91ÖÆƬ³§

91ÖÆƬ³§ believes talent is equally distributedÌýbut opportunity is not. AtÌýtheÌýASU+GSVÌýSummitÌýthisÌýweek, we areÌýtalking about howÌýwe canÌýcreate pathways to opportunity for every individual. WGU is participating in over a dozen sessions, detailed below.ÌýAnd as a bonus session,ÌýWGU’s Provost and Chief Academic Officer, Marni Baker-Stein, will be closing out ASU+GSV on Oct.Ìý8,Ìýwith a closing keynote panel, on the #powerofwomen in higher education.ÌýWe hope you will join us live or watch our programming on-demand by registering for the conference free of charge.

Developing Seed-Stage Startups

New U Venture Partners (NUVP) is a fund formed and sponsored by WGU to drive innovation that can renew education as the surest path to opportunity.ÌýDreÌýBrennin, Managing Partner, and Joel Camacho, Vice President, are introducing NUVP’s first development program for seed-stage start-ups that will invest $1ÌýmillionÌýin mission-aligned start-ups focused in digital learning and the future of work.ÌýThe goal is to infuse companies with funding, knowledge, networks, and confidence, to enable them to thrive in a Series A round.Ìý

Save the date:ÌýTue Sep 29, 1:00 PM - 1:45 PM PDT

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Advancing Impact:ÌýA Conversation with the Accelerator at WGU LabsÌýand Its Portfolio Companies

91ÖÆƬ³§ Labs invents, builds, and invests in innovative learning solutions that improve quality and advance educational outcomes for learners everywhere. Todd Bloom, Managing Director, will provide an overview of WGU Labs’ accelerator program. WGU Labs accelerator clients, includingÌýMajorClarity,ÌýInScribe,ÌýEdquity,ÌýeLumin, and Red Flag Mania will discussÌýtheÌýinnovations they are achieving through collaboration with WGU Labs.Ìý

Save the date:ÌýWed Sep 30, 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM PDT

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Meeting this Moment by Pushing the Boundaries: Teaching, Learning, and Leading Change for K-12, Higher Ed, and More

In the world of education, this year of pandemic and hard social-justice work has pushed us to try new things, reflectÌýonÌýand reexamine long-held practices and beliefs, and begin to look to a different kind of road ahead.ÌýMarkÌýMilliron, WGU’s Senior Vice President for the Teachers College,Ìýwill lead a panelÌýincluding Tom Vander Ark, CEO of Getting Smart,ÌýRahimÌýRajan, Deputy Director for the BillÌý&ÌýMelinda Gates Foundation, and Stacy Caldwell, CEO of Mastery Transcript Consortium,Ìýas they reflectÌýon this tumultuous time and aÌýproject theÌýpossibilities we now can champion around new learning models, teaching strategies, and leadership principles for engaging and readying students for an increasingly dynamic time in learning, earning, personal growth, and civic engagement.Ìý

Save the date:ÌýWed Sep 30, 2:00 PM - 2:45 PM PDT

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Strength in Numbers: A Collaborative Approach to Weather the COVID Storm

COVID has accelerated the need for effective technologies to connect students to their learning experiences. However, matching educational institutions with EdTech vendors that most directly address institutions’ core needs remains an uncertain and, at times,Ìýinefficient process that blocks impactful partnerships from forming. WGU Labs has formed the College Innovation Network (CIN) to help connect and implement EdTech solutions to a network of schools centered around common EdTech needs. Join CIN's directors, Dr. OmidÌýFotuhiÌýand Dr. Lisa Ferrara, as they discuss current challenges being addressed,Ìýand learn about opportunities to join CIN.Ìý

Save the date:ÌýThu Oct 01, 12:00 PM - 12:45 PM PDT

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A New Paradigm for College Readiness

One of the greatest barriers to higher education is a lack of college readiness. Remediation is estimated to cost $7 billion per year—and it doesn’t work; students spend money and time and rack up debtÌýto take remedialÌýcourses butÌýaren’t likely to move down the pathway to completion. WGU has taken a different approach and launched WGU Academy toÌýgiveÌýstudentsÌýa low-risk and low-costÌýapproachÌýtoÌýcollege, where they can build college creditÌýand learn academic and non-cognitive skills—like grit and growth mindset—thatÌýlead to better student outcomes. Pat Partridge, WGU Academy’s President, is calling for pilot partners to scale initiatives for student success.Ìý

Save the date:ÌýTue Sep 29, 12:00 PM - 12:45 PM PDT

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A frank discussion of nursing licensure regulation, education, and reforms

2020 is the year of theÌýnurse.ÌýIt’sÌýalso shaping up to bringÌýthe biggest nursing shortage in modern memory.ÌýPart of the reason is self-inflicted: the 50-state patchwork of licensure that serves as a barrier to those seeking to enter and advance in the nursing profession. Jan Jones-Schenk, Senior Vice President of WGU’s College of Health Professions,Ìýis taking on licensureÌýin a conversationÌýwith David Benton, CEO of the National Council of State Boards of Nursing,ÌýLauren Block, Program Director at the National Governors Association,ÌýandÌýLindaÌýKnodel,ÌýSVP andÌýChief Nursing Executive at Kaiser Permanente. TheÌýpanelÌýisÌýmoderated byÌýSydneÌýEnlund, Health Policy Specialist at the National Conference of State Legislatures.Ìý

