CAREER PATHWAYS INITIATIVE - Insights From the First Two Years of Implementation - Mid-Program Assessment - August 2020

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Damian

UNCF’s Career Pathways Initiative (CPI) Mid-Term Assessment summarizes insights gathered during the first two years of implementation, covering January 2017 through December 2019. It draws on a comprehensive view of the experience across UNCF’s Institute for Capacity Building and its network of implementing institutions. The assessment focuses on program delivery refinements, scaling promising practices across a network-based approach, and amplifying efforts that support student success and workforce outcomes for low-income, first-generation Black students and other students of color.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages22

Reading Time55 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Program overview and assessment purpose

CPI goals and target outcomes

CPI Overview

Launch and funding context

Institute for Capacity Building (ICB) role

The Three Prongs of CPI

Guided Pathways

Curricular Enhancements

Integrated Co-Curricular Engagement

CPI Strategies and Intended Impact

Summary of strategies and illustrative approaches

Participating institutions

CAREER PATHWAYS INITIATIVE Insights From the First Two Years of Implementation Mid-Program Assessment August 2020 Introduction The CPI Mid-Term Assessment provides insights from the first two years of the UNCF® Career Pathways Initiative (CPI) . We derived insights from a comprehensive view of the experience of UNCF’s (United Negro College Fund) Institute for Capacity Building (ICB) and our network of institutions implementing the program. To facilitate continuous improvement, this assessment will share early insights that will guide how we address the following questions through completion of the grant: • How do we refine ICB’s delivery of programmatic supports? • How do we will scale promising practices across our three-pronged network-based approach? • How do we amplify current efforts to support student success? UNCF, ICB, and the CPI’s ultimate goal is to increase student and workforce outcomes for low-income, first generation Black students and other students of color. This mid-term assessment is an important milestone for the program. Insights from this assessment will shape how UNCF will enhance our execution of the CPI program through the remainder of the grant period. It will also identify promising practices to inform transformative change at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), predominantly Black institutions (PBIs), and other institutions of higher education. The assessment covers the first two years of program implementation orthe period from January 2017-December 2019. It is organized to provide insights from three critical components: program overview, early outcomesand institutional highlights. The assessment ends with a summary of our progress to date and path forward. 1 CPI Overview In 2015, UNCF launched the CPI with a $50 million investment from Lilly Endowment, Inc. The program is designed to engage four-year HBCUs and PBIs by strengthening their academic delivery and operational models to improve student success, graduate and career, and institutional outcomes. CPI is housed within UNCF’s Institute for Capacity Building. Founded in 2006, the ICB seeks to support the resiliency of partnering institutions as they execute programming. For ICB, resiliency sits at the nexus of institutional effectiveness, academic competitiveness and financial viability of Black colleges and universities. Through ICB, CPI is designed to support and strengthen the work of partnering institutions. We prioritize an integrated approach to develop and execute change initiatives. We engage institutions through ongoing and targeted capacity building supports, and deliver continuous institutional feedback. To help institutions prepare 21st century, career-ready graduates, CPI employs a three-pronged approach to career pathway development. This institution-wide approach was codesigned to shape an undergraduate experience that results in “students engaged to learn” and “graduates ready to earn.” THE THREE PRONGS ARE: Improve student success, graduate career and institutional outcomes. 1. Guided Pathways – Direct students’ choices and academic behaviors to maximize efficiency and effectiveness of credit accumulation and credential completion “How do we make everything about the college-going process easy, but the learning?” 2. Curricular Enhancements – Equip students with applied knowledge, skills and abilities the market demands “How do we ensure our curriculum, including our pedagogy and content, are aligned to 21st century needs?” 3. Integrated Co-Curricular Engagement – Equip students with experiences that enable academic and career success “How do we raise expectations for when, where and how students can learn?” Figure 1 provides details for each of these strategies. 2 Figure 1 Summary of CPI Strategies, Illustrative Approaches, Aspirations and Intended Impact Twenty-three HBCUs and one PBI are participating in this initiative. Table 1 and Figure 2 pro

FAQs

What timeframe does the CPI Mid-Term Assessment cover?

The assessment covers the first two years of program implementation, from January 2017 to December 2019.

What are the three core components of CPI’s career pathways approach?

Guided Pathways, Curricular Enhancements, and Integrated Co-Curricular Engagement guide the undergraduate experience to produce engaged learners and career-ready graduates.

What is the overarching goal of UNCF’s Career Pathways Initiative?

CPI aims to increase student and workforce outcomes for low-income, first-generation Black students and other students of color.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Damian