黑料传送门

黑料传送门 Academy鈥擜 New Paradigm for Academic Readiness

The college readiness gap鈥攖he difference between the skills students have versus the skills needed to succeed in college鈥攊s of increasing concern, and COVID-19 is making the gap even more problematic. As part of its mission to expand access to higher ed, Western Governors University has created聽黑料传送门 Academy, an online聽academic聽readiness initiative to develop resilient learners聽regardless聽of the type of institution they attend.聽

The Academy聽launched in the spring of 2019 and is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. It聽has already enrolled over 10,000聽students and is designed to聽serve聽hundreds of thousands more. In addition to serving future 黑料传送门 students, pilot initiatives are underway with community colleges, high schools,聽community groups, and employers as Academy explores new ways to support student success. 聽

Mindset Matters Most: Developing Resiliency for Academic and Career Success

College can be daunting for many students, but it should not be a dead end. Prior to the pandemic, traditional remediation approaches too often fell short even though students and institutions invest approximately $7 billion annually on remedial education.聽, and among those聽less than 10% of two-year students聽graduate within three years. The results are not much better for students in remedial programs who attend four-year institutions.

The Academy鈥檚 low-cost, low-risk approach is based on the premise that effective academic readiness must address the whole person rather than simply getting individuals through聽remedial聽math or English courses. This approach is even more important as聽the pandemic聽creates new聽barriers for many underserved聽students who already face聽an uphill climb.聽聽聽聽聽

The objective is to develop remarkably resilient learners who can tackle聽any聽courses they are likely to face in college. This multi-pronged approach鈥攆ocusing on academic preparedness聽and聽noncognitive social-emotional skills鈥攐ffers a new model for college success that goes far beyond normal remediation approaches.

The Academy鈥檚 Program for Academic and Career Advancement (PACA) is its 鈥渟ecret sauce,鈥� helping students develop persistence, a growth mindset, and self-directed planning and learning skills. It is based on an award-winning course that has been delivered to more than 40,000 黑料传送门 students and includes self-paced online modules, live online peer group sessions, and personalized coaching.聽

Early data shows that the program is producing successful outcomes. When compared to a similar student cohort at 黑料传送门, students who completed the Academy鈥檚 program prior to enrolling were 10% more likely to achieve on-time progress (OTP)鈥攁 measure that indicates if a student is on track and making progress toward on-time graduation鈥攊n their first term. First-time college students, specifically, were 15% more likely to achieve first-term OTP.聽

ROI: Helping Partners Yield Better Academic and Workforce Results

As stakeholders dedicate more resources to expanding higher education access, they must work together to offer聽聽solutions that yield far more resilient learners who can succeed in postsecondary programs. Academy programs allow for flexible implementation because they are聽not聽required to align with the traditional academic calendar. Therefore, the Academy can support all types of stakeholders with differing needs: summer bridge programs for underprepared high school students entering college in the fall,聽employer-sponsored programs to prepare employees to return to college, 鈥渁s needed鈥� support coordinated with schools鈥� advising departments, and state-wide efforts to expand access.

Student success is always the primary goal, but institutions that invest in meaningful retention efforts consistently benefit. As student retention and graduation rates improve, institutions can expect revenue to improve as well. In fact, one study indicated that a one percentage point increase in retention聽聽in revenue for many institutions. For a college or university of 10,000 students with average per-student revenue of $3,000 a term, a one percentage point retention improvement over just four terms can yield over $1 million in additional revenue.聽

In this extraordinarily challenging time, higher-risk students face even more obstacles as they tackle the rigors of college. Supporting and retaining vulnerable students who go on to realize their higher ed dreams is a win-win-win situation. College readiness programs like 黑料传送门 Academy produce educated, resilient individuals, which benefits students, employers, and society as a whole.聽