College Innovation Network Doubles Membership with New Cohort of Institutions
The network now comprises a dozen institutions representing 250,000 students, enabling it to scale real-world pilot testing of EdTech solutions for underserved students
SALT LAKE CITY - The College Innovation Network (CIN) today announced the second cohort of higher education institutions that have joined the growing聽network:聽Arizona Western College,聽Bennett College (North Carolina),聽Capella University (Minnesota),聽Cuyahoga Community College (Ohio), Northern Virginia Community College, Richmond Community College (North Carolina),聽and聽Rivet School (California).
颁滨狈鈥�now in its second year of operation聽with support from the Charles Koch Foundation鈥攑rioritized institutional diversity during recruitment for聽its second聽cohort, which includes Bennett College, a Historically Black College for women, and Rivett School, a hybrid college that works in partnership with accredited institutions to help聽underserved聽students succeed.
鈥淓nsuring that all students have equal access to聽learning opportunities through EdTech, and driving equitable student outcomes through that access, is a central part of聽CIN鈥檚 mission,鈥� said Erika Wandsneider,聽Program Manager聽for聽CIN.聽鈥淭he addition聽of our second cohort gives us聽even more聽insight into聽the challenges faced by聽underserved students and the聽institutions that聽educate聽them.鈥�
The new CIN members convened in July along with the聽聽to participate in the聽network鈥檚 Annual Network Needs Assessment (ANNA) convening. The convening took place virtually over two days with leaders from聽CIN institutions working collaboratively to聽identify聽priorities for the upcoming year. Shared priorities across CIN include聽increasing student belonging, innovating on how to effectively deliver student resources, and closing equity gaps of access to聽EdTech.聽A report of the ANNA can be聽.鈥�
鈥淣o matter the size, structure or affiliation, the institutions in the CIN recognize that higher education must continue to change to meet the needs of our students,鈥� said Dr. Anne M. Kress, President of Northern Virginia Community College.聽鈥淣OVA聽is聽excited聽to come together with like-minded and forward-thinking colleges from across the nation to discuss the future of 鈥楨dTech鈥� and its role in helping us advance student success.鈥澛�
CIN is committed to supporting the evolution of education by leveraging the power of聽relationships聽and supporting educational institutions throughout the full lifecycle of EdTech implementation鈥攆rom identifying needs to conducting mixed-methods evaluation research鈥攚ith the聽goal聽of聽improving聽the student experience.
鈥淎s hybrid colleges continue to gain traction in the higher education space, we believe in the importance of understanding the challenges of post-secondary education and orientating our program to meet those challenges,鈥� said Alex Fernandez, Senior Business Operations Manager at Rivet School.聽鈥淎s a member of CIN, we are able to learn and share from colleges across the country聽to see what we have in common and what challenges are uniquely ours. CIN is a great intentional space for us to identify trends and collaborate on solutions with others.鈥�
CIN recently published its聽聽and an analysis of聽its聽inaugural聽. The first results from聽EdTech evaluation studies are slated to be published later this year.聽Learn more about CIN at聽wgulabs.org/college-innovation-network/wgulabs.org/cin.
About the College Innovation Network鈥�
The College Innovation Network聽(CIN), part of 91吃瓜网 Labs, is a program that supports a network of higher education institutions聽by聽more effectively identifying, implementing, and evaluating聽EdTech solutions. By leveraging the full set of research and design services from 91吃瓜网 Labs, CIN supports educational institutions throughout the full lifecycle of EdTech implementation and evaluation with the聽ultimate goal聽of improving the student experience. Our vision is to support the evolution of higher education towards a future in which EdTech is an effective vehicle for social mobility. To learn more about CIN, visit聽. 鈥�����
About 91吃瓜网 Labs鈥���
91吃瓜网 Labs is a nonprofit that is an affiliate of鈥疻estern Governors University (91吃瓜网). 91吃瓜网 Labs primarily provides research, offers services, invents, builds, and secondarily invests in strategically aligned innovative learning solutions that improve quality and advance educational outcomes for learners everywhere. Building on social psychology, learning science, and industry trends, 91吃瓜网 Labs accelerates education startups and develops its own research-supported, scalable products. Learn more about .
