Nonprofit's expertise in innovation, employer-institution engagement and design thinking will help 14 UNCF-partner colleges improve career outcomes for thousands of black students

(Black PR Wire) Washington, DC -- The Education Design Lab announces a three-year engagement with UNCF's Career Pathways Initiative (CPI). African-American unemployment rates remain almost twice as high as unemployment rates for whites. From March 2017 to March 2018, black unemployment averaged 7.4 percent compared to 3.7 percent average for white Americans.

As a response to lopsided unemployment rates, the Eli Lilly Endowment funded UNCF to create a Career Pathways Initiative (CPI) to fund efforts at 24 historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and predominantly black institutions (PBIs) to strengthen institutional career placement outcomes. To support the understanding of employer needs and how they relate to the future of postsecondary education, Education Design Lab (The Lab) has been contracted by UNCF to work with subset of 14 Career Pathways Initiative institutions to hasten and strengthen implementation of their plans.

The Lab will work with the selected institutions in three different cohorts with distinct focuses:

Foundational Education cohort: approaches include curriculum re-design, identification of gateway courses, and first and second year experiences that pose barriers to progression for students.

Institutions:
●    Dillard University
●    Huston Tillotson University
●    Jarvis Christian College
●    LeMoyne Owen College
●    University of West Alabama
●    Xavier University of New Orleans

Workforce Development cohort: approaches to strengthen the connection between college majors and careers, such as through the development of strategic partnerships with the workforce.

Institutions:
●    Oakwood College
●    Rust College
●    Talladega College
●    Tennessee State University

Faculty Development cohort: approaches used to assist faculty in better understanding the skills and competencies needed in the workforce, and to aid faculty in aligning and delivering curriculum to those identified needs.

Institutions:
●    Florida Memorial University
●    Morehouse College
●    Norfolk University
●    Tougaloo College

"Education Design Lab's engagement with 14 of our 24 CPI institutions follows our 2018 theme of Purposeful Disruption, working with our institutions to employ purposeful, innovative approaches to disrupt higher education systems as we know it," said Edward Smith-Lewis, Director of the Career Pathways Initiative at UNCF. "The Lab and technical assistance provided will help the selected colleges accelerate and strengthen their ongoing efforts to achieve stated goals."

This three-year engagement with UNCF follows a two-and-a-half-day design sprint that The Lab led for all 24 CPI member institutions in June of 2017. Institutions learned about what the Lab can assist with, including the opportunity to design experiments, collaborations and partnerships with high performing ecosystem partners who are producing results at scale for minority graduates.

"Following the success of last summer's design sprint, the Education Design Lab is excited and honored to support this important initiative and the timing is excellent," said Kathleen deLaski, founder of Education Design Lab. "In our work around the country, we see that employers are ready to co-design and inform new pathway models to meet the rapidly changing needs of the creative and technical economy."

About UNCF
UNCF (United Negro College Fund) is the nation's largest and most effective minority education organization. To serve youth, the community and the nation, UNCF supports students' education and development through scholarships and other programs, strengthens its 37 member colleges and universities, and advocates for the importance of minority education and college readiness. UNCF institutions and other historically black colleges and universities are highly effective, awarding 20 percent of African American baccalaureate degrees. UNCF annually awards $100 million in scholarships and administers more than 400 programs, including scholarship, internship and fellowship, mentoring, summer enrichment, and curriculum and faculty development programs. Today, UNCF supports more than 60,000 students at more than 1,100 colleges and universities across the country. Its logo features the UNCF torch of leadership in education and its widely recognized trademark, "A mind is a terrible thing to waste."® Learn more at UNCF.org, or for continuous news and updates, follow UNCF on Twitter, @UNCF and #UNCF.

About Education Design Lab
Education Design Lab is a 501c3 nonprofit that designs, tests, and implements unique higher education models and credentials that address the rapidly changing economy and emerging technology opportunities. The Lab demonstrates where technology, rigor and design can improve opportunity for students to maximize their potential in the higher education system.

Education Design Lab works across disciplines and alongside schools, employers, entrepreneurs, government, foundations, nonprofits and innovators. The organization has significant experience managing national and local learning cohorts, working with organizations such as Lumina Foundation, UNCF, American Council on Education, Credly, and the Academy for Innovative Higher Education Leadership. Learn more: http://www.eddesignlab.org.

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