WASHINGTON- College Unbound (CU), an innovative institution located in Providence, Rhode Island, designed for low-income working adult students who want to earn their bachelor’s degrees, was the subject of a symposium convened on Wednesday by the American Council on Education (ACE).
The event was designed to discuss the 10-year regional accreditation process and a newly released case study about the nonprofit institution.
“This is an institution that works on the premise that it should shape itself around the learner and not the other way around,” said Dr. Ted Mitchell, president of ACE. “It’s not an institution that says, ‘you come here and you shape yourself to us.’ No, College Unbound says ‘you are who you are, you’ve achieved a lot and you have great promise. Let us meet you where you are and let us help you along.’”
A College Unbound: Lessons on Innovation from a Student-Driven College’s Journey Through Regional Accreditation showcased the logistics behind the institution layout and provided information about how they earned accreditation.
During the accreditation process, Dennis Littky, CU president, alongside others, gave the board an almost 1,000 page synopsis detailing how the institution would function and help adult learners. Prior to CU, it had been 28 years since the last institution was accepted for accreditation in Rhode Island, according to Dr. Barbara Brittingham, president of the New England Commission of Higher Education.
CU was first established in the fall of 2009 as a program of Big Picture Learning, which focused on innovative learning models. Originally, 10 traditional-aged students signed up for the program. However, adult students shortly followed.
Now, 119 students are enrolled.
