Grand Valley State University is organizing an effort that will reconsider how education can better serve learners of today and tomorrow.
GVSU along with five other founding institutions: Amarillo College, Boise State University, Fort Valley State University, Shippensburg University, and San Jose State University have partnered to launch a program called REP4.
The initiative, which stands for Rapid Education Prototyping for Change, Learners, Community, Equity, will bring together students, K-12 educators and higher education faculty and staff to foster conversations about best learning practices, material and accessibility.
GVSU President, Dr. Philomena V. Mantella, said the ideas that prove successful can be implemented nation-wide thorough the alliance, something she believes will maximize impact.
"We knew very early on we couldn’t go this route alone. We knew we needed to fulfil the tenant of bringing colleagues across the country together and do this work, that we reach out our communities in partnerships," Mantella said.
Mantella added she believes that the program will provide relief to issues like inequitable access, participation and completion rates in public higher education for racially diverse learners and for those from low socioeconomic backgrounds, that the education system faces.
The birth of REP4 comes on the heels of a series of equity-driven education initiatives GVSU launched this year. GVSU has already run a small prototype program on its campus. Leaders said this summer they will seek insight from more than 30 regional high school partners and community members.
