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WIU Selected for ACE Learner Success Lab

September 16, 2021

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MACOMB/MOLINE, IL – Western Illinois University is one of nine institutions worldwide to be selected for the second cohort of the American Council on Education (ACE) Learner Success Lab (LSL).

According to ACE, the Learner Success Lab is an 18-month inclusive learning community that integrates evidence-based practices for persistence and completion, life design and career exploration, and workforce skills development to assist participating institutions in developing a comprehensive strategy for learner success. Western and its fellow cohort institutions will begin working together next month. Associate Provost and Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs Mark Mossman and Executive Director of Retention Initiatives will represent WIU.

"As the pandemic plunged the world into upheaval, not only have we seen the importance of centering learners and supporting them on their path to success, but the resilience and agility of our first cohort demonstrated that doing this hard work of institutional transformation at this profoundly disruptive moment is, indeed, possible," said Lindsey Myers, LSL director. "This year's cohort is prepared to meet that challenge head-on and we are proud to support them in this crucial work."

According to Mossman, to be considered for the ACE program, Western's application focused on the needs of WIU students and identified areas to improve related to the student experience.

"This is an outstanding opportunity for Western Illinois University, and inevitably, our students. The American Council on Education is a premier organization that provides wonderful resources for institutions of higher learning, and it is an honor that WIU has been selected to be a part of the second cohort of the Learning Success Lab," said WIU President Guiyou Huang.

Western is the only Illinois institution in the ACE LSL second cohort. Other institutions in the second cohort with WIU include CETYS University (Mexico), Clarke University, Florida International University, Lewis University, New Jersey City University, Rowan College at Burlington County, Southern University at Shreveport and Washington State University Tri Cities.

"Being a part of the ACE Learner Success Lab cohort complements the University's overall retention efforts and the Retention Initiative Plan we are implementing this fall," Mossman added. "Justin and I look forward to joining the partner institutions in our cohort and putting best practices into action to further enhance the student experience and student success at WIU."


Posted By: University Communications (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
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