Strada collaborates with students, policymakers, educators, and employers across the U.S. to strengthen the link between education and opportunity.
Learn More
We prioritize policies, practices, and programs that help ensure postsecondary education provides equitable pathways to opportunity.
We advance our mission through research, grantmaking, social impact investments, public policy solutions, Strada-supported nonprofit organizations, and strategic initiatives.
Read Time
INDIANAPOLIS — Strada Education Network announced today the recipients of four $1.5 million grants, as part of its $10 million Beyond Completion Challenge. The grants are designed to help higher education institutions substantially expand promising efforts to improve long-term outcomes for many more students, especially those who historically have faced the greatest barriers in education and the workforce. The grantees are Arizona State University, Rio Salado College, the University of Texas, and the University of Utah.
“These four institutions have already found ways to support the success of their learners beyond completion,” said Stephen Moret, Strada Education Network president and CEO. “We are excited to provide these grants so they can reach more learners than ever before and expand to new communities and even other institutions that are joining their efforts. We are honored to have the opportunity to support such forward-thinking and acting partners.”
“We’re thrilled to have this support to expand the Work+ program to all 12,000 working learners at ASU and thousands more through our partnerships with other two- and four-year institutions,” said Sukhwant Jhaj, Vice Provost for Academic Innovation and Student Achievement at Arizona State University. “It’s time to reinvent work-and-learn programs so they deliver much greater value for our learners during their time on campus. This program will deliver the relevant career skills that students expect and employers value.”
“Workplace skills and requisite knowledge are changing more rapidly than ever, leading to more adults coming back to college to unlock greater opportunities in their chosen profession,” Rio Salado College President Kate Smith said. “Rio Salado and community colleges across the country are answering the call. Through this support, our Custom Academic Readiness and Essential Employment Reskilling program will now be able to equip 5,000 adult learners with the tools and resources they need to select and complete valuable certificates, credentials, and degrees, which translate into real- world earnings and strengthen local economies.”
These grantees represent the second phase of Strada’s $10 million Beyond Completion Challenge. In the first phase, 15 institutions received a total of up to $250,000 each to identify and expand new solutions that will improve career and life opportunities for more students. The Phase 2 grantees received $1.5 million each to expand and evaluate their initiatives over a three-year grant cycle. Programs in Phase 2 will deliver tailored career and professional support to thousands of students across the four institutions selected and beyond. The four recipients of this grant and their associated programs are listed below.
“As we developed the Beyond Completion Challenge, we were motivated by what students, families, and employers are seeking from higher education today: postsecondary education that provides greater certainty about employment and social and economic mobility beyond degree completion,” said Ruth V. Watkins, Strada president of postsecondary education. “Phase 1 grants brought forward a wide range of innovative ideas for how two- and four-year institutions can respond to these changing expectations. The projects supported in Phase 2 allow the smaller set of partner institutions to make big bets on the approaches with highest potential for delivering the outcomes students, families, and employers now seek. We look forward to learning with these partners how postsecondary education can fulfill its promise.”
Arizona State University will expand its Work+ program and pilot it at other schools. Arizona State University also received Strada funding in the first phase of the Beyond Completion Challenge. The Work+ program is reshaping the experience of learners directly employed by the university. Through mentorship, peer feedback, and educational programming, Work+ supplements existing student employment and increases learners’ career readiness. This grant will support the expansion of Work+ to cover all 12,000 working learners at ASU. Additionally, it will support the launch of Work+ pilot programs at eight other two- and four-year institutions across the country, with the potential of reaching a total of 19,000 students.
Rio Salado Community College will expand its Custom Academic Readiness and Essential Employment Reskilling (CAREER) program, which helps learners seeking basic literacy, GED test preparation, workforce preparation and career training to build the academic and employment skills needed to access, persist, and complete college-level coursework and seek fulfilling careers that provide family-sustaining wages. The project will improve equitable access to college and career navigation services for over 5,000 adult learners through the creation of a turnkey college and career navigation system, leading to more credentials, certificate and degree completion, and post-completion employment.
The University of Texas system will expand the system-wide Texas Credentials for the Future initiative, which also received Strada funding in the first phase of the Beyond Completion Challenge. This initiative infuses career readiness into the undergraduate curriculum by including relevant industry microcredentials and skills badges at no additional cost to the learners. The initiative will continue to focus on majors often associated with low earnings, while expanding efforts to include other majors in which significant post-graduation earnings disparities exist. The initiative will reach 30,000 students across the system’s 8 academic institutions.
The University of Utah will scale the University of Utah West Valley College2Career program to support the underserved community of West Valley, Utah, by providing college and career navigation services, career pathways, and financial aid support for in-demand health care careers. The program creates clearer and more supportive pathways for students and adult learners to pursue health careers. Building on the University Neighborhood Partners’ place-based approach, the partnership between the West Valley community, University of Utah, and University of Utah Health and hospital system will serve at least 3,600 students from low-income communities and communities of color.
About the Beyond Completion Challenge The $10 million Beyond Completion Challenge partners with higher education institutions and provides vital funding to launch, test, and scale initiatives designed to ensure that students — especially people of color, first-generation students, and those who struggle to pay for their education — are positioned to succeed long after graduation. Learn more about Strada’s Beyond Completion Challenge here.
