Working Inside the Box

Abstract

Societal and financial changes impacting higher education present great opportunities alongside great risks to traditional, large public institutions. While many such colleges and universities have defined goals to enroll more nontraditional students, it can be challenging to undertake large-scale initiatives that require updates to policy, accreditation, and structures. Alternatively, continuous, steady, and incremental improvements undertaken in partnership with willing faculty can accomplish the same goals. Though initially enacted on a smaller scale, demonstrated success can spread across flagship campuses. The authors present seven strategies demonstrating how incremental change at a unit level can create stronger connections and pathways between traditional research institutions and nontraditional students without disrupting the overall university culture. At the aggregate level, the impact of these individual initiatives has spurred thousands of new graduates and numerous opportunities for learners to achieve their goals through higher education.