Complete College America today announced recipients of the Technology Trailblazers, a new tier of awards in the organization’s 2018 Technology Seal of Approval program. Now in its third year, the award program expanded to recognize outstanding achievement from software providers that utilize components to decrease the time it takes to graduate, assist students in making informed choices and provide structure to drive increases in college completion. These three categories encompass essential elements of CCA college completion strategies, including early career and major exploration, informed decision-making and supports for keeping students on track for timely completion.

EAB’s Navigate received Technology Trailblazer awards in the categories of Choice and Time. The solution included features to support the creation and management of pathways and simplify the onboarding processes.

Starfish by Hobsons received Technology Trailblazer awards in the categories of Choice and Time for its effective engagement of students through notifications, reminders and acknowledgements and high level of integrated analytics to track student success.

Ad Astra’s Platinum Analytics solution received a Technology Trailblazer award in the category of Structure for a wide range of data analytics supporting academic decision-makers with space and curriculum planning.

“This program is about setting ambitious goals and pushing the field toward solutions that prioritize student success and completion,” said CCA Vice President Dhanfu Elston. “As we continue to reach higher toward comprehensive technology solutions, we congratulate these providers for raising the bar and achieving even greater levels of innovation that will enhance institutional efforts to create greater student momentum and increase graduation rates.”

Complete College America launched the Seal of Approval program in 2016 to signal to colleges and universities that implementation of guided pathway strategies could be effectively supported by innovative technology solutions. The award was also designed to spur software providers toward research-proven best practices for boosting college completion.

All three Technology Trailblazer award winners will be highlighted December 4-6 at Complete College America’s Annual Convening in Chicago.