By Autumn Walden, Editor, ̽»¨Â¥ Connect, Content Strategy Manager, ̽»¨Â¥
Many of us love a challenge or get inspired when responding to a critical call for collective action. Whether it’s learning a viral social media dance or upskilling with new tech, donating to a cause that is greater than ourselves, or investing in learning for a new credential, our professional community has the drive to turn a challenge into a catalyst for change.
̽»¨Â¥ is challenging you to join us in pioneering what few others have yet defined or implemented, but we’re leading the way in an exploration of , transfer admissions, and systemic transformation. The ̽»¨Â¥ National Learning Mobility Challenge addresses an old problem—transfer—and proposes a new solution: focusing on time-to-decision.
“, and delays and inconsistencies in transfer decisions compound the risk that they never complete,” said ̽»¨Â¥ Associate Executive Director Quintina Barnett Gallion. “Tackling something operational like time-to-decision shows institutions they can change and change quickly, and shows learners that institutions are serious about improving. By addressing this, we demonstrate that systemic transformation is possible when we start with a single, measurable focus.”
Learning mobility is defined as:
"A learner-centered innovation, where systems, processes, programs, and initiatives must be designed around the needs and best interests of the learner of today and the future at every stage of their journey."
The data of today’s learners shows us a new normal, with . Traditional systems were not designed for this complexity, but that’s where the ̽»¨Â¥ community can step in.
“̽»¨Â¥ members run the systems where transfer decisions live: admissions, registrars, enrollment management,” said Gallion. “They are the professionals who see, daily, where applications stall, where bottlenecks occur, and how policies either empower or hinder learners. No other community has this operational vantage point combined with a national reach across every type of institution.”
The Improving Transfer Time-to-Decision Challenge introduces a multilayered partnership with the , as well as with you, institutional practitioners, and corporate partners. “NASH brings scale and leverage at the system level, and they have the data to prove it works at scale,” explained Gallion. “Together, ̽»¨Â¥ and NASH create a bottom-up and top-down coalition.”
500 Challengers, One Goal
We’re recruiting at least 500 participants for a critical mass to ensure widespread perspectives and expertise, robust pilots, and momentum across the postsecondary industry. Bring your creative problem-solving to the table through two dynamic phases of this challenge:
Phase One: Exploration of Data and Ideation
Phase Two: Prototyping and Piloting
Whether you’re part of an admissions or registrar's office, a credentialing body, an ed-tech company, or a system leader, we invite you into this collaborative, peer-supported environment with no strings attached. There is no obligation to you or your institution for signing up. And we welcome nonmembers to take part as well.
How to Get Started
What Will Challengers Do?
- Measure time-to-decision for transfer admissions.
- Identify internal or systemic friction points that cause delays.
- Pilot solutions to reduce these delays.
- Contribute to a new national dataset on transfer student admissions processes.
Browse our Challenge FAQs for answers to questions about core challenge objectives, professional development benefits, and more.
We’re all learners by necessity or design, and when our systems fail to recognize changing learner needs, we fail our learners and ourselves. So, let’s change that. Learning Mobility ensures that skills and achievements travel with the learner, no matter where or how they were gained. For future generations, we must create faster pathways, more agile systems, and a more transparent ecosystem for nurturing knowledge.