News & Events

February 2023 — Cicero Social Impact published student efficacy data that indicate that Texas College Bridge (TCB), a college readiness program established in 2020, is effectively preparing academically at-risk high school students to succeed in entry-level math and English coursework and persist in their studies.

It’s not too late to implement an effective, personalized summer program.

Join us for a conversation with leaders who have forged successful secondary-postsecondary partnerships while expanding student access to pathway programs.

President Ahrash N. Bissell highlights what we've learned about EdReady's efficacy, major advancements in student readiness (especially in Texas and North Carolina), and how student testimonials and face-to-face events are keeping us energized.

Two student DJs at Tohono O'odham Community College in Pima, Arizona discuss how EdReady has helped them master the math concepts they need to know to progress in their respective programs of study and how the adaptive platform differs from high-stakes placement examinations.

Examine strategies for supporting learners in new ways and consider how low-stakes, learner-centered college placement has positively impacted both gateway course success and college retention, notably among underrepresented student populations.

Join us for a conversation with higher education innovators who are actively driving strategies to engage more diverse learners on STEM pathways.

The University of Montana has employed a new approach to teaching math gateway courses that is showing demonstrated success in student retention and pass rates.

Engaging students in foundational skills review can be more impactful when students see a direct correlation to their chosen career pathways. When given the opportunity to refresh math and English skills through an adaptive platform that can be accessed anytime and anywhere, many students show meaningful skills improvement as well as increased confidence that translates to greater success in specific programs of study.

Explore how EdReady, an adaptive learning platform, can accelerate and personalize students' math and English mastery. We'll also show you how you can take advantage of HippoCampus, a repository of multimedia learning content, as well as NROC's math and English textbooks. These open educational resources (OER) are available at no cost to individuals.

Postsecondary leaders share three different models that are effectively preparing students for college.

Nationwide, new approaches to college placement are positively changing institutional relationships with incoming students. In 2015, Alabama's Jacksonville State University (JSU) replaced traditional high-stakes testing and a developmental course structure with a simple, well-mapped placement diagnostic and personalized study path. Subsequently, students have been able to more quickly enroll in credit-bearing courses, saving them money and streamlining the route to degree completion.

In 2013, Montana Digital Academy, which is physically situated on the University of Montana campus, began piloting EdReady to help students avoid remedial math. Since then, EdReady Montana has expanded to meet the individual math and English readiness needs of nearly 180,000 Montanans across approximately 600 institutions. The program was recently awarded a $3.5 million dollar grant to sustain programming and broaden reach.

Digital learning can be a catalyst for improving course outcomes for minoritized students, and educators also need awareness and tools to address the affective, interpersonal, and situational challenges that these student groups experience.

In this webinar, we examine how to break down barriers to post-graduation success that disproportionately affect low-income and minority students. Join us to explore the ways in which early college and Pathways in Technology Early College High School (P-TECH) have democratized student access to higher education and higher-paying careers for students.

In this report, Dr. Ahrash N. Bissell, President of The NROC Project, describes a different approach to “placement” that avoids most of the pitfalls and mistaken assumptions that have called into question current placement-testing practices, and even whether placement testing should occur at all.

Developmental education reforms nationwide are striving to create more equitable college opportunities and career pathways. How might local partnerships help increase student persistence, and streamline time to credit-bearing course enrollment and program completion?

President Ahrash N. Bissell highlights various community milestones: one million students (and counting) have benefitted from using EdReady; we've earned SOC 2 Type II (security) and WCAG 2.1 AA conformance (accessibility) certifications; and we've partnered with UPchieve, an organization that is democratizing student access to academic support.

Dr. Rosslyn R. Knight recently published Maricopa Community College District data that demonstrate that EdReady has significantly increased the number of students of color who were able to place into college-level math and English courses.

Join us as we examine strategies for increasing success among nontraditional students of color in online (and hybrid) learning environments. Based on the lived experiences of students who successfully completed developmental and college-level courses, the Maricopa Community College model for ensuring college readiness illustrates the importance of collaboration among administrators, faculty, and staff to create success for all students.

