Moon Shot for Equity

 WCU Moon Shot for Equity is a partnership with Delaware County Community College (DCCC) and EAB to eliminate institutional equity gaps by 2030. We are identified as the Southeastern Pennsylvania region and will continue to seek institutions to partner with as we do our work.

 We will use EAB’s 15 best practices and policies to eliminate institutional equity gaps and support student success. This process involves collecting and sharing data as well as coordinating across the region regularly. 

WCU will close institutional equity gaps in student success by 2030 by:

• Implementing 15 research-backed best practices and policies proven to close institutional equity gaps.
• Embedding change management and implementation techniques in institutional transformation.
• Deploying technology to advance equity and reduce bias.
• Supporting the growth and development of equity-minded institutional policies and practices throughout our campus community.

As noted in Lumina Foundation’s report titled A Stronger Nation, “Eight of every 10 Americans now live in cities or suburbs. To reach the 60 percent attainment goal, we must focus on these regions….[M]etro areas are fertile ground for the kinds of local collaborations that boost attainment.”

The formation of local collaborations with government, community-based organizations, and employers will help boost college attainment. These regional collaborations between schools are also critical in order to establish common academic pathways that allow students to move between two- and four-year institutions and earn a degree more quickly and efficiently. Streamlining credit transfers between institutions and accelerating time to degree are significant aspects of the equity challenge.

A region will be defined by shared student entrance and transfer patterns across two- and four-year institutions. Institutions must work together to form a regional ecosystem, a requirement to participate in the Moon Shot for Equity.

WCU and Delaware County Community College (DCCC) are the current partner institutions in the Southeastern PA region, supported by EAB and by our Equity Mentors, Georgia State University and Houston GPS.

At WCU, staff, faculty, and students will comprise goal teams and our advisory board to identify unintentional institutional barriers to equity in student success.

Participating two- and four-year colleges and universities in all regions will be supported by EAB and by our Equity Mentors, Georgia State University and Houston GPS.

Regions will be selected based on their collective track record in the following areas:

• Improving student outcomes through innovation
• Advancing commitment toward continuous improvement
• Practicing transparency in regard to their institutional and regional efforts
• Willingness to share insights and learning with other colleges and universities

EAB’s role and responsibilities include the provision of these benefits across Moon Shot for Equity regions:

• Leadership Institute: Change Management and Equity Skill-Building: EAB will facilitate a cohort-based Leadership Institute to develop equity-minded practitioners armed with exceptional change management skills to uphold the Moon Shot principles and drive and sustain change throughout the region.
• Best Practice Research: Regions will have access to evidence-based best practices and policies that already have been deployed at scale across institutions, while rapidly contributing their own groundbreaking discoveries.
• Student Success Management System Technology: EAB will deploy at scale a common student success technology. This will create a nearly seamless approach and infrastructure to collectively identify obstacles, collaboratively design interventions, rapidly compare results, and urgently deliver improvements.
• Implementation Expertise and Project Management: EAB will provide regions with a dedicated consulting team tasked with providing regions with a structured, measurable, and deadline-driven timeline to implement practices and policies. As new areas of opportunity are determined for each region, EAB will work with ecosystems to provide technical experts and support.
• Data Transparency, Metrics Alignment, and Assessment: EAB will facilitate the use of common metrics for measurement, comparison, and assessment of our progress and success for rapid adjustment and improvement.
• Convenings: EAB will organize and convene equity regions virtually across the year to efficiently share results, engage in thoughtful discussions, and facilitate structured work sessions.

Two- and four-year colleges and universities within each region agree to implement the following best practices to create an institutionally focused and equity-minded approach to student success:

• Change Management
• Equity-Mindedness
• Campus Climate Assessment
• Reduction of Registration Holds
• Retention Grants
• Aligned Mathematics
• Expanded Meta-Majors and Majors
• Remediation and Developmental Education Reform
• Academic Maps
• Streamlined Transfer Pathways
• Access to a Second Chance
• Proactive Advising Enabled by Technology
• Coordinated Care Network
• Confidence-Building and Belongingness
• College Access Partnership with Community-Based Organizations

More Information:

• 15 Practices

Moon Shot for Equity partnerships will be active for five years.