In the evolving landscape of higher education, community colleges share many challenges. Two-year institutions must find ways to navigate funding disparities, offer courses that fit student degree plans, nurture success for a diverse student population, address limited local enrollment pools, and more. An article in The Chronicle of Higher Education titled “Why Fixing the Transfer Process Is an Equity Issue for Colleges” noted that “while four out of five students who start at a two-year college hope to complete a four-year degree, fewer than one in five do so” (Mangan, 2023, para. 4). Amid these challenges, collaboration through the Acadeum network is proving to be a game changer in helping participating colleges reach today’s learners.

The League for Innovation Online Course Sharing Consortium, powered by Acadeum, enables Board and Alliance institutions to seamlessly share online courses to support students and solve institutional challenges. This article showcases how partnerships within the Acadeum network are bolstering enrollment; keeping students on their academic pathways; attracting modern-day learners with on-demand certifications; and, ultimately, opening doors for a brighter future in higher education.

Increasing Scheduling Flexibility and Keeping Students on Their Academic Pathways

Through Acadeum’s expansive network of almost 500 colleges and universities, community colleges can now collaborate with like-minded institutions to expand academic capacity, improve student progress, and generate new revenue. Through course sharing, students access fully online courses with scheduling flexibility. Course sharing also offers options to advisors trying to fill a schedule, whether they are trying to get a student to full-time status, offer one last course in an academic pathway, fill in the gaps for elective courses, or accommodate working students.

Course sharing allows students to regain academic standing, overcome barriers to completion, and progress over intersessions or summer terms while improving scheduling flexibility. In addition, leveraging a network and peer institutions helps ensure access and equity across the student base. Course sharing benefits any student in need of a course that their institution cannot offer.

Incorporating In-Demand Certifications While Creating On-Ramps to Attract New Learners

Many students seek hands-on experiences and professional certifications on their academic journey. As educational leaders know, pathways for learners are no longer linear, and providers are filling gaps with short-term, low-cost alternatives that have only made the education-career continuum more complex and confusing for learners to navigate.

Partnerships with the Acadeum Skills Marketplace offer institutions critical advantages for creating and supplementing programs and also incorporating professional certificates into pathways that will serve learners at all stages. Through collaboration within the Acadeum network, colleges can embed in-demand certifications to support learners, including stackable credentials for industry certification and workforce development certificates, and meet rapidly changing workforce needs.

Looking to the Future

Collaboration between member institutions in the League for Innovation Online Course Sharing Consortium empowers colleges to quickly and affordably offer industry credentials, which helps to bridge the gap between education and employment. Tackling the challenges facing community colleges is not an easy task; doing so independently is even more difficult. Collaboration within a network helps colleges respond to challenges while offering learners access to high-quality courses and in-demand certifications.

Ready to expand academic capacity at your institution while marketing to the modern-day learner? The Acadeum team can provide one-on-one implementation and strategic support, identifying immediate and affordable opportunities to maintain a competitive advantage.

Reference

Mangan, K. (2023, August 22). Why fixing the transfer process is an equity issue for colleges. The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Salma Reyes is Regional Manager, Partner Success, at Acadeum.

Acadeum is a League partner and Innovations 2024 Champion Sponsor.