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The Southeast Indiana Region Promotes Postsecondary Attainment to Solve Community Challenges

A unique relationship-based approach yields equitable regional prosperity

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WASHINGTON, DC (March 5, 2020) – Community. Collaboration. Co-creation. These are three principles that the Community Engagement Coalition (CEC) has applied for more than ten years to tackle myriad community-wide challenges. A partnership of several coalitions in the southeast Indiana region, the CEC understands that increased rates of postsecondary completion benefit not only the individual who earns a degree but the community as a whole. To promote postsecondary educational attainment, the partnership developed a unique framework known as the Stakeholder Engagement Process to build education-to-career pathways for all. Through this framework, the CEC has cultivated a strong talent pool and is supporting regional prosperity. 

 
A guidebook released today by the Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP) describes exactly how the collaborative process works in practice, highlighting how the process improved outcomes for Latinx residents in southeast Indiana. The third in a series of profiles highlighting innovative strategies to close postsecondary attainment gaps, Building Collaborative Partnerships through the Stakeholder Engagement Process outlines how the framework has connected a diverse set of community stakeholders and regional leaders across sectors to identify root causes of inequities and promote paradigm shifts to address complex social problems. 
 
"Inequities in educational attainment impact more than individuals themselves; there are significant supply gaps between postsecondary preparation and workforce demand and achievement gaps across racial and ethnic lines, both of which have repercussions on families, communities, employers, and our nation writ large," said Vice President of Applied Research, Julie Ajinkya, Ph.D. "The Stakeholder Engagement Process provides a clear approach to a complex problem. We hope that this example of 'a true participatory democracy' from southeast Indiana will both inspire and support other regions as they work together to overcome barriers to postsecondary attainment."
 
IHEP interviewed key representatives from the regional Community Engagement Coalition, the Economic Opportunities through Education (EcO) Network, and CivicLab, to learn how they developed and are employing the Stakeholder Engagement Process to promote increased degree attainment and sustain a 21st-century workforce. When the collaboration began in 2010, only 27 percent of local adults between the ages of 25 and 64 had earned at least an associate degree. Today, that figure is 33 percent. Latinx enrollment in adult education programs increased by 22 percent between 2016 and 2017 alone and the gap in high school graduation rates had dropped from 16.6 to 3.5 percent over an 11-year period. 
 
The guidebook includes the Stakeholder Equity Assessment Tool for use by other communities interested in forming similar collaboration. Developed by IHEP, the tool helps communities apply an equity lens to determine how best to engage diverse community partners at the outset of the collaborative process. 
 
The series of profiles, Innovative Strategies to Close Postsecondary Attainment Gaps, highlight innovative practices to promote degree completion and close postsecondary attainment gaps in Lumina Foundation's Talent Hubs. Designated by the Lumina Foundation, with support from the Kresge Foundation, Talent Hubs Communities work across business, education, and civic sectors to attract, cultivate, and retain skilled and knowledgeable talent.