Some students want faster or more experimental paths to prosperity, re-entry points after stop-outs or opportunities for lifelong learning. Here's our Top 12. (This presentation is published on behalf of the Education Design Lab: http://eddesignlab.org/)

1. 12 Promising
Non-traditional
College Pathways
Some students want faster or more experiential paths to prosperity, re-
entry points after stop-outs or opportunities for lifelong learning.
Here’s our Top 12.

2. Stackable
Credentials
Pathways
Combining the traditional pathway
with industry-awarded credentials helps
students effectively stack credentials
in a meaningful way.
Example: Carleton College’s InTeGrate

3. Non-Credential to
Credential Pathways
Combined with options like Prior Learning Assessments, colleges can construct pathways
that direct students from non-credit classes into credit-bearing coursework.
Example: Adult Basic Education

4. Accelerated
Pathways
Accelerated degree programs offer students
associate degrees in one year, emphasizing
mentorship, guidance, and career-goal alignment.
Example: Ivy Tech’s Associate Accelerated Program

5. Guided
Pathways
Like Google Maps directing you
from point A to B, guided pathways
challenge students to develop
strategic plans for completion at the
genesis of their higher ed journeys.
Example: Miami Dade College’s
Guided Pathways.

6. Transfer
Pathways
Transfer pathways leverage the high transfer
rates of community colleges to four-year
programs, allowing students to complete their
associate degree as an interim degree enroute
to the bachelor’s.
Example: Kent State’s
associate degree offerings

7. Work-to-Learn
Work-to-Learn pathways recognize out-of-classroom work experiences,
including the skills students acquire and the credentials they may earn
as a result of this work.
Example: Apprenticeship USA.

8. Prior
Learning
Assessment
PLA allows students to acquire credit hours by
demonstrating prior learning (usually acquired
from prior work experience and coursework)
through rigorous assessments.
Example: Texas A&M - Texarkana

9. Competency-
Based Education
CBE redefines the function of a credit from a measure of time and
towards a measure of skill mastery.
Example: The Competency-Based Education Network

10. Developmental
Ed Redesign
Redesigning development education courses condenses
remedial levels, restructures curriculum to focus more on
practical math skills, and reformats the coursework to
better emphasize college success skills, like study habits
and time management.
Example: Complete College America

11. Military
Crosswalk
13 states have developed strategic
pathways for connecting veterans’
occupational specialty codes with
civilian careers, helping veterans
navigate careers by industry and
their military jobs.
Example: My Next Move

12. Applied Baccalaureate
Degrees
Applied degrees encourage enrollment and attainment in high-need career paths (e.g., nurses), and
students enjoy degree programs that emphasize practice and application in their degree programs.
Example: Washington State

13. Career/
Technical
Pathways
These often operate on a 2+2+2
model to connect those with only
some high school education with a
pathway toward an associate degree
and then a bachelor’s degree.
Example: Butte College