Public university systems are collaborating to improve credential completion and social mobility by addressing several key imperatives, including equity and learning. The initiative is seeking to shift to a student-centric focus and share ways to teach students by recognizing individual learning and social-emotional needs and advancing equity in academic and experiential curricula.⁹⁹

Year Up offers a one-year training program with paid internship and support and has been recognized for supporting achievement among Black learners.¹⁷⁸

Boston, Massachusetts

Complete College America created a network of community colleges to align academic programs with workforce needs for Black learners. Participating colleges will share expertise and receive technical assistance focused on workforce alignment, basic needs, and other key topics.¹⁷⁷

Indianapolis, Indiana

The National Endowment for the Humanities, an independent federal agency, supports professional development institutes for higher education faculty. The convenings support higher education faculty from across the nation to deepen their understanding of significant topics and enrich their capacity for effective scholarship and teaching.¹³⁶

Washington, D.C

The Augustus F. Hawkins Centers of Excellence Program aims to support centers of excellence at historically black colleges and universities or other minority serving institutions to increase the number of well-prepared educators and teachers of color.¹³⁵

Washington, D.C

Washington has:

• A need-based grant entitlement program that covers short-term credentials and degrees, serves low- and middle income students, and provides generous award amounts.⁶⁴

• Invested $22 million to create community partnerships supporting underrepresented students to expand enrollment and credential completion.73 In addition, the state established a permanent legislative committee the Educational Opportunity Gap Oversight and Accountability Committee to recommend strategies to state education agencies and develop policy reforms.⁷⁴

• Enacted legislation creating a permanent faculty professional development program focused on diversity, equity, inclusion, and antiracism. In addition, the Washington community college system created a college faculty consortium that is working to change teaching and writing assessments to be free of negative racial biases.⁹⁸

• A large technology employers that supported a tax for businesses that rely on employees with advanced degrees to partially fund the statewide guaranteed financial aid program.¹⁴⁸

Olympia, Washington

North Carolina State University developed a common framework and resources for faculty designed to provide an inclusive educational experience for Black learners and other underrepresented students. The framework notes “the demonstrated skill of faculty to practice cultural competence in the classroom is a critical aspect of student retention, success and connectedness to the material.”⁴⁷

Raleigh, North Carolina

Washington State University’s Tri-Cities Equity Academy helps faculty remediate equity gaps in their courses and develop practices to better serve Black learners and other underrepresented students in their classrooms.

Richland, Washington

As part of its strategic planning, the University of Michigan created a Collegiate Postdoctoral Fellowship Program to recruit faculty with a demonstrated commitment to diversity.

Ann Arbor, Michigan

SUNY DEISJ Fellows is a new faculty development program. The fellows will provide content expertise and faculty mentoring to inform the new diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice (DEISJ) requirement in general education courses.⁴⁶

Albany, New York