Our ultimate outcome is that higher education organizations eradicate barriers for Black, Latino/a/x, Indigenous, and other historically underserved students, while working in collaboration with others to create opportunities, institutional support, and policies, to ensure these students achieve postsecondary degrees of value leading to economic prosperity and social mobility.

Improving racial equity cannot be done by any one organization alone, but rather requires an intentional, aligned effort across multiple organizations that bring their unique strengths, perspectives, and resources to support Black, Latino/a/x, and Indigenous students. The network will bring a sense of urgency and intentional focus on the needs of Black, Latin/a/o/x, and Indigenous students. In addition to championing access, success, and affordability in higher education, the network will focus on solutions to improve economic and social mobility for these student populations beyond graduation, promoting ways to address deep inequities in hiring, wages, and career advancement. The collective impact network will spur changes in higher education in ways that explicitly respond to the lived experiences of Black, Latin/a/o/x, and Indigenous students. Network members will bring unique perspectives that provide a nuanced understanding of the challenges and solutions for equity in higher education

Our initial workplan is focused on:

1. Elevating policies that deliver equitable value for students at colleges and universities, higher education systems, and state and federal agencies;
2. Developing new strategies and lifting up existing equity-driven practices to improve credit recognition and transfer, investment in higher education, data use to advance career outcomes and economic mobility, and technical assistance approaches through a racial equity lens;
3. Calling upon systems and institutions to analyze their programs and outcomes, identify patterns of disparities, and dismantle racist structures; and
4. Mobilizing and supporting institutions in adopting practices that provide equal opportunity to credentials of value for Black, Latino/a/x, and Indigenous students.

Our initial activities are focused on elevating best practices in transfer processes that support Black, Latino/a/x, and Indigenous students; helping institutions identify technical assistance providers with a racial equity focus; and elevating best practices in data use to improve career outcomes and economic mobility for Black, Latino/a/x, Indigenous students.

The Higher Ed Equity Network brings together leaders and organizations at the forefront of driving change in higher education to collaborate on creating equitable systems that embrace the full potential and value of Black, Latino/a/x, Indigenous, and other students who are harmed by persistent systemic barriers linked to their racial and ethnic identities.
Here is a list of the organizations in the Network.

At this time, the Higher Ed Equity Network is not accepting new network members. However, if you are interested in learning more about membership, please reach out to us at: [email protected]

Please fill out this form, and we will respond as soon as we can

Catalyst:Ed is a national nonprofit that catalyzes equity, innovation, and improvement in education by connecting leaders to critical expertise, knowledge, and resources. Catalyst:Ed helps school systems, education agencies, postsecondary institutions, education nonprofits and philanthropies tap into the expertise of a network of diverse and equity centered education leaders and technical assistance providers in order to spur change and power organizational learning and capacity building.

Catalyst:Ed serves as the network manager and provides leadership, guidance, coordination, and support to the network. As the network manager, Catalyst:Ed supports the implementation of the network’s strategy and vision, works closely with the governing board and strategy coalition chairs to advance the network’s goals and activities, and facilitates engagement across network members and stakeholders.

The network’s collaboration work is funded through patron members who are committed to ensuring that the sum of our impact is greater than what we can achieve as individual organizations. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation supports the network as a founding patron member. To learn more about how to become a patron member, please contact [email protected]

The Governing Board provides the vision and strategic direction for the network, champions the network’s impact goals and related outcomes, and ensures communication and alignment among the network’s working strategy coalitions. Every three years, members elect a governing board.

General Inquiries: [email protected]