Ohio Pen - National Leader in Community College Innovation Launches New Challenge to Design the College of the Future

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WASHINGTON, Feb. 13, 2025 ~ Education Design Lab Announces First Cohort for Reimagining Community College Design Challenge

The Education Design Lab (the Lab) has revealed the first cohort of its Reimagining Community College Design Challenge, a groundbreaking initiative that aims to transform community colleges for the future. This new program builds upon the Lab's decade-long efforts to envision and plan for a new era of community colleges. Together with the Lab, five community colleges from across the nation will work towards reorienting their program offerings to better serve new majority learners and equip them with future-proof skills needed for success in the workforce.

Community colleges have gained national recognition as providers of accessible and affordable pathways to economic mobility, serving approximately 9 million learners. With their hyper-local employer partnerships and focus on short-term credentials and certificates, these institutions have been successful in connecting learners with well-paying jobs. As a result, community college graduates have lower unemployment rates and higher earning potential compared to those with only a high school diploma or less. However, these colleges often operate with limited resources, making it challenging to add new courses that meet evolving workforce demands. This leaves learners seeking to advance their professional skills with fewer options.

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Dr. Michael A. Baston, President of Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C) in Cleveland, expressed his commitment to delivering on students' belief that education can lead them towards a brighter future. "It is our job to develop programs that help learners achieve an economic advantage and access meaningful careers," he said. "Together with Education Design Lab, we are seizing a once-in-a-generation chance to transform the way we meet students' needs and restore faith in community college as a pathway to greater opportunity."

Over the next three to five years, with guidance from the Lab, participating institutions will develop strategic plans to reimagine community college education for the future. These plans will be implemented and measured for success using the Lab's Future of Learning Framework and human-centered design approach. The goal is to make learners' skills more visible to employers, provide clearer and stackable educational pathways, and ensure equitable access to support services and job-relevant applied learning experiences.

The five community colleges selected for this program were chosen for their innovative practices and strong presidential leadership. They are Rio Salado College in Arizona, led by President Kate Smith; St. Paul College in Minnesota, led by President Deidra Peaslee; Forsyth Technical Community College in North Carolina, led by President Janet Spriggs; Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C) in Ohio, led by President Michael A. Baston; and Lone Star College-Tomball in Texas, led by President Lee Ann Nutt.

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Using the strategic planning process as a catalyst for innovation will not only help institutions secure critical local, state, and federal support but also meet accreditation requirements. It will also involve key stakeholders such as learners, employers, faculty, administrators, and community members. The Lab has received generous support from MacKenzie Scott's Yield Giving foundation to seed this initiative and is committed to raising additional funding over the next four years.

Dr. Lisa Larson, interim CEO of Education Design Lab, emphasized the importance of reimagining community colleges for the future. "This work is about more than just redesigning colleges; it's about reshaping futures," she said. "By embracing bold human-centered design principles, we can support colleges in their missions to meet the needs of today's learners and tomorrow's economy."

The Reimagining Community College Design Challenge builds on the success of the Lab's Community College Growth Engine (CCGE), which uses human-centered design to create skills-based pathways. To date, nearly 100 colleges have participated in CCGE and designed over 200 micro-pathways to high-demand careers. Through this work with colleges across the country, the Lab has learned that the micro-pathways design process has the potential to serve as a gateway towards institution-wide transformation, as colleges deeply embed human-centered design into their organizational strategies.

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