A More Unified Community College: Lessons from the Non-Credit and Credit Alignment Lab

Education Strategy Group (ESG) and the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) are pleased to share a new suite of resources highlighting the work of community colleges across the country who are making real progress in building more unified institutions.

In 2021, ESG and ACCT launched the Non-Credit and Credit Alignment Lab (NCAL), a two-year initiative to support 20 community colleges and four community college systems in developing new or improved pathways between non-credit and credit programs. Participating community college leaders have been working to eliminate the silos that too often exist across non-credit and credit divisions.

These six new briefs offer a closer look at how NCAL community colleges are making meaningful progress under each of the key pillars for success in this work, which were first outlined in the framework of ESG’s A More Unified Community College.

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Framework Spotlight: Treat All Students As Students

Framework Spotlight: Build Pathways Between Non-Credit and Credit

Framework Spotlight: Aligning Non-Credit and Credit Divisions

Framework Spotlight: Make Non-Credit Programs Credit-Worthy or Credit-Based

Framework Spotlight: Remove Barriers for Non-Credit to Credit Transitions

Framework Spotlight: Increasing Data Capacity to Drive Decisions and Advance Alignment