At Ivy Tech, where greater than 45,000 students used EdReady over a 4-month period, almost 50% of students are now prepared for college-level coursework.

Ivy Tech Community College, the nation’s largest singly accredited statewide community college system, accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, was awarded the inaugural Council on Accreditation of Two-Year Colleges (CATYC) Innovation Award for their Knowledge Assessment Initiative, powered by EdReady.

Recently, we celebrated exemplary 2021 member contributions. We thank these members for centering learners and making NROC stronger.

Enjoy our August Info Sessions—practical, 30-minute demonstrations designed to help you maximize NROC's adaptable and customizable courses and tools—and rest assured that you'll have everything you need to kickstart an effective 2021–22 academic year.

The NROC Project always makes free, web-based resources available to everyone. Whether you currently deliver virtual learning experiences, or you are planning to deliver virtual learning experience, we encourage you to take advantage of EdReady.org and HippoCampus.org as part of your plans.

Join us for a conversation about the power of multiple measures placement as a portal to student success. We examine how colleges are harnessing the adaptive capabilities of EdReady to create more equitable learning opportunities, often in lieu of high-stakes examinations.

Texas College Bridge was launched as a response to a growing college-readiness problem further aggravated by COVID-19. Partners discuss the evolution of this growing college-readiness effort and consider how secondary and postsecondary education leaders can use this work as a model for impactful programming, tailored to local populations and needs.

President Ahrash N. Bissell highlights how the pandemic has impacted how we support student readiness, persistence, and success.

Get your creative juices flowing with a fast-paced tour of both emerging and established models for summer programming that will help students prepare for a successful start to the 2021-22 academic year. We explore community-based, STEM-focused programming, secondary and postsecondary partnerships, supporting Dakota Promise scholars, and an FYE (first-year experience) initiative.

‘Remediation’ requires acceptance of a very particular model of knowledge-acquisition and mastery, coupled with a set of policy assumptions around the pace at which that model plays out among our student populations. Despite the fact that these assumptions have been well disproven, logistical challenges seemed to limit options for improvement. However, things have changed, and we are seeing positive impacts from capable technologies, supportive policies, and a renewed emphasis on equity.

With accountability measures now extending beyond high-stakes assessments, many schools are uncovering new ways of identifying gaps and accelerating gains, as they work to equitably level the playing field for all learners. Hear how leaders from resilient schools are addressing 'learning loss'.

In this webinar, we explore the power of compact summer FYE courses, bolstered by personalized review in math and English, to improve student retention and success.

The Center for the Analysis of Postsecondary Readiness (CAPR) released a research brief that details Indiana's successful statewide scaling of EdReady as a multiple measure.

President Ahrash N. Bissell highlights how the process of continuous, formative assessment, with an emphasis on improving knowledge and skills (as opposed to simply flagging students as deficient), has historically been dismissed as too difficult or impractical and how that sentiment is changing.

This spring, member survey respondents surfaced that SEL (social-emotional learning) tools and tactics are a top priority. To answer this need, we dug into the Center for Urban Education’s recent talk, How to Express Care with a Focus on Racial Equity.

To highlight how members shape our cyclical development priorities, we launched the WHY (We Heard You) initiative. WHY communications highlight significant function and feature updates, with an emphasis on what these improvements mean to you and your students.

Student success experts Carol Carter and Sarah Kravits as they explore how coaching can help students persist during times of challenge, crisis, and change. Experience how they work with learners.

A high-stakes placement examination serves as an academic gatekeeper. EdReady positions institutional staff and faculty as student allies rather than gatekeepers.

Help students prepare for the next transition in their educational journey—from high school readiness to college or career readiness.

What questions do we need to ask and answer as we strive to equitably reach all learners in this brave, new world?

North Carolina's RISE initiative has changed the way the state's community colleges approach student placement.

This five-framework series is comprised of the student framework, the mathematics instructional framework, the reasoning through language arts instructional framework, the instructional technology framework, and the brand new English language proficiency instructional framework.

Explore how New Mexico is generating well-paid and growing career opportunities.

NROC members share their favorite digital open educational resources (OER).