What Does It Mean for UCLA, Exactly?

University Leaders Nationwide Launch Taskforce on Higher Education and Opportunity

Today (3-16-21), leaders from 38 higher education institutions and partner organizations launched the Taskforce on Higher Education and Opportunity. They are driven to act by the challenges of the pandemic, income inequality, the changing nature of work, and unemployment among recent college graduates being nearly double the 2008 recession. The impact of this crisis is falling unevenly across groups, disproportionately impacting people of color no matter their educational backgrounds. The Taskforce will provide greater opportunity to students and their communities, while reimagining higher education's contribution to society and sharing insights with the broader education community.

The Taskforce brings together members from across American higher education, including public, private, two-year, and four-year institutions that represent 2.5 million students nationwide. Taskforce members are focused on three key goals: ensuring student success despite the worst recession since World War II, partnering with local communities, and reimagining how higher education is delivered.

Schools will take individual and collective action to meet the shared mission of the Taskforce through new goals set every six months. Member institutions are now launching the first round of initiatives to prepare the graduates of 2021 - 2023 for success in the post-pandemic economy. In the coming months, Taskforce members will develop programs to support local communities, and additional programs will follow to reimagine the future of higher education and prepare students for work in a post-pandemic world.

...For the first round of initiatives, Taskforce members are taking action to set students and graduates up for success and security in the post-pandemic economy. That includes creating opportunities for students to gain valuable skills and professional experience. The first round of initiatives will help prepare students for post-graduate employment through internships, mentoring, credentialing opportunities, and other professional development programs...

Full release at https://taskforceonhighered.org/news

Chancellor Block is listed as a signatory. So UCLA is committed to doing what, exactly? Does anyone know? Does the Academic Senate know?

 PS: Our previous post today raises the question of Grand Concept vs. actual implementation.