Advancing Innovation in Work and Learning | feb. 3, 2022
The origin story of Grow With Google, like so many initiatives at the global technology company, begins with data.
In 2016, Google was considering how it might evolve to ensure opportunities created by technology were available to everyone. The company learned two-thirds of the U.S. population have not earned a bachelor’s degree, a figure that translates to 80 million people without four-year degrees in a labor environment where employers increasingly were requiring them.
Google launched Grow With Google, which offers tools and training to equip people with skills to compete for better jobs. A bedrock piece of the initiative is a series of low-cost professional certificates that require six months to complete and target high-growth industries.
Grow With Google founder Lisa Gevelber joined Strada Impact President Ruth V. Watkins on Strada’s podcast, “Lessons Earned,” to discuss Grow With Google’s start, mission, and successes.
Here are some foundational ideas Gevelber said guided the approach:
Meet learners where they are. Grow With Google set out to create on-demand, online learning opportunities — but also found some students want to learn within a cohort and have an instructor-led experience.
Be smart about what professional certifications to offer. Grow With Google was selective about its offerings, using data to identify job fields that are growing today and expected to continue growing.
Engage employers in the curriculum-creating process.
Tap into local and regional changemakers already devoted to solving the workforce challenge.
HOW HBCUs HELP STUDENTS THRIVE Historically Black colleges and universities were created to provide Black students with an opportunity to make the most of higher education, and have been doing so for almost 200 years. New research from Strada and the Urban Institute Center on Education Data and Policy reveals that students at HBCUs have more favorable experiences and post-completion outcomes than their peers at other institutions. Join Strada and HBCU leaders at 2 p.m. Eastern Feb. 16 to learn more about how Black students experience faculty mentorship, internships, and skill development at HBCUs. HBCU leaders also will share their experiences providing supportive education to help their students thrive in their careers and communities.
BEYOND COMPLETION CHALLENGE
Strada announced 15 winners in the initial phase of a $10 million grant challenge aimed at helping higher education institutions identify and expand new solutions that will improve career and life opportunities for more students of color, first-generation students, those who struggle to afford education, and adult students and workers. The initiative “was designed not just to come up with new ideas for how to achieve that goal, but to put resources behind them so that more students can benefit,” Strada Impact President Ruth V. Watkins said.
YOUNGER STUDENTS BENEFIT, TOO
Credit for prior learning isn't just for adult learners who want to return to college after years in the workforce. As the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education's Peace Bransberger writes, CPL also creates opportunities for recent high school graduates, particularly through Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate exams. WICHE's research with CAEL has focused on adult learners but shows strong potential to reduce or close completion gaps for historically underserved students if more can access AP and IB courses in high school.
CREDIT FOR PRIOR LEARNING
CAEL Vice President for Impact Becky Klein-Collins explains why the 48-year-old organization is pivoting from using the term "prior learning assessment" and embracing "credit for prior learning," a term Klein-Collins describes as more relatable, more inclusive, and more understandable. "'Credit for prior learning' is much more understandable to someone who might be unfamiliar with the concept," Klein-Collins writes. "The term signifies the process of awarding college credit for things that students already know and can do."
FREE DOWNLOAD FOR STUDENT SUPPORT
As the spring term begins amid a surge in the Omicron variant of COVID-19, InsideTrack’s latest blog post shares tips for student support staff and faculty called upon to provide students with help, guidance, and comfort. The tips include a free download that outlines InsideTrack's coaching methodology, the CLEAR Framework – Confirm, Legitimize, Evaluate And Respond – as a way to listen to students with intent during difficult situations and respond in a productive way.
Lessons Earned
In our podcast, we explore bold ideas to help individuals navigate between learning and earning throughout their lives.
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