A growing number of Illinois high school districts are now offering students the opportunity to earn College and Career Pathway Endorsements. To encourage learners to earn the rigorous endorsement and matriculate into postsecondary pathways, EdSystems is supporting the development of equity-centered strategies and incentives.
Our Role
Since 2022, EdSystems has supported Illinois community colleges and their high school partners to design new opportunities for students who earn College and Career Pathway Endorsements in high school. The primary goal is to create secondary and postsecondary collaborations whereby students awarded an endorsement will receive unique currency in the postsecondary space. That currency could come in the form of specialized access to financial support upon enrollment in a postsecondary program within their pathway endorsement sector, as added application points on a highly selective academic program application, or selective employment. Each collaboration’s key deliverable is to publish documentation of the postsecondary currency for endorsements by fall 2023 and to communicate that currency to secondary students in regional high schools to encourage greater implementation and participation.
The collaborations must also incorporate strategies to ensure equity, i.e., all students, especially those from underrepresented populations in participating communities, have access to information about pathway systems and receive the necessary support to participate in the pathway and attain College and Career Pathway Endorsements. Partnerships must use data to identify areas of need, measure impact, and document and communicate their results.
Project Resources
- Blog: Rewarding Pathways: How Illinois Community Colleges Are Supporting College and Career Pathway Endorsement Earners
- Blog: Strengthening Student Currency in College and Career Pathway Endorsements: Community College Innovators
- Blog: Student Currency in College and Career Pathway Endorsements: Spotlighting Early Adopters
- 2023 Success Network Conference Session: “Strategies to Identify and Address Equity Challenges in Implementing College and Career Pathways”
