Creating Common Assignments: The Impact of Teacher Designed Instructional Units

The “four-year college vs. everything else” frame around postsecondary education is both binary and unhelpful. A more helpful frame is to think about programs in terms of their purpose and payoff. A recent report from Excel in Ed shows a more holistic way of thinking about programs that expose students to a range of education and career options and outlines some essential ingredients for a quality, structured pathway.

At SXSW EDU, we talked about how real progress in higher education doesn’t happen overnight—it takes time, persistence, and commitments to long-term change. Developmental education reform is a great example: states are making smart updates to placement policies and support systems so more students can start—and succeed—in credit-bearing courses right away.

New tools are making it easier for students and families to understand which credits will transfer to and across colleges and universirites, thus saving students time and money towards a degree.