Strada Education Foundation

01/09/2024

Paid internships are not only beneficial to bridging a student’s college experience into the workforce, they also provide upward economic mobility. Even employers recognize their return on investment.

However, there are still so many challenges and gaps when attaining and completing a paid internship.

Our CEO, and New York Times Bestselling author Jeff Selingo, shared their thoughts with Fast Company

One year after graduation, students who completed a paid internship earn $3,000 more than those who didn’t have one and are more satisfied with their careers.

09/08/2022

When Zaldwaynaka Scott became president of Chicago State University in 2018, things were in pretty dire straits: The state budget had been slashed, operations were rolled back, and the university had gone years without permanent leadership. A mere four years later, the landscape looks very different, and Chicago State is now in the top 4% of universities nationally for supporting students’ economic mobility. Scott explains how she turned things around and why, as she likes to say, “a strong Chicago State … is a strong United States.”

Strada Impact President Ruth Watkins spoke with Scott on an episode of our “Lessons Earned” podcast. Strada values supporting students’ economic mobility, and that conversation highlights the ways in which Chicago State is in some ways symbolic of higher education across our nation: Without meaningful structural and financial support and without stable and consistent leadership, schools will struggle. But with the right people and the right systems in place, Chicago State has become an engine for economic mobility, an anchor institution in the Chicago community, and a blueprint for other institutions who want to do and be the same.

Listen to the full podcast here:
https://stradaeducation.org/podcast/zaldwaynaka-scott/.
Read the full transcript here: https://stradaeducation.org/podcast/zaldwaynaka-scott/ .

When Zaldwaynaka “Z” Scott became president of Chicago State University in 2018, things were in pretty dire straits: The state budget had been slashed, operations rolled back, and the university had gone years without permanent leadership.

09/07/2022

Two centuries after the first historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) were founded, the 101 accredited HBCUs in operation today continue to deliver on their legacy of preparing the next generation of leaders by expanding educational opportunities for Black students that leads to successful and fulfilling lives. The degree of social mobility HBCUs generate for their graduates is more than double the average for other four-year institutions. Graduates of HBCUs make up:

➡️ 50% of Black doctors and Black attorneys.
➡️ 40% of Black engineers and Black congressional members.
➡️ 80% of Black judges.

Given this high degree of mobility and career success, what can we learn from HBCUs’ practices? How does an HBCU student’s experience differ from those of their peers at other institutions? Find the answers in our report, “The Significant Value of Historically Black Colleges and Universities,”: https://stradaeducation.org/report/pv-release-feb-16-2022/.

To create a PDF of the webpage, choose in opened window ‘Save as PDF’ option in ‘Destination’ select or something like that and click to save or print button.

09/06/2022

Our HBCU Initiative is designed to support and elevate the transformative economic, social, educational, and cultural influence of historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). It seeks to build upon what HBCUs already do: Invest in leaders of the future, and position them to change the world.

HBCUs have a proven record of removing barriers to degree completion. And HBCU graduates have greater potential than their peers to secure higher earnings, become entrepreneurs, and carry lower student debt. The positive effects of earning a degree from an HBCU continue far after graduation and beyond just financial measures of success: HBCU graduates report higher levels of well-being, including measures of purpose, social well-being, financial well-being, and engagement at work.

Through this initiative, we have partnered with over 28 institutions and support more than 300 Strada Scholars. This month, we will host our first HBCU Leadership Summit for leaders, institutions, and Strada Scholars involved with this initiative. We look forward to sharing more from this summit in the coming weeks.

09/01/2022

This new guidebook from our partner Council for Adult and Experiential Learning includes a number of resources to equip community college faculty and staff with professional learning opportunities — as well as question prompts to help colleges begin the process of examining their own work with the adult learner population. It also provides resources that community colleges from various states can use to better recruit and retain students.

The Belk Center for Community College Leadership and Research, in partnership with the John M. Belk Endowment (JMBE), myFutureNC and the North Carolina Community College System, is pleased to announce the release of the Adult Learner Guidebook. A new resource for community colleges across the state,...

08/31/2022

Two centuries after the first historically Black colleges and universities were founded, the 101 accredited HBCUs in operation today continue to deliver on their legacy of expanding educational opportunity for Black students that leads to successful and fulfilling lives. HBCUs provide engaging, supportive, and career-relevant educational experiences that lead to successful outcomes.

To better understand the HBCU experience, we analyzed data from three recent surveys of students and alumni — the Strada Education Survey, the Strada Outcomes Survey, and the National Survey of Student Engagement. We identified four areas that support successful outcomes for Black students who attend HBCUs.

Read about them in our report, “The Significant Value of Historically Black Colleges and Universities,” here: https://stradaeducation.org/report/pv-release-feb-16-2022/.

To create a PDF of the webpage, select the “Save as PDF” option from the Destination dropdown list in the Print window and click on the Save button.

08/31/2022

We’re glad to see a wide range of approaches that develop stronger connections between higher education and career, like apprenticeships. These opportunities fill the critical role of empowering people with the skills they need. https://www.axios.com/2022/08/22/apprenticeships?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter_axioswhatsnext&stream=science

Apprenticeships are on the rise and gaining traction in new kinds of fields.

08/30/2022

Back-to-school time is upon us, and on our “Lessons Earned” podcast, Deborah Santiago, co-founder and CEO of Excelencia in Education, spoke with Strada Impact President Ruth Watkins about how to best serve Latino students.

Santiago says serving Latino students is about more than just enrolling them. It’s about supporting their journey through college graduation and into the workforce. During the discussion of the Seal of Excelencia, we learned about Santiago’s own journey growing up in a military family and pursuing her education as a first-generation college student.

Listen to the full podcast here: https://stradaeducation.org/podcast/deborah-santiago/.

The complete transcript for the podcast can be found here: https://stradaeducation.org/podcast/deborah-santiago/ .

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