MOCAN

MO College and Career Attainment Network

Laura Winter

Purpose First: Increasing Equity in Career Preparation for Missouri Students

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MOCAN’s Postsecondary Equity Network (PEN) is excited to launch an innovative three-year initiative to eliminate equity gaps in degree completion and increase career preparation for students of color and students from low-income backgrounds.

The Purpose First initiative kicks off with a summer institute with Complete College America (CCA) on June 10th. At the institute, CCA will train teams from Missouri’s 2-year and 4-year institutions on CCA’s Purpose First model.

Providing clear information and career guidance early in student onboarding is critical. Integrated career and academic advising throughout a student’s degree program leads to fewer changes in major, fewer lost credits, and less risk of students stopping out with no degree.

The initiative with CCA will specifically focus on using the Purpose First model to support BILPOC students and those from low-income backgrounds.

Colleges participating in the institute will be invited to apply for three years of additional support, including CCA coaching and mini-grants to integrate career and academic advising.

Registration is open through June 3rd.

Promoting Institutional Transformation through Racial Healing

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MOCAN is honored to be the first nonprofit organization accepted to participate in the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U)’s Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation (TRHT) Campus Center Institute.

TRHT Centers prepare the next generation of strategic leaders and critical thinkers to promote racial healing. TRHT catalyzes efforts to address current inequities grounded in notions of a racial hierarchy. The W.K. Kellogg Foundation developed the TRHT model to address the historical and contemporary impacts of race and racism within communities.

A team including Postsecondary Equity Network (PEN) colleagues from 2-year and 4-year institutions will participate in the Institute in June. They will design a process for PEN institutions to work collectively on changing the narratives and practices that perpetuate racial inequities and actions on their campuses and in their communities.

The Power of State Networks

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Listen to MOCAN Executive Director Laura Winter speak on the power of state networks for the Lumina Foundation podcast, “Today’s Students, Tomorrow’s Talent”. Other guests include colleagues from Michigan College Access Network and Alabama Possible. Laura shares MOCAN’s equity-minded strategy for increasing postsecondary credential completion. Listen to “Today’s Students, Tomorrow’s Talent” podcast. Talent Hub’s Director, Dakota Pawlicki, conducted the interview.