Ecosystem Alignment
  • Rural Grow Your Own Pathways
  • Data Culture + Capacity

The Challenge

“Rural communities are often overlooked, facing limited resources and systemic barriers to success in education and work,” said Dr. Leslie Daugherty, Senior Director of Design Programs at Education Design Lab. “By harnessing the power of these emerging learning models, we’re embarking on a journey to design more equitable and career-driven routes to economic agility for rural learners nationwide.”

The Goal

Broad transformation of the postsecondary education-to-workforce landscape to ensure a strong educational ecosystem by designing for and prioritizing the needs of new majority rural learners.

Specific goals include: 

  • Support deeper learning of rural education and workforce issues that emerged from the work of BRIDGES Rural colleges.
  • Develop and iterate on prototypes to address critical components of rural college transformation.
  • Participate in the Lab’s Data Collaborative for a Skills-Based Economy (Data Collab) to collect and analyze efficacy data for non-credit/alternative programs.
  • Build asset-based narratives of rural learners and communities to help increase and sustain investments in rural higher education.

Funded By

Ascendium Education Group

Meet the Cohort

Institutions joining the Rural College Design and Data Academy include:

Voices from the Design + Data Academy Kickoff Convening

If you could pick one word to describe rural institutions, what would it be? That was just one question we asked college designers during our April 2024 kickoff convening at Motlow State Community College in Tennessee. Listen to their answers …

Meet the Lab Team

Learnings + Insights

The BRIDGES Rural Impact Showcase

The July 2023 showcase highlighted each institution’s learnings throughout the two-year design process and the next steps as the BRIDGES project concludes.

Rural Resources

Lab in the Media

Latest Lab News

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