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The 21 HBCUs, HSIs, and community colleges convened virtually to share improvements in employer engagement and student experiences resulting from this initiative. They also exchanged key lessons on institutional change work designed to promote equity-minded economic mobility and ideas for future directions.

In Phase 2, Rural Pathways will expand to up to 32 colleges, including all but one of the colleges from Phase 1. Over the course of the next three years, the Phase 1 and Phase 2 colleges will be a single cohort. They will work with each other — and with community partners in their regions — to implement evidence-based, institution-wide reforms grounded in the guided pathways framework. Full application info available at www.ruralguidedpathways.org.

In these brief profiles, seven college teams describe major aha moments resulting from Rural Pathways Project participation. These moments changed individuals’ perspectives, reframed the pathways teams’ work, and added urgency to the colleges’ efforts. Learn from their experiences.

NCII Founder and President Rob Johnstone and Continuous Learning Institute Founder Al Solano discuss why labor market data needs to inform changes to students’ experiences and how to practically use it to improve post-graduation outcomes. Listen to the podcast.

NCII serves as a key advisor for the Aspen Prize and supports multiple aspects of the selection process. Awarded every two years, the $1 million prize is the nation’s signature recognition for America’s community colleges. 

In April 2024, NCII convened the first group of 16 colleges in Pittsburgh for a final event. The institute helped college teams celebrate their successes, share approaches they are scaling and maintaining, and plan future steps for guided pathways implementation.

Rob Johnstone led a discussion on ways post-graduation outcomes can drive institutional transformation. The session explored how customized data – including information on regional high-demand occupations and labor market inequities – can inform college decisions on everything from program offerings to career readiness to employer engagement.

In March 2024, NCII convened the 37 participating colleges in Coronado, CA to share and celebrate achievements from the past three years. College teams worked to identify ways to sustain momentum and institutionalize redesign efforts at scale.

An initiative of Excelencia in Education and the Center for Community College Student Engagement, this effort supports a cohort of colleges working toward achieving the Seal of Excelencia through regular convenings and coaching from peer colleges – with an emphasis on intentionally advancing Latino students’ success at scale. NCII’s presentation focused on building opportunities to support Latino students’ short-term financial stability and long-term economic mobility.

Tillamook is the latest institution to join our network of colleges that receive personalized and sustained coaching and consulting to advance institutional redesign goals over multiple years. Learn more about NCII Intensive.