This brief highlights the lessons learned from an Equity Meets Design (eXd) workshop , including implications for institutions tackling equity challenges on their campuses, and recommendations for further support. Ten APLU member institutions – from both Powered by Publics (PxP) Cluster 6 (Urban Cluster) and Intermediaries for Scale – participated in the workshop, facilitated by an equity design coaching firm created by Dr. Christine Marie Ortiz Guzman.
Public university leaders have spent years creating and testing solutions to help students succeed in college, complete their degrees, and be well-prepared for the workforce. These efforts have achieved significant success at individual institutions, but have not been fully brought to scale across the public higher education sector.
That’s why nearly 125 institutions have joined together to increase college access, student, and postsecondary attainment. The initiative, called Powered by Publics: Scaling Student Success, represents the largest-ever collaborative effort to improve college access, advance equity, and increase college degrees awarded.
To achieve this vision, APLU's Powered by Publics initiative has convened nearly 125 change-ready institutions within 16 “transformation clusters” – reaching 3 million undergraduate students, including 1 million Pell Grant recipients. Each cluster is focused on solving different pieces of the student success puzzle as public universities work together to tear down long-standing barriers, eliminate the achievement gap, prepare students to thrive in the 21st century workforce, and collectively increase the number of degrees they award. The clusters are advancing collaborative work in thematic areas of affordability, holistic student supports, and teaching and learning.
Public research universities share a commitment to providing students from all backgrounds an affordable, high-quality education that aligns with workforce needs. APLU will work with the institutions in the transformation clusters to facilitate a collaborative community of learning so the entire public higher education community can identify and adopt evidence-based practices that drive progress toward equity and college completion.
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