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ˮ���� is thrilled to announce its selection for participation in Phase 2 of the Rural Guided Pathways Project. Colleges that are part of Rural Pathways work with each other—and with community partners in their regions—to implement evidence-based, institution-wide reforms grounded in the guided pathways framework. The project’s rural focus and in-depth participation of community partners set it apart from other guided pathways efforts.

“ˮ���� is honored to be chosen as a participant in the Rural Guided Pathways 2.0 Project,” said ˮ���� President Chris Spradlin. “This is a rigorous, industry-leading initiative that will prepare the College to be a state-of-the-art institution of higher education. As we look forward to ˮ����’s next 50 years, we are committed to being innovative, workforce-focused, and efficient in our programs and services. The Rural Guided Pathways work strongly encourages these characteristics, so it is a perfect fit for the College. We are excited to see how ˮ���� evolves over the next three to five years.”

Phase 2 of Rural Pathways builds on the incredible progress colleges made during Phase 1 of the project. Phase 1 included 16 colleges and ran from 2022 through 2024. Phase 2 includes 28 colleges, many of which are continuing the work they started in Phase 1, and will run from 2025 through 2027.

As a participating college, ˮ���� is committed to:

• Designing and implementing a better student experience.
• Ensuring more students earn credentials and move on to living-wage jobs or transfer to a four-year institution with junior status.
• Collaborating with key stakeholders to increase economic opportunity in the region and be partners in the implementation of a cross-sector approach to guided pathways.
• Implementing evidence-based reforms that will address inequity and lead to improved educational and workforce outcomes.

Rural Pathways provides a deliberate venue for rural college practitioners to collaborate while they work to improve student outcomes. Historically, rural community college leaders have not had many opportunities to problem-solve around the student success and completion issues that are particular to their culture, context, and capacity. They often struggle to apply strategies—even those that work well at urban and suburban institutions—in their rural context.

Rural Pathways gives rural colleges opportunities to work through challenging issues and collaborate with peer institutions, all in the context of a learning community that provides a broad range of supports.

The role of community partners also sets Rural Pathways apart. Throughout the three-year project, regional partners are an integral part of each college’s team and deeply embedded in pathways implementation. Rural settings especially benefit from involving external stakeholders in pathways work—and giving them specific roles and responsibilities—because of the strong links between students’ education, residents’ economic mobility, and the regional economy.

“We are excited to have ˮ���� participate in Rural Pathways,” said Gretchen Schmidt, senior fellow, National Center for Inquiry & Improvement. “By joining Rural Pathways, ˮ���� is demonstrating its commitment to making lasting changes that will improve student outcomes.”

NCII provides the project leadership for Rural Pathways. A team of implementation coaches, leadership coaches, and subject matter experts join NCII in working with participating colleges and developing the project’s curriculum. NCII also builds on longstanding partnerships with the Community College Research Center and the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program to support participating colleges.

For more information about Rural Pathways, visit .