Gateway Community of Practice
In 2016, the Community Education Coalition awarded funds to the IUPUC Center for Teaching and Learning to manage the work of the Gateway Community of Practice. IUPUC, Ivy Tech Community College Columbus, and the EcO Attainment Network are collaborative partners in this initiative with a goal to increase student success in gateway courses. Success in gateway courses improves student retention and degree completion leading to improved career and employment opportunities in the region. The initiative includes both instructor-driven and student-delivered strategies and will collect and analyze data to determine the most impactful approaches to increase gateway course success.
In 2019, the Gateway Community of Practice received additional funding from the Community Education Coalition Innovative Solutions in Education to Employment grant. The grant is funded by Strada Education Network, a national nonprofit dedicated to improving lives by creating more direct and promising pathways between education and employment. The three-year grant award will support the Gateway Community objective aimed to increase student success in college courses.
Both IUPUC and Ivy Tech Community College Columbus actively participate in the EcO Attainment Network. The network brings educators, employers, and community partners together to build a coordinated, aligned learning system designed to connect residents to economic opportunities through education attainment. Within southeastern Indiana, the Department of Workforce Development projects that by 2025, 60 percent of jobs will require some type of postsecondary credential thus making education critical to the regional economy. While the focus of the Gateway Community of Practice is on helping students succeed in entry-level courses, it serves as a building block in the larger scope of work supporting learners as they progress along their educational pathway toward degree completion.