About the Taskforce on Higher Education and Opportunity
Strada’s core partner for the Challenge is the Taskforce on Higher Education and Opportunity, a community of three dozen presidents and chancellors representing nearly 100 public, private, two-year and four-year institutions and 2.4 million students. The Taskforce was launched in 2020 to address the challenges of the pandemic, income inequality, the changing nature of work and unemployment among recent college graduates. Learn more at taskforceonhighered.org/.
Strada Education Network is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to helping people take advantage of education and training after high school that helps them secure a good job, do meaningful work, contribute to their communities, and lead a fulfilling life. Strada helps students succeed beyond completion of a certificate or degree through its research, charitable grants, and social impact investments, as well as through the work of Strada-supported nonprofit organizations, CAEL, Education at Work, InsideTrack, and Roadtrip Nation, which directly serve learners and workers. Learn more at stradaeducation.org.
###
Strada media contact: Brian Hendrickson, Interim Head of Communications, brian.hendrickson@stradaeducation.org.
Partner Media Contacts:
Arizona State University – Nikai Salcido, media relations officer, Nikai.Salcido@asu.edu The University of Texas system – Catherine Frazier, director of media relations, cfrazier@utsystem.edu University of Utah – Kathy Wilets, kathy.wilets@utah.edu Rio Salado Community College – Michelle Reese,michelle.reese@riosalado.edu
To create a PDF of the webpage, choose in opened window 'Save as PDF' option in 'Destination' select or something like that and click to save or print button.
Strada Education Foundation Appoints Heather McKay to Direct Institute for the Future of Work
Veteran education policy advocate brings extensive federal experience to shape policy solutions that strengthen pathways to opportunity
Newly established teams will focus on collaboratively shaping policy at state, federal levels to create pathways to opportunity for more people
Initiative designed to support aspiring leaders at HBCUs through scholarships, work-based learning opportunities, expands to 50 schools
Veteran higher ed leader will provide collaborative leadership to help Strada strengthen the link between education and opportunity in America
The recognition, awarded to Strada plus all four supported nonprofit organizations that make up Strada Collaborative — CAEL, Education at Work, InsideTrack, and Roadtrip Nation — signals a continued prioritization of DEI efforts.
Longtime senior leader to assume role permanently after leading Strada’s financial operations through leadership, strategy transition as interim CFO
Innovative leader brings an extensive track record of navigating through challenges to create effective education-to-employment data systems
Seasoned postsecondary education policy leader to oversee nonprofit organization’s advocacy work with state and federal policymaker
Three-year grants awarded to four institutions will support expansion of programs designed to help learners succeed during and after completion of their degree or credential. These programs deploy a broad range of strategies from new technology solutions to embedded, industry-recognized credentials, which will be made available to thousands of new learners through these grants.
Veteran corporate leader brings diverse range of experience to guide Strada’s legal team and serve organization’s Board of Trustees
Two-year grants will support proven partnerships that connect learners to education and in-demand employment opportunities and strengthen regional economies.
At a time of growing societal uncertainty about the value of higher education and declining enrollment, the views of alumni turn out to be particularly insightful. This group can provide especially valuable feedback about how their education experiences have enriched their lives, which can help us ensure that today’s students maximize all the benefits that college offers.
National Workforce Development Leader to Head Social Impact Organization’s Strategy and Innovation Team
New Study from Strada Education Network Reveals a Silver Lining at a Challenging Time
Strada Education Network is pleased to celebrate the opening of the Jackie Robinson Museum in New York City.
Phase 2 allows Taskforce members to seek up to $1.5 million ($6.25 million total) to expand efforts to connect education to employment.
Disparities in securing paid internships persist for women, people of color, first-generation college students, and students with low incomes — even when taking into account their fields of study
Strada Education Network announced today the winners in the initial phase of a $10 million grant challenge aimed at helping higher education institutions identify and expand new solutions that will improve career and life opportunities for more students of color, first-generation students, those who struggle to afford education, and adult students and workers.
NSSE and Strada researchers identify gaps in social capital development in 2021 NSSE career preparation data
Recognized Economic and Workforce Development Leader to Join National Nonprofit in January 2022
Courses, faculty receive high marks, but valued education-career connections are less consistent, and females, first-generation, Black alumni are less likely to report successful outcomes
Grant competition seeks to connect learning with employment for first-generation students, those who struggle to afford education, and students of color.
$25 million grant from Strada Education Network taps the collective experience and insights of HBCU leaders to scale experiential learning and leadership development within the college experience .main-content__header-area .header-image .text-box { max-width: 100% !important; text-align: center; }
New organization will allow each constituent part to focus on mission delivery, gaining operating efficiencies by leveraging support services from Strada
Surveys and interviews with 2020, 2021 high school graduates who postponed their education plans due to COVID-19 also show advising, financial assistance, career relevance are important to bringing students back to campus.
Report also finds that more respondents rate shorter nondegree programs as worth the cost than longer ones
Disrupted high school graduates cited stress, anxiety, and uncertainty as having the greatest influence on their decision to delay further education — and they say guidance, affordability, and connections to career would help them re-engage.
Combination to Create a Leading Labor Market Analytics Company