Building Towards Equity in Higher Education

9:00 a.m. Registration

9:30 a.m. Opening Session

10:00 a.m. In Conversation

• Participants:
  • US Undersecretary of Education James Kvaal
  • Chancellor Juan Salgado

11:00 a.m.  SESSION: Supporting Early Momentum for CCC Students

• Research shows that early academic momentum, including taking and passing key gateway courses during the first year of college, is associated with higher rates of degree completion. Yet more than two-thirds of community college students are required to take at least one developmental education course before enrolling in introductory math and English, and many never complete these courses. To explain this, some point to inadequate academic preparation at the secondary level, while others focus on course placement policies that limit direct access to college-level course work. Our country’s history of racial and economic segregation, coupled with unequal funding of secondary and post-secondary education, mean that both barriers disproportionately impact Black and Latinx students and students from low-income households, contributing to a degree divide. This panel will draw on mixed-methods data collected with CCC on how community colleges can better support early academic momentum and increase degree attainment among an increasingly Black and Latinx population.
• Moderator: Lara Pruitt, The Kinship Foundation
• Panelists:
  • Provost Mark Potter, City Colleges of Chicago
  • Kafi Moragne-Patterson, Senior Director of College and Career Success, UChicago Inclusive Economy Lab
  • Lori Ellens Manuel, Associate Professor, Communications Department, Olive-Harvey College

11:50 a.m.  Remarks

• Juan de Pablo, University of Chicago Executive Vice President for Science, Innovation, National Laboratories and Global Initiatives

12:00 p.m. Lunch

12:25 p.m. SESSION: Lessons from English Language Learners  

• The Community College Research Center at Columbia University and City Colleges of Chicago’s adult education department partnered to better understand and meet the needs of English language learners.  This panel will feature students who informed the research insights.
• Moderator: Luis Narvaez, Associate Vice Chancellor, Adult Education
•  Panelists:
  • Nikki Edgecombe, Senior Researcher, Community College Research Center
  • City Colleges of Chicago students

1:15 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.  SESSION: Achieving Workforce Relevance

• The American Institutes for Research (AIR) and City Colleges will discuss their efforts to promote quality, relevance and workforce alignment through City Colleges’ Centers of Excellence in high-demand industry areas.
• Moderator: Stacia Edwards, Deputy Provost, City Colleges of Chicago
• Panelists:
  • Elizabeth Zachry Rutschow, Managing Researcher, American Institutes for Research
  • Roy Walker, Vice President, Academic and Student Affairs, Malcolm X College
  • David Jaeger, Business Practices & Project Consultant, Zurich Insurance

2:00 p.m. – 2:45 p.m.  SESSION: Holistic Supports for Community College Students: A Randomized Controlled Trial of One Million Degrees  

• The Inclusive Economy Lab’s recent study of the One Million Degrees programs shows that participating in a holistic support program can greatly increase college enrollment, persistence, and degree attainment for students who apply to the program before they arrive on campus. This session will provide an opportunity for attendees to hear from students, researchers, and service providers. The session will also explore how to leverage lessons and implement pilots across the country.
• Moderator: Marianne Bertrand, Faculty Director, University of Chicago Inclusive Economy Lab
• Panelists:
  • Aneesh Sohoni, Chief Executive Officer, One Million Degrees
  • Kelly Hallberg, Scientific Director, UChicago Inclusive Economy Lab
  • Veronica Herrero, Chief of Staff and Strategy, City Colleges of Chicago

2:45 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.  SESSION: Bringing Research Findings to Scale: OMD Expansion

• Based on the findings from the Randomized Controlled Trial, City Colleges has decided to expand and deepen its partnership with One Million Degrees by offering students an opt out offer to participate in the program. This session will discuss the $20+ million expansion of the program over the next four years.
• Moderator: Lisa Castillo Richmond, Executive Director, Partnership for College Completion
•  Panelists:
  • Kimberly Hollingsworth, President, Olive-Harvey College
  • PuraCarina Gonzalez, Director of Innovation and Strategic Initiatives, One Million Degrees
  • Marvin Slaughter, Portfolio Manager, UChicago Inclusive Economy Lab
  • OMD Scholar

3:30 p.m. – 3:45 p.m. Closing Remarks

• Carmelo Barbaro, Executive Director, University of Chicago Inclusive Economy Lab

3:45 p.m. Event Concludes/Networking

Five years ago, City Colleges of Chicago, under the leadership of Chancellor Juan Salgado, launched the district’s first-ever learning agenda. Through this effort, City Colleges made a commitment to using data to drive continuous improvement and to building deep research-practice partnerships with several outside research organizations, including the UChicago Inclusive Economy Lab, the UChicago Consortium on School Research, American Institutes for Research, and the Community College Research Center at Columbia University. These partnerships have begun to pay dividends, informing everything from how the district supports early academic momentum to the provision of holistic wrap-around supports for student success, including the scaling up of City Colleges relationship with student support organization One Million Degrees. This event is designed to highlight those lessons, explore potential solutions and best practices, and inspire innovative approaches to supporting students in postsecondary spaces.

This one-day symposium provides attendees with an opportunity to get to know some of the innovative work happening within the CCC system and highlight how researchers can support building strong educational and research partnerships across the country.

The Learning Agenda work has been funded in part by an Anonymous Foundation.