New Report Highlights Five Ways Colleges Are Reinventing Themselves for the Future of Work

Education Design Lab's "Learner Revolution" profiles five years of experience, rooted in hands-on collaboration with more than 100 of the nation's most innovative colleges and universities

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Education Design Lab

Mar 14, 2019, 09:00 ET

WASHINGTON, March 14, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Education Design Lab, the nonprofit that pioneered the concept of learner-centric design, today released a report that documents more than five years of work with the nation's most innovative colleges and universities. The Learner Revolution: How Colleges Can Thrive in a New Skills and Competencies Marketplace reflects the experiences of more than 100 institutions, including George Mason University, Arizona State University, Miami Dade College, and Harper College that are reimagining themselves in response to a rapidly changing labor market. The report includes an assessment that every higher education leader can utilize to evaluate institutional readiness for learner-centric and market-responsive innovation.

"Five years ago, the concept of learner-centric design was relatively new. But it is gaining momentum in an era where institutions are under unprecedented pressure to reinvent themselves and equip an increasingly diverse student population for more equitable futures," said Kathleen deLaski, founder of Education Design Lab. "This paper puts that work in context through a new lexicon, rooted in the experiences and approach of institutional leaders working on the frontlines of the learner revolution."

Since its launch in 2013, Education Design Lab has helped more than 100 colleges and universities design and implement institutional strategies that reflect the demands of a new majority of students, who are older, more diverse, and often grappling with the demands of work and family responsibilities. Rather than pushing from the top-down, Education Design Lab helps institutional leaders understand the direction and pace of labor market changes and build new student-centered programs and credentials from the ground up.

"Education Design Lab understands that the forces pushing us toward a more learner-centric ecosystem bring both promise and peril for institutional leaders," said Rufus Glasper, President and CEO of the League for Innovation in the Community College, who contributed a foreword to the report. "This paper provides insights from five years at the vanguard of this shift, along with examples of promising new models. It marries a thoughtful depiction of the big trends, with concrete steps that leaders can take to embrace--and accelerate--change."

Five years out from its founding, the organization plays a central role at the intersection of institutions and employers, working to build new pathways from education to employment, They played an early role facilitating design sessions with the U.S. Department of Education to support its 2016 "Reimagining the Role of Technology in Higher Education" plan, and developing an innovation training program for higher ed leaders with Arizona State University and Georgetown University. Experts from the Lab have advised some of the largest and forward thinking institutions from Northern Virginia Community College to Western Governors University to adult public charter schools as they design new pathways to attainment and employment for underserved learners.

About Education Design Lab: Education Design Lab is a national nonprofit that designs, tests, and implements unique higher education models and credentials that address the rapidly changing economy and emerging technology opportunities. The Lab demonstrates where technology, rigor and design can improve opportunity for historically underserved learners to maximize their potential in the higher education system.

Education Design Lab works across disciplines and alongside schools, employers, entrepreneurs, government, foundations, nonprofits and innovators. The organization has significant experience managing national and local learning cohorts, working with organizations such as The Michael and Susan Dell Foundation, the United Negro College Fund, Walmart, American Council on Education and the ECMC Foundation. Learn more: www.eddesignlab.org.

SOURCE Education Design Lab