CSW and SBCTC announce the second cohort of Guided Pathways colleges to begin in the fall of 2018. Each college will receive a $500,000 grant over five years to implement Guided Pathways just as the first cohort did. The second cohort includes:
- Clover Park Technical College
- Lower Columbia Community College
- Renton Technical College
- Spokane Falls Community College
- Tacoma Community College
The 2017 Washington Legislature approves $3 million for the State Board over the course of two years to provide funding for SBCTC and early adopter colleges implementing Guided Pathways over the 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 school years. Funding is distributed to the 12 early adopter colleges (CSW & AACC cohort colleges):
College Spark Washington (CSW) Cohort 1(2016)
- Everett Community College
- Peninsula College
- Pierce College District
- South Puget Sound Community College
- South Seattle College
College Spark Washington (CSW) Cohort 2 (2018)
- Clover Park Technical College
- Lower Columbia Community College
- Renton Technical College
- Spokane Falls Community College
- Tacoma Community College
AACC Cohort 1 and 2
- Skagit Valley College (1.0)
- Pierce College District* (1.0)
- South Seattle College* (1.0)
- Clark College (2.0)
College Spark Washington (CSW) pledges to grant more than $7 million to SBCTC and the first Guided Pathways Cohort Colleges over eight years (2016-2024).
Each college receives a $500,000 grant over five years to implement Guided Pathways. The first cohort is comprised of five colleges:
- Everett Community College
- Peninsula College
- Pierce College District
- South Puget Sound Community College
- South Seattle College
In tandem with the College Spark Washington, SBCTC joins a national movement, Jobs for the Future (JFF) sponsored National Student Success Network with generous funding by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Washington receives support from JFF for the creation of a Washington Student Success Center at the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges. Intended to unite work being done at community and technical colleges around the country and reduce silos of knowledge, Washington joins 13 other states where JFF is actively supporting the creation of Student Success Centers.
The American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) launched a national project focused on building capacity for community colleges to design and implement Guided Pathways framework at scale. Building on emerging research and experience in the field, the project built on the 2012 Twenty-first Century Commission on the Future of Community Colleges, Reclaiming the American Dream, and the 2014 Empowering Community Colleges to Build the Nation’s Future implementation guide. Colleges were selected by their demonstrated commitment and prior strategies to increase student success, and provided them technical assistance and coaching from the AACC.
Three Washington community and technical colleges were selected in the first cohort:
- Pierce College District
- Skagit Valley College
- South Seattle College