Feb 2020-Jun 2021
The Ohio Department of Higher Education (ODHE) serves the over 500,000 students enrolled in Ohio’s public technical centers, community colleges, and four-year universities. ODHE was invited to join the Educate 4 Opportunity initiative conducted in partnership with the National Governors Association, Strada Education Network, and Gallup. The Educate 4 Opportunity program focuses on ways to support adult learners earning their first postsecondary credential, certificate, or degree. ODHE engaged New Growth to provide project management support for the project.
New Growth worked closely with ODHE staff to co-create a project management strategy that engaged key stakeholders such as the Ohio Department of Education, the Ohio Association of Community Colleges, the Inter-University Council, and the Governor’s Office. As part of this support, New Growth convenes regular meetings with stakeholders, provides implementation capacity for project initiatives, and is responsible for project outcome tracking and reporting.
The Educate 4 Opportunity initiative has led to the creation of communication strategies, alignment opportunities, and policy recommendations to support adult learners. Top among these are clarifications for institutions on how they can support learners with institutionally held debt, the first look into broadband and technology access for postsecondary students, and building on recommendations made from other initiatives; such as Strong Start to Finish, Finish for Your Future, and Complete to Compete.