Save the date:ÌýTue Sep 29, 2:00 PM - 2:45 PM PDT

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A Level Playing Field: How Skills Can Help Open Pathways to Good JobsÌýForÌýAll

Moving to skills-based assessments won’t instantly squeeze all of the bias out labor markets, but it would dramatically level the playing field. Skills-based hiring would reduce disparities in labor market outcomes and give employers better tools to understand the roleÌýbias playsÌýin hiring and promotion processes. Join Scott Pulsipher, WGU President, as he leads a discussion withÌýWendi Copeland, Chief Mission and Partnership OfficerÌýof GoodwillÌýIndustries International, andÌýAhnnaÌýSmith, Executive DirectorÌýof theÌýDCWorkforceÌýInvestment Council, for a discussion on a skills-based future that creates a world in which pathways to opportunity are open to all.

Save the date:ÌýThurs Oct 1, 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM PDT

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The Buck Stops Here: Innovating Financial Aid for Student-Centered Lifelong Learning

Federal and state governments spend billions of dollars annually on student financial aid programs with inequitable and less than desirable outcomes. Additionally, employers spend hundreds of billions of dollars on formal education and informal training. With nearly $1.7 trillion in student loan debt in the U.S., we don’t need more amplifiers of the problem, we need solutions. A panel led byÌýBob Collins, WGU’s Vice President for Financial Aid, will explore what those solutions look like. Panelists includeÌýManhattan Institute Senior Fellow Beth Akers,ÌýSenior Vice PresidentÌýAlison Griffin of Whiteboard Advisors, and Patti Kohler, Director of Financial Aid at WGU.Ìý

Save the date:ÌýThurs Oct 1, 2:00 PM - 2:45ÌýPM PDT

A New Learning Ecosystem for the COVID Era

COVID has accelerated the demand for education and training, both for workers who are seeking new jobs and for those who have seen COVID reshape their work environments. Individuals also want to know how education and training opportunities map toÌýcareer achievement. Matt Sanders, Senior Vice President for University Development at WGU joins Ryan Craig, Scott Fleming, Dara Warn, and Jeffrey Frey to explore how learning providersÌýandÌýemployersÌýcanÌýuseÌýtechnologyÌýtoÌýcreate new systems thatÌýhelp meet the needs of workers and learners in the COVID era.ÌýÌý

Save the date:ÌýTue Sep 29, 12:00 PM - 12:45 PM

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The Open Skills Network: Building a more equitable, skills-driven labor market

The Open Skills NetworkÌý(OSN)Ìýis aÌýcoalition of dozens of employers, education providers, militaryÌýpartners,Ìýand other stakeholders dedicated to advancing skills-based education and hiring.ÌýThe OSN intendsÌýto collaboratively and innovatively develop the foundation for aÌýskills-based future.ÌýThis panel, moderated by WGU ProvostÌýand Chief Academic Officer Marni Baker-Stein andÌýBrightHiveÌýCEO Matt Gee, includesÌýrepresentatives from a range ofÌýOSNÌýmembers, including Walmart,ÌýEmsi, Southern New Hampshire University, Salesforce,Ìýand Concentric Sky.Ìý

Save the date:ÌýWed Sep 30, 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM PDT

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A New Open Skills Framework to Help People, Education, and Work Speak the Same Language

Skills haveÌýbecome the dominant theme in many of our education to work discussions. But what do we mean by skills and how can a skills-based languageÌýactually help? This panel, including WGU Provost and Chief Academic Officer Marni Baker-Stein, will explore the work going on in the world of skills,Ìýincluding a new open skills library thatÌýEmsiÌýhas introduced with the goal of serving as a common language between people looking for work, work looking for people, and educational programs looking to connect people to the labor market. AttendÌýthis sessionÌýto learn more on how a skills language offers simple and elegant solutions to help colleges improveÌýcurriculum, businessesÌýcreate better job postings, and people articulate valuable skills on resumes and profiles.Ìý

Save the date:ÌýWed Sep 30, 2:15ÌýPM - 3:00 PM PDT

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Mapping Sought Skills to Taught Skills: How Western Governors University Creates Value for Students by Mapping Curriculum to In-Demand Skills

91ÖÆƬ³§ is committed to making sure every graduateÌýlearns skills that are in-demand in the modern workforce.ÌýBut making that happen isn’t just a matter of good intentions, itÌýalsoÌýincludesÌýa good deal of data science.ÌýKacey Thorne, Director of Skills Architecture at WGU, is sitting down withÌýLuke Jankovic,ÌýEmsi’sÌýExecutive VP for Higher Education, to discuss howÌýWGU is utilizingÌýEmsi’sÌýopen skills library, which identifies nearly 30,000 skills from hundreds of millions of job postings, resumes, and professional profiles to matchÌýWGU’sÌýcompetency-based curriculum with a list of workforce-relevant skills.ÌýÌý

Save the date:ÌýThurs Oct 1, 1:00ÌýPM – 1:45ÌýPM PDT

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