Practice Insights to Advance Racial Equity in Online Postsecondary Career and Technical Education: Lessons from the CTE CoLab. Research Report

The CTE CoLab, an Urban-led coalition of six national partners, guided 12 community and career and technical education (CTE) colleges through a two-and-a-half year, multistep equity action planning process focused on improving outcomes and advancing racial equity in online and hybrid CTE programs. College teams worked to understand gaps in outcomes for students of color and develop and implement strategies to address barriers to success stemming from historical, systemic, and institutional factors. This report documents the equity action planning process, strategies the colleges implemented to support students, and recommendations informed by lessons learned along the way. Strategies focused on increasing student supports, centering equity in online instruction delivery, and engaging with employers. Larger institutional changes sometimes required starting small, with a committed team bringing diverse expertise, roles, and experience to advance equity. Although the initiative's two-year timeframe proved challenging, colleges laid the groundwork to inform deeper and broader implementation of these strategies moving forward. [This report was produced with The National Council for Workforce Education.]