The Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) is excited to share that the Workforce Futures Accelerator project has officially launched. Over the next three years, a cohort of 15 community colleges across the country will embed virtual, project-based learning opportunities directly into their workforce programs. These employer-sponsored projects provide students with employer connections and experiences they wouldn’t otherwise have – all while working towards their career goals.

Why This Project – And Why Now

Community colleges are seeing increased demand for short-term, workforce-aligned credentials as students look for more flexible and faster pathways for in-demand careers. Yet, too often, short-term or accelerated programs don’t have the time to include any hands-on or experiential learning components that help students stand out to employers post-graduation. It’s the age-old“catch-22” that many post-grads feel when entering the workforce: you need experience to get a job, but you need a job to get experience.  

The Workforce Futures Accelerator is designed to help close this gap for students in these types of programs. Through the Accelerator, colleges can embed virtual employer-sponsored projects directly into coursework, enabling students to build demonstrable skills and professional experience all while they earn their credentials. Because the projects are fully virtual, students in rural communities can access opportunities that may otherwise be unavailable locally. 

What Comes Next

As the inaugural cohort of community colleges embarks on this journey, they will work towards several key milestones together. After selecting two programs to embed project-based learning into, faculty teams will undergo a five-session curriculum design instructional series on project-based learning with experts from Worcester Polytechnic Institute’s Center for Project-Based Learning and learn how to redesign their programs to incorporate this pedagogy, how to assess student team dynamics and outcomes, and how to improve course delivery. Alongside this professional development, they’ll work closely with ACCT’s project partner Riipen to identify key employer projects to build into their courses. As the initial programs launch, faculty will continue to meet to share successes, troubleshoot problems together, and build a national network of support. Finally, as the initial programs conclude, additional faculty or programs will undergo this same process to scale this initiative from within the institution itself. Over time, the goal is for colleges to build sustainable models that allow this work to continue beyond the life of the project.  

The Inaugural Cohort

We’re proud to kick off this work with a diverse group of institutions that are committed to expanding access to high-quality project-based learning for their students. Below is the inaugural Workforce Futures Accelerator cohort (in alphabetical order): 

• Bergen Community College – Paramus, NJ 
• Central Louisiana Community College – Alexandria, LA 
• Clark State College – Springfield, OH 
• Grayson College – Denison, TX 
• Great Basin College – Elko, NV 
• Heartland Community College – Normal, IL 
• Houston City College – Houston, TX 
• Hudson County Community College – Jersey City, NJ 
• Lamar Institute of Technology – Beaumont, TX 
• Manchester Community College – Manchester, NH 
• Mesa Community College – Mesa, AZ 
• Mohave College – Kingman, AZ 
• San Joaquin Delta Community College – Stockton, CA 
• San Juan College – Farmington, NM 
• West Virginia University Parkersburg – Parkersburg, WV 

Stay tuned as the inaugural cohort begins implementation and starts bringing these projects into classrooms across the country.

Partners Powering this Work

Led by the ACCT with support from Google.org, the initiative is built in collaboration with Riipen, an experiential learning platform that connects educators and learners to employer projects. Worcester Polytechnic Institute’s Center for Project-Based Learning will support instructor development, helping faculty integrate proven project-based learning strategies into workforce curricula.  

For more information about the project, including an informational webinar, please visit ACCT.org or contact Senior Project Associate Michelle Callahan at mcallahan@acct.org. 

Michelle Callahan is the Senior Project Associate at ACCT