Today's postsecondary students accumulate college credit and other validated learning experiences from more sources and in more forms than ever before. As credit accumulation options have proliferated, student mobility patterns have also shifted and are now increasingly multi-directional, crossing institutional types, system and state boundaries,…

Reforming general education is challenging for institutions due to inertia, institutional politics, budgets, and structural barriers. Oregon State University recently adopted a new structure for its general education curriculum that increases access to high-impact practices, decreases overall credit hours in general education, and links directly…

This Study Snapshot highlights key findings from a study that examined whether professional development incentives for the Oregon early childhood education (ECE) workforce members increased career lattice sign-up and increased education and training levels or workplace retention. This study used two randomized controlled trials in 2018 and 2019 to…

On February 18-19, 2016, representatives of 10 states participating in the Credit When It's Due (CWID) initiative attended a convening held at the University of Utah. The meeting was led by the CWID Research Team and sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and The Kresge Foundation, on behalf of the CWID Funders Collaborative. The…

As the nation works toward higher postsecondary attainment goals, states are looking into ways to increase successful degree completion for students in higher education. A broad consensus between states, philanthropic interests, and the business and labor communities is that higher attainment rates are required to meet the workforce demands of the…

This topic paper details how dual and concurrent enrollment programs can help states overcome workforce readiness and postsecondary access and completion challenges and how governors can strengthen these programs by using their bully pulpit, agenda setting authority and budgetary authority to do so. It concludes with a number of examples of how…

Young people are entering college at increasingly higher rates, yet many are under-prepared for the academic challenges they encounter. Educators and policy makers are calling for increased educational opportunities that prepare all students for the rigors of postsecondary education. Accelerated learning opportunities foster smoother and more…

The WICHE Interstate Passport Initiative, launched in October 2011, is a pilot project that addresses interstate student transfer. When students transfer from one postsecondary institution to another--both within and out of state--they may be required to repeat courses, which can add to the time and cost of completing their education. Although…

Early college high schools allow students to earn both a high school diploma and two years of college credit simultaneously. The concept makes college more affordable, provides more support to students in their first two years of college, and gives students a jump start on their careers by eliminating time-wasting activities in the last two years…

The origin and development of Project NewGate are described from 1971-74. (The project presents a model program of higher education for incarcerated offenders, consisting of the in-prison phase, transitional phase, and release phase.) Specific project characteristics are discussed and include a 4-year academic program for prison inmates; an…