College Unbound: Big Picture College
College Unbound is a new program that crafts a rigorous, personalized curriculum anchored in live-learning (internships). Student success will depend on engagement, discipline, dedication, and a drive to make a difference. We believe the positive experiences for communities, educators, industry, and students and their families in this model will impact post-secondary policy, and not only open the doors of higher education to students increasingly blocked out of college, it will ensure that students graduate with a degree and experience in hand, prepared to successfully participate in our New Economy.
The Challenge
There are two growing problems facing higher education and our Nation. The first is increasing access and attainment rates for first-generation students. First-generation rates are deplorable. Far too many of these students who enter the gates of higher education leave before earning the much coveted post-secondary degree. The second issue could prove to be a bit more difficult. Research suggests that there are currently one million young adults, 18-26 years old in the United States who are not in the workforce, not in school or not enrolled in college, and not in the penal system. One million young adults are “hanging out,” not productively engaged in broader society, and not consistently and progressively contributing to our Economy.
The reasons that we must prepare more young adults to participate in the New Economy and our broader society are obvious: increased wages; increased tax revenue; increased participation in our democracy; and simply, it is the right thing to do. Many policy leaders and educators struggle to find answers to these two growing problems. The Big Picture Company has a solution: College Unbound.
Goals and Objectives
College Unbound is about advancing the theory and practice of learning. As George Kuh and his colleagues describe in their book, Student Success in College, students learn more when they are intensely involved in their education and have opportunities to think about and apply what they are learning in different settings. Our program integrates live-learning (internships), community service, and team-based projects right from the first semester of freshmen year. Students will learn to synthesize, integrate, and apply their knowledge to make a difference in the world.
College Unbound, with a focus on workforce demands, allows students to apprentice with entrepreneurs, scientists, and innovators, designers, and medical personnel, to study and learn in a range of diverse environments, and to work with faculty, advisors, and fellow students to tackle real world problems. Students will bring the know-how and experience gathered outside the college walls back to small groups of faculty and student cohorts where they will be challenged to build on their experiences and apply them in an academic context.
College Unbound will attract a wide variety of students. While our program is focused on serving low-income and minority students more effectively, we anticipate that our non-conventional learning model will appeal to a broader share of the college-going population. College Unbound is looking for students who want a high-residency program, who are seeking a large amount of in-person support from faculty and staff, who want an academic program that is focused on high demand fields with dynamic live-learning environments, rigorous group and team projects, and individualized curriculum.
The Program
Our program will prepare students for life and work after college. Our curricula will emphasize a course of study centered on market needs. Much of the students’ college experiences over their three years (year round) will take place in the real world, where they will apply their skills and gain knowledge. Starting in their freshmen year, our students will work at live-learning (internships) sites alongside cutting-edge mentors who will help evaluate their performance.
In addition, we are dedicated to immersing our students in educational experiences that expand student horizons, literally and figuratively. To encourage cross-cultural understanding and learning in new environments, our students will travel on education-based trips as a part of their course of study. These travel experiences and live-learning done abroad will enrich our students’ understanding of world issues and the global economy.
Over their three year experience, students will have demonstrated their ability to solve complex problems, work in teams, communicate effectively, apply concepts across disciplines, etc.–abilities that are sought after by businesses, corporations, and organizations. Our students will graduate prepared to effectively participate in the global economy and they will leave with the skills and knowledge required to be engaged in the world and successful in life.
In short, we will take the best of certification (performance-based doing/live-learning), the best of a four-year B.A. degree (liberal arts learning/context) and give students the opportunity to earn a degree in three years that embodies performance, entrepreneurial thinking, wide-knowledge, and perseverance.
For more information or to apply, please visit www.collegeunbound.org.