DECEMBER 2023
University Design Accelerator Program Accelerating new and innovative solutions for universities that support regional stewardship
WHY IS IT NEEDED?
Universities must be engines of social transformation and economic impact There are more than 400 regional public universities in the U.S. These institutions are inextricably bound to their regions and tend to draw most of their students from nearby communities. In many ways, regional public universities are higher education’s equivalent of the neighborhood public school. They educate nearly 40% of all undergraduates in the U.S.—and 70% of undergraduates at public 4-year institutions. There is mounting evidence that regional publics foster greater upward mobility for low-income students than any other sector. In addition, these universities are “anchor institutions,” sustaining and enriching the economic, civic, and cultural fabric of communities. Numerous studies show that regional publics operate with a high degree of efficiency in terms of costs and degree production, and their ability to produce additional bachelor’s degrees is contingent on receiving additional resources. Yet these universities are struggling financially and many are hemorrhaging students across the country. Because they rely more heavily on state funds and tuition than public research universities, regional public universities are impacted when the economy slows and states are forced to shift appropriations to mandated programs in their budgets. The diversity and complexity of the challenges facing regional publics and higher education, in general, is often overwhelming to leaders. Regional publics need to expand their capacity in two critical areas of operations to put new strategies in place to successfully serve as regional stewards. First, they need a disciplined design approach to rethink their models, including: degree pathways, academic programs, credentials, as well as implementing different cost structures and pricing. Secondly, bolster their leadership capacity self-reflection by guiding campus executives in building new relationships, expressing a bold vision for the future, and finding the partnerships and patience to navigate the ambiguity and complexity of the near future. The Design Accelerator provides an opportunity to support the upward mobility of these institutions, the students they serve, and the overall educational fabric of the United States. Regional stewardship led by universities include human capital development; workforce development, partnerships with industry, local government and community engagement to design and support a thriving social ecosystem. The Accelerator’s model deploys a design that support and encourages collaboration between participating institutions for a multiplier effect within the region.
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WHAT IS THE DESIGN?
The Accelerator is an immersive oneyear program with design sessions, mentoring and prototyping Designed around a systems-level challenge
Advances impactful outcomes for U.S. public universities.
The Design Accelerator focuses on a specific challenge identified at the system-level. Design teams from participating institutions identify ideas to address the challenge, then work with design experts and mentors to structure and advance their ideas and iteration towards implementation. The program expertly weaves in the real-world decision making of institutional leaders and the needs of their stakeholders, utilizing critical frameworks across their learning journey.
By blending synchronous and asynchronous experiences, the Accelerator drives ideation and implementation planning for innovative student-focused solutions and regional stewardship. Teams will work within and across institutions to develop prototypes for addressing central challenges within the region.
The IMPACT Framework anchors the experience The IMPACT Framework is woven throughout the Redesign Accelerator experience providing a proven approach to advancing ideas to implementation. Each session in the multi-month program is focused on one element of the framework to support iteration of the prototype toward a well-defined implementation plan.
Why does UDI use IMPACT and PI in the Accelerator program? There is power in the pairing. Both IMPACT and PI support the process of redesign. Together they help leaders understand how to advance prototypes in rapid ways.
The PI Framework puts people at the center of the solution The Principled Innovation (PI) Framework supports the ability for leaders to imagine new concepts, catalyze ideas and form new solutions, guided by principles that create positive change. It carefully considers context and larger systems while placing the people who are affected by the problem at the center of the proposed solution.
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Together they ensure that decisions and actions are meeting the social, cultural, emotional and educational needs of those affected, and creating positive change for humanity.
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WHO IS INVOLVED?
The Accelerator advances values-driven experiences for three core audiences Chancellors System leadership gains value through a focused effort to drive change within and across institutions and over time impact the state.
How do Chancellors engage? Select the transformational challenge(s) to be addressed Provide context and direction for university presidents to ensure the project is integrated into institutional priorities Serve as UDI’s executive sponsor, engaging at critical points throughout the design experience Minimize system-level barriers that hinder progression
Presidents Institutional leaders gain support from the system to address change issues while also strengthening capacity for innovation within their institutions.
