Gateway Community of Practice
In 2016, the Community Education Coalition awarded funds to the IU Columbus Center for Teaching and Learning to manage the work of the Gateway Community of Practice. IU Columbus, Ivy Tech Community College Columbus, the Community Education Coalition and the EcO Network initiative are collaborative partners in this work with a goal to increase student success. While the focus of the Gateway Community of Practice is on retention and 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 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 IU Columbus and Ivy Tech Community College Columbus actively participate with the Community Education Coalition - working together to improve equitable access to education resulting in better outcomes and brighter futures for all students. The CEC brings educators, employers, and community partners together to build a coordinated, aligned learning system designed to connect residents to economic opportunities and an improved quality of life.
