Four higher education leaders look at College Unbound’s learner-centered, student-driven approach to higher education and the institution’s 10-year journey through regional accreditation.
Author: Laurie Arnston
College Unbound and Education Reform
Johan E. Uvin, president of the Institute for Educational Leadership and former acting assistant secretary under the Obama administration for the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education, writes that College Unbound is likely going to be one of the few innovation breakthroughs in higher education.
A College Unbound
In 2015, Robert L. Carothers joined the board of College Unbound after stepping down from serving as the president at the University of Rhode Island for 18 years. Most of the students came thinking of themselves as having failed, he writes, but College Unbound “taught them to reframe failure and to see that their lives had been about learning, even if they could not see it.”
A Unique Experiment in Serving the Educationally Underserved
David A. Bergeron, senior fellow for postsecondary education policy at the Center for American Progress and formerly of the Department of Education’s Office of Postsecondary Education, considers how College Unbound works to reconcile the goal of greater access for older adults with the lack of meaningful outcomes.
A College Unbound: Cohorts, Educational Trauma, and Micromodels as Catalysts for Innovation
The highly nontraditional model of College Unbound—a unique institution designed for low-income adults who have started college but not finished—presented regional accreditors with a challenge. Louis Soares and Ursula Gross look at the tensions between innovation and accreditation that such institutions present—and how they can be overcome.
Faces of Dreamers: Yanet Limon-Amado, Virginia Commonwealth University
When Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) senior Yanet Limon-Amado co-founded UndocuRams, a student organization advocating for undocumented students, she channeled her uncertainty into action.
Involuntary Withdrawal Policies: No Room for Mental Health Stereotypes in a Fair Process
Recent developments on campus have highlighted the importance of comprehensive, transparent involuntary withdrawal policies for students who pose a risk of self-harm. Attorney Amy C. Foerster discusses what higher education institutions should consider and how to incorporate principles established by the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights.
For Veterans Without Degrees Additional Certification Offers Benefits/Hope
A new Strada Education Network report captures the responses of about 30,000 veterans ages 18 to 64 on their educational experiences and attitudes. The report also details education outcomes and the benefits and challenges faced by veterans with a sub-baccalaureate certificate.
Beyond College Tuition: Urban Institute Looks at Other Factors Impacting College Affordability
The Urban Institute recently updated its Understanding College Affordability website with new data, allowing scholars to explore how affordability fluctuates based on a variety of factors including tuition, student characteristics, institutional type, financial aid, employment during and after college, and loan repayment.
It Begins with Difficult Conversations: How Community College Leaders Can Support Faculty-led Student Success Efforts
If community colleges want to make a difference in student persistence and attainment—and to make the improvement sustainable over time—these efforts must be led by those on campus who have the most frequent contact with students: the faculty. Carrie B. Kisker, a director of the Center for the Study of Community Colleges, looks at where to begin.
Heading Towards Last Place: New Report Documents Decline in U.S. Research Funding
A new report from the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation provides an overview of the ongoing decline of federal and state funding for university research.
How to Design Workforce Strategies for Young People?
The Aspen Institute has released a toolkit for community leaders to use to diagnose changes in the nature and structure of work in their local economies.