Case Studies and Testimonials

This series highlights postsecondary systems and institutions that have changed their own practice to lead states in creating a college-going climate, developing college-ready assessments, and improving student access and success.  You'll also find interviews with postsecondary leaders that highlight their commitment to alignment with K-12 systems to ensure more successful student transitions from high school to college.

• California State University: Promoting System-wide Alignment with K-12 Through the Early Assessment Program (EAP).  Grown from a desire to promote system-wide alignment between K-12 education and higher education, the California EAP is proof of what determination, collaboration and innovation can bring about when change is needed.

• Messages and Incentives that Matter: Indiana's efforts to align expectations, requirements and incentives for high school students.  Recognizing early the need to transform its system of education in order to meet the demands of a changing, less manufacturing-oriented economy, Indiana has been in the forefront of the national movement to align expectations, requirements and incentives for high school students that will lead to better preparation for college and workforce success.

• Tennessee Developmental Studies Redesign: Repairing leaks in the pipeline leading to college access and preparation.  The early challenges and successes of the Developmental Studies Redesign intitative provide an example of how governance, commitment and innovation can impact the preparation of students for college.

• Meeting the Challenge of College-Readiness at a Two-Year Institution: Austin Community College District.  Two-year colleges are essential partners in state efforts to establish college-ready standards, assessments and related policies, and to help makes such policies work at the state-level.  Austin Community College District is a good example of a two-year college multi-campus system that has created a set of initiatives with local school districts that feed into the Texas college-readiness agenda.

• Profiles in Leadership: A discussion with leaders in higher education about navigating the P-16 agenda.  In their own words, college and university leaders discuss how they engage with and serve as advocates for the college-ready alignment agenda in their states and communities.