How do Presidents engage? Identify and assemble a university design team to address transformational challenge Brief the transformation team and key stakeholders on expectations and commitments Serve as the institutional sponsor, engaging at critical points throughout the design experience Hold teams accountable to deliverables
Executive Design Teams Leaders within the institution build capacity to impact change for longterm results to advance institutional level change.
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How do Executive Design Teams engage? Take ownership of the transformational challenge Drive progress in alignment with expectations and commitments Activate institutional or system-level leadership when barriers to innovation and change arise Hold team members accountable to design, prototype, and iterate new models focused on key outcomes
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WHAT IS THE EXPERIENCE?
The Accelerator builds institutional capacity to innovate through an immersive learning process An example of the program timeline is outlined below. A typical program timeline runs 12 months total from System Selection to the Pilot Phase. Final design is subject to change.
System Selection
Institutional Commitment
Challenge and Team Selection
Team Onboarding
Program Phase
Pilot Phase
Month 1
Month 1
Month 2
Month 3
Months 4-8
Months 9-12
System is selected based on cultivation efforts.
Institutional presidents engaged to share vision and purpose of program.
Immersive 2.5 day onsite with system and institutional leaders.
Institutional teams selected and introduced to IMPACT and PI frameworks.
Immersive 1 day onsite to wrap up program phase.
Key priorities and system challenges identified through facilitated sessions.
Seed funding awarded to each team.
Teams engage 2 days per month. Design sessions, project milestones, mentor sessions and sponsor check-ins via zoom.
Discovery meetings uncover system challenges and opportunities.
System advances institutions (maximum of 5).
Final challenge selected.
Team project coordinator assigned.
Phase culminates with pilot formation.
Teams report out on their work to advance pilot. Awarding of pilot funding and reporting timeline determined for pilot/funding.
PRINCIPLED INNOVATION is embedded throughout to ensure innovative thinking and prototyping models are inclusive and will create positive change for humanity
IMPACT FRAMEWORK supports iterative process to build leadership and innovation capacity for systems level change
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WHAT IS THE BENEFIT?
The Accelerator’s targeted outcomes focus on sustainability and scale 1
Accelerate progress on high-impact projects through new design approaches with significant results.
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Create a process that supports continuous focus on outcomes for strategic scale, success and long-term sustainable change.
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Cultivate new capabilities through mindsets, skillsets and toolsets.
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Amplify value of existing strategic opportunities within institutions and across the system.
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Develop a network across universities within the system to support sharing of best practices, tracking of lessons learned and to avoid a “reinventing the wheel” approach.
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WHO LEADS THE EXPERIENCE?
The Accelerator draws upon a core team of institutional changemakers Dr. Minu Ipe CO-FOUNDER, VICE CHAIR & MANAGING DIRECTOR, UNIVERSITY DESIGN INSTITUTE ADVISOR TO THE PRESIDENT, ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY Dr. Minu Ipe is the Co-founder, Vice Chair & Managing Director of the University Design Institute (UDI) at Arizona State University. At UDI, Dr. Ipe collaborates with higher education leaders around the world to reimagine and redesign universities that socially and economically enrich the communities they serve. As an advisor to the president of ASU, Dr. Ipe leads large-scale design initiatives that strengthen ASU’s capacity for purpose-driven innovation. With 20 years of experience designing executive education programs, Dr Ipe is also the co-founder of the ASU Leadership Academy, the Advanced Leadership Initiative and the Launching Leaders Program that have trained over 500 faculty and staff leaders across the institution.
Dr. Mark Searle EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT AND UNIVERSITY PROVOST EMERITUS, ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY Dr. Mark Searle is Provost Emeritus and University Professor at Arizona State University in the School of Community Resources and Development in the College of Public Service and Community Solutions. In his former role of executive vice president and university provost at Arizona State University, he led the university's academic enterprise including oversight of all colleges, schools, departments and degrees offered, directing student success initiatives, management of academic data, oversight of recruiting, admissions, financial aid, and the registrar's office, coordinated the university’s international academic efforts, governing board relations, strategic goal setting, and other university initiatives.
