Multi-College Initiatives

NCII works with state systems, foundations, and intermediaries to lead initiatives on issues that offer powerful opportunities to move the needle on student success, particularly for historically marginalized student groups. Most initiatives identify a select cohort of colleges by application or invitation. NCII then provides ongoing consulting with a goal of advancing a particular redesign strategy and/or fostering the capacity to lead change.

NCII frequently extends the impact of these projects by creating resources for the field and making them available on our website. In this way, every college and practitioner can build their knowledge about these critical issues.

KEY INITIATIVES

The Aspen Institute’s College Excellence Program
(2011–present)

NCII serves as a key advisor for the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence. Awarded every two years, this $1 million prize is the nation’s signature recognition for America’s community colleges. NCII supports multiple aspects of the Prize process. We review applications, conduct leadership interviews, help identify finalists, lead and participate in site visits, and provide information to the jury that selects the winners.

Our collaboration with the Aspen Institute, which includes the Prize and other initiatives, informs NCII’s other multi-college initiatives and individual college relationships. Through our partnership with Aspen, we connect directly with a cadre of colleges that are serving their students in innovative ways with proven results.

Bank of America Signature Jobs Initiative
(2020–present)

This initiative, conducted in collaboration with the Aspen Institute, is designed to help students of color prepare for and enter high-wage, in-demand careers in the financial, health care, and technology sectors. Through the Signature Jobs Initiative, colleges primarily serving students of color receive support to build career connections and better prepare their students for long-term economic success.

Bank of America is investing in 21 community colleges, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), and Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), with each college receiving $1 million over four years. NCII is partnering with Bank of America to provide strategic guidance to these institutions both individually and as a learning community. Specifically, NCII is helping colleges implement scalable academic programming and holistic support that prepare students of color for high-wage jobs. NCII also is encouraging and strengthening colleges’ efforts to build sustainable relationships with key employers in their regions.

California Guided Pathways (CAGP)
(2016–present)

CAGP supports participating community colleges in implementing guided pathways so they can substantially increase the number of students who earn postsecondary credentials and/or transfer with junior status. In 2016, College Futures Foundation partnered with NCII to select 20 colleges for CAGP 1.0. Additional support for this initial cohort came from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Teagle Foundation, and James Irvine Foundation. In 2020, College Futures and NCII launched CAGP 2.0 with 37 colleges, including 18 from the inaugural group and 19 new colleges.

NCII helps participating colleges approach guided pathways reform in ways that facilitate short-term academic success and long-term economic security and mobility for each student. We serve colleges through a mix of multi-day institutes, coaching, professional learning, and peer-to-peer support. In addition, we give teams a safe, facilitated space to share aspirations and address challenging elements of their redesign priorities.

Jobs for the Future Sustainability / Return on Investment Project
(2016–present)

This project builds on the 2005 return on investment (ROI) modeling work originally conceived by NCII’s founder and president, Rob Johnstone, while working with the Research and Planning Group for California Community Colleges (RP Group). In its current form, we use the ROI framework and associated resources to help colleges model the potential impacts of guided pathways investments as well as noncredit-to-credit transitional career programs.

Michigan Building Economic Stability Today (MI-BEST)
(2020–2022)

Funded by the ECMC Foundation and led by the Michigan Center for Student Success, this project helped the state’s community colleges understand the wraparound service needs of their students and community; systematically integrate holistic supports into existing student services, with a focus on students experiencing financial insecurity; and share best practices across Michigan.

Working in partnership with the Michigan Community College Association, NCII provided student financial stability professional development, coaching, and resources. NCII helped guide colleges through periodic self-assessments so they could design, implement, and reflect on strategies to support students’ non-academic needs.

Ohio Leadership Academy for Student Success
(2019–present)

The Academy is a six-session leadership development program designed for mid-level faculty, staff, and administrators (below the vice president level). Led by the Ohio Association of Community Colleges’ Success Center (OACCSC), the Academy develops colleges’ capacity to advance a student success agenda. Participants build leadership skills in the context of the guided pathways framework and work on a team-based pathways project throughout the Academy to apply those skills in practice.

The NCII team has played an active role in the development of Ohio’s Leadership Academy since its inception in 2019. Working with OACCSC, we facilitated the initial adaptation of the Aspen Institute College Excellence Presidential Curriculum to fit this year-long program for mid-level leaders. Members of the NCII team continue to provide input on the program design and session agendas, deliver content on specific session topics, and serve as advisors to teams of fellows in the program.

Rural Guided Pathways Project
(2022–present)

In this project, a national cohort of 16 rural community colleges are working with each other — and with community partners in their regions — to implement evidence-based, institution-wide reforms grounded in the guided pathways framework. The project is the first of its kind in two ways: It is the only pathways institute structure focused specifically on the needs of rural institutions, and it is the first time community partners are deeply embedded in pathways implementation.

NCII is directing this three-year project, which is funded by Ascendium Education Group with additional support from regional philanthropies. NCII is leading the effort to customize guided pathways curricula and structures for the rural context, with emphasis on building relationships with community partners working on workforce development, education, and basic needs.

Rural Leader Learning Community (RLLC)
(2020–present)

The RLLC is a cohort of rural community college leaders who engage in professional development opportunities and explore innovative solutions to concerns that are unique to rural student success. Established in 2020, the RLLC involves a cross-functional group of 26 rural community college senior administrators from 25 states. Its members have deep on-the-ground expertise and a shared understanding of the rural context.

NCII launched the RLLC with funding from Ascendium Education Group. We recruited and invited rural college leaders and host regular convenings and webinars through which they explore common challenges and collectively address issues related to their redesign and institutional improvement efforts. The RLLC also created a series of briefs that explain rural colleges’ imperative to regain control of their regions’ talent pipelines, serve as engines of economic improvement, and thus provide opportunities for both individual upward mobility and regional stability.