Past Initiatives

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Kentucky Purpose First

Technology Seal of Approval

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Kentucky Purpose First

Creating the Missing Link between Career Choice and Guided Pathways

To ensure greater social mobility for minoritized communities, whether high school graduates or displaced workers, colleges must provide relevant information associated with all careers, link academic pathways to all programs of study, with clear connections between learning outcomes and job competencies. Achieving this requires colleges and universities to implement CCA’s Purpose strategies at scale, aligning the work of business and industry professionals with postsecondary institutions across two-year and four-year spaces, all the while ensuring a comprehensive transition from high school to college.

About the Initiative

In Brief

• CCA collaborated with Kentucky’s CPE and KCTCS to complement existing efforts in scaling Purpose First strategies.
• $550,000 in total funding
• No cost to institutions
• Focused on creating clear connections between labor needs, guided pathways, and students’ career goals, particularly for racially minoritized students

Goals

• Update onboarding process to include assisted career exploration, regional labor/market data, and unbiased advising. 
• Create a database of preferred competencies for careers and high-demand jobs at the regional level. 
• Create or optimize comprehensive academic maps that include potential career outcomes. 
• Collaborate with faculty members to start integrating competencies in curriculum and on syllabi. 
• Elevate understanding for the need of career information and academic/career alignment for all pathways at the institutional and state levels. 

Overview

Evidence suggests that students who earn 30 credits in their first year, complete gateway math and English courses, enter a program of study and enroll in 9 credits in their program are more likely to earn a postsecondary credential. Unfortunately, many students are asked to make uninformed decisions about a course of study aligned with a career choice that often result in them either delaying their choice of a program or changing majors after the first year. As a consequence, these students extend their time to a degree and incur significantly higher direct and opportunity costs. A portion of those who complete college, report lower satisfaction with major choice after graduation and many students, particularly racially minoritized students and students from low-income families, find themselves unable to access programs of study that can lead to higher wages and social mobility. Worst of all, the cost is too high for some students, leading them to drop out entirely with no degree or credential of value. Historically excluded and under resourced students are disproportionately affected by these challenges, which only widens equity gaps.  

The grant from Lumina Foundation supported the implementation of the Purpose First strategy within two- and four-year institutions across Kentucky. Purpose First serves as the missing link in aligning academic major decisions and career choices to outline guided pathways for students to make informed decisions and hit early benchmarks toward on-time graduation.

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Technology Seal of Approval

About the Technology Seal of Approval Program

The CCA Technology Seal of Approval award, established in 2016, recognizes software tools that most effectively promote college completion and student success through alignment with CCA’s Game Changer strategies.

Recipients met the standards established by CCA’s Technology Seal of Approval Advisory Board – a blue-ribbon panel of top technologists and higher education leaders. The board awarded the Seal of Approval based on a defined set of best practices as well as a robust evaluation of effective implementations and aspirational standards.

CCA Technology Seal of Approval Advisory Board

2018 Technology Seal of Approval

The 2018 program introduces the Technology Trailblazer awards to recognize outstanding achievement in the areas of time, choice and structure. 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.

“The schedule can unfortunately often be a barrier to graduation. We are grateful to be recognized by Complete College America for our work with states and institutions to build structures that maximize degree velocity, creating pathways to on-time completion that help students fulfill their academic goals without adding cost,” said Tom Shaver, Founder and CEO of Ad Astra Information Systems which won the Trailblazer Award for Structure.

The 2018 Technology Seal of Approval, the top award available, represents a pursuit of the most comprehensive technology solution to date. To be considered for the Seal of Approval award, providers must meet the requirements for all three of the Technology Trailblazer awards in addition to demonstrating game-changing work in empowering prospective students’ access to tools and systems in order to effectively explore and choose institutions and majors.

View the 2018 solicitation and functionality requirements.

2018 Winners

2017 Seal of Approval

Learn more about the 2017 Award

CCA Vice President Dhanfu Elston presents CCA’s 2017 Technology Seal of Approval to Starfish by Hobsons and EAB Navigate.

2017 Winners

2016 Seal of Approval

As part of the 2016 Annual Convening, CCA announces the first-ever recipients of the GPS Direct Seal of Approval and Emerging Technology awards.

2016 Winners