Dr. Ashish Vaidya SENIOR FELLOW AT THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF STATE COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES As former president of Northern Kentucky University (NKU), Dr. Ashish Vaidya was responsible for championing the university’s mission and core values, charting an adventurous course, and communicating the strategic priorities clearly with internal and external stakeholders. Before joining NKU, Vaidya served a two-year term as interim president of St. Cloud State University (MN), functioning as the campus CEO and overseeing all operations and the university’s strategic direction. Vaidya also served two different campuses in the California State University system, where his last appointed role was special advisor to the president for regional economic development at California State University, Los Angeles.
Jeff Selingo FORMER EDITOR, THE CHRONICLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION, SPECIAL ADVISOR TO THE PRESIDENT AT ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY, AUTHOR Jeff Selingo has written about higher education for more than two decades and is a New York Times bestselling author of three books. His latest book, Who Gets In & Why: A Year Inside College Admissions, was published in September 2020 and was named among the 100 Notable Books of the year by the New York Times. A regular contributor to The Atlantic, Jeff is a special advisor for innovation and professor of practice at Arizona State University. He also co-hosts the podcast, FutureU.
Additional experts and thought leaders will be engaged throughout the experience University Design Institute | udi.asu.edu
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ACCELERATOR SPOTLIGHT
Reshaping the Pennsylvania public university system to improve student outcomes The Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) is a state agency that determines the direction of higher education and its institutions for Pennsylvania in partnership with state government officials. The PASSHE system is comprised of fourteen (14) universities. Combined, this group of institutions enroll the largest number of Pennsylvania residents among all four-year colleges and universities in the state. With more than 85,000 degree-seeking students and thousands more enrolled in career-development programs, PASSHE is vital to Pennsylvania's economy. Collectively PASSHE institutions offer more than 2,300 degree and certificate programs in more than 530 academic areas.
Who participated in the PASSHE Design Accelerator? Four PASSHE universities were chosen for the Design Accelerator due to their readiness for redesign. Millersville University Penn West University (California, Clarion and Edinboro campuses) Shippensburg University Slippery Rock University
What was included in the PASSHE Design Accelerator? Facilitated design sessions to ideate and advance pilots to a project Team mentorship support to help maintain momentum Small group learning circles with curated subject matter experts providing insights to support the teams Seed funding to activate the projects
The Redesign Accelerator not only catalyzes creativity, it provides a reliable process—a playbook—for how to tackle the thorny challenges facing higher education.” Dr. Dan Greenstein, Chancellor, Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education
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ACCELERATOR SPOTLIGHT
Advancing impactful change across the PASSHE system
The Millersville University pilot initiative centered around the exploration of the "Millersville Experience," seeking to understand what this experience meant for students, faculty, and staff alike. Their journey, rooted in the EPPIIC value system, (Exploration, Professionalism, Public Mission, Integrity, Inclusion, and Compassion) included campus conversations that resulted in community building and actionable learning outcomes for the institution. The process included a micro-grant project for faculty, staff and students. ...the outcome from phase one of the project was a series of recommendations around revising the definitions, but then also taking it to phase two, which is what we're currently beginning through the rest of this semester, is taking those definitions and moving those into actionable institutional learning outcomes where we can measure them and use them not just for the student experience, but of course, the experience of our employees, our faculty and staff, and that we can do that across the division.” Rachel Finley-Bowman, Ph.D. Associate Provost for Student Success and Dean of University College Millersville University
Penn West University’s pilot employed a mixed-method approach to answer the question “what does it mean to be student centered?” Focus groups led by specially trained students and a survey engaged over 1000 stakeholders, including over 600 students at Penn West which comprises three “sister institutions”: California, Clarion and Edinboro universities. The experience produced a refined definition of student-centeredness across five overarching themes as well as strategic recommendations intended to guide the institution as it deploys new and innovative solutions.
