NCII’s October 2023 Rural Guided Pathways institute brought together the 16 participating colleges in Salt Lake City, elevating opportunities for rethinking teaching and learning, both inside and outside the classroom. In collaboration with Phase Two Advisory and the Community College Research Center (CCRC), participants explored strategies for scaling holistic student support, including the role that student services professionals play in teaching and learning and the role that faculty play in advising and student support. Keynotes and concurrent sessions also discussed ways to foster a teaching and learning culture that creates a sense of belonging and engagement for each learner, from entry through completion. Learn more.
NCII’s hosted the fifth California Guided Pathways 2.0 institute in Oakland in September 2023, convening the 37 participating colleges for a deep-dive on ways to foster an institution-wide commitment to scaled guided pathways implementation for more equitable student outcomes. Cross-functional teams of classified staff, faculty, administrators, and union representation received both relevant inspiration and practical applications from peers in the state and across the nation. Topics ranged from ensuring everyone knows the role they play in supporting students’ success, to advancing a culture of caring across the institution, to rethinking business processes to optimize the student experience, to considering the contributions of back of the house support functions (i.e., IT, facilities, HR, research) to successful guided pathways development. Learn more.
The 16 colleges in the Rural Guided Pathways Project, along with their coaches, continued their work at the project’s second Institute, which focused on redesigning the institutional program mix. Using data from their own colleges, participants examined which student populations are being served by which programs at their institutions. They also discussed the equity implications of current programming using disaggregated program enrollment and completion data. Learn more.
NCII kicked off the Rural Guided Pathways Project with the first of the project’s six Institutes. The 16 participating colleges, along with their community partners, gathered in Minneapolis, MN, and focused on using a cross-sector approach for implementing pathways to living-wage jobs and careers. The college teams, along with their coaches and subject matter experts, put their work in the context of the project’s overall goal of increasing economic mobility in each college’s service region. Learn more.
NCII has announced the 2022–24 Cohort of the Rural Guided Pathways Project, a three-year project in which a national cohort of rural community colleges 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. The participating institutions are:
- Big Sandy Community & Technical College (KY)
- Colorado Mountain College (CO)
- Kilgore College (TX)
- Linn-Benton Community College (OR)
- Marion Technical College (OH)
- Missoula College (MT)
- Northeast Community College (NE)
- Patrick & Henry Community College (VA)
- Reedley College (CA)
- San Juan College (NM)
- Southwestern Oregon Community College (OR)
- Temple College (TX)
- University of Arkansas CC – Batesville (AR)
- Washington State Community College (OH)
- West Virginia Northern Community College (WV)
- White Mountain Community College (NH)