We were pleasantly surprised when we worked with our VP of Institutional Effectiveness to make sure that this work was able to support really two major initiatives: our strategic planning as an institution, were this is embedded now; and also our Middle States Accreditation because Middle States, our accreditor loves data and evidence, and this is great evidence of we tell students that we are a certain way as an institution and now we have evidence to be able to show how we're trying to back that up to make sure our brand promise is very, very strong.” Josh Domitrovich, D.Ed, MBA, USAF (Vet.) Executive Director of the Career Center Penn West University
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ACCELERATOR SPOTLIGHT
Advancing impactful change across the PASSHE system
Shippensburg University embarked on a pilot project aimed at the revitalization of their University 101 firstsemester course. The goal was to highlight one of their existing high-impact practices while actively seeking to increase student retention rates. The redesigned University 101 course effectively offered the necessary structure and dedicated time to foster meaningful connections with faculty, essentially serving as a platform for faculty to act as co-advisors and provide just-in-time, essential guidance and support to the students. This solution was scaled more broadly across the institution via a Just Ask advising center The lessons learned by the Shippensburg team underscored the significant impact of faculty engagement on their students. The piece I'm giddy about are our second-year retention rates. We are right now tracking about 77%. Our goal was to try to get to 71.24%, so we have surpassed our goal and we are on track to maybe have the highest second-year retention rate in the history of the university.” Jennifer Haughie, Ed.D, Associate Vice President, Retention and Student Success, Shippensburg University
Slippery Rock University initiated a project focused on a comprehensive analysis of the academic departments' curriculum to uncover potential obstacles hindering students from successfully completing their degrees. They developed a collaborative process involving instructional designers and academic departments to address this challenge. Employing a backward design approach, they mapped the entire curriculum, tracing it from the capstone courses down to the entry-level classes. The objective was to identify any impediments that students might encounter along their academic journey. Multiple programs and departments are now embracing this effort. One thing I'll actually add that we've noticed, which was not expected was, but I think we actually experienced it during the Redesign Accelerator as a team and as a larger team, is that when faculty come together consistently as a group, there's more cohesion. The culture within the academic department becomes stronger, lines of communication become clearer, and everyone's voice has an opportunity to be heard and we're finding that the actual groups themselves seem to be moving more as a team forward in a specific direction. So that was unexpected finding.” Brian Danielson, Ed.D., Director Center for Teaching and Learning, Slippery Rock University
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WHY WORK WITH UDI?
The University Design Institute at ASU advances transformative change in global higher education The University Design Institute believes that universities can and should serve as core drivers of social impact and economic value. Yet most higher education institutions are designed to solve old problems. Higher education needs to be transformed through new models, purpose-driven partnerships, collaboration across sectors, leapfrogging ideas and a relentless focus on innovation. UDI is working to close the gap between how universities are currently organized and what they could be. We help universities move from problems to prototypes and build capacity within institutions to carry on the transformation work themselves. We believe that change is possible when we work together.
UDI has worked with 106 institutions in 23 countries
UDI is situated within the unique living laboratory of ASU
Why do universities partner with UDI?
For the past 20 years Arizona State University has redesigned itself from the core outward.
Co-design is a key tenet of UDI’s work. This guarantees our work together will be collaborative and contextualized. We are a neutral partner and utilize an inclusive process. UDI has no agenda to advance so all voices including faculty, staff, students and other stakeholders are part of an inclusive, transparent process. We engage a broad set of experts from both ASU and around the globe. Partners feel confident that emerging themes can be informed by some of the world’s best higher education thought leaders and implementers.
ASU transformed into a learner-centric institution, expanding pathways into the university and using data to shape services that support student success. ASU created structures and cultures to advance useinspired research that transcends traditional academic boundaries including over 160 interdisciplinary initiatives and centers across the institution. ASU reimagined how a university could resource big ideas to create value and economic impact for the region.
How did ASU transform itself? We understand universities because we are a university. UDI sits within Arizona State University - a university that has undergone significant transformation itself - so we understand the challenges and have learned lessons that come with this type of work.
Infusing a culture of innovation across the institution Designing purpose-driven partnerships with industry and government Leveraging technology to scale Utilizing the services of the University Design Institute
UDI‘s work at ASU engagements to shape new 40+ design schools & initiatives and to redesign colleges, schools and non-academic units trained university-wide 450+ leaders across administrators, faculty and staff University Design Institute | udi.asu.edu
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For inquiries, email:
udi@asu.edu