Ashford University has joined Transparency by Design, a consortium of accredited colleges and universities aimed at providing adult learners with better information in choosing a degree-granting, distance education institution.  

Last week, Transparency by Design launched a new Web site, www.collegechoicesforadults.org, offering adult learners information on program-level learning outcomes, how outcomes are measured and how students performed on these measures. In the next stage, still in development, adult learners will have access to student satisfaction, progress rate and other data on each member institution participating in the initiative. 

"On behalf of our academic institutions, we are pleased to be collaborating with members of the Transparency by Design consortium. These types of partnerships raise the bar and take us all to new levels of achievement," said Dr. Jane McAuliffe, Bridgepoint Education’s Chief Academic Officer. "This initiative enables potential students to make more informed decisions about their educational experience. We look forward to sharing our expertise and learning best practices from each of our peer institutions involved." 

The Transparency by Design initiative, which resulted in the College Choices for Adults Web site, was born out of The President’s Forum, which is a consortium of both traditional and non-traditional institutions sharing information about successful operation in an online environment. WCET (formerly the Western Cooperative for Educational Telecommunications), a division of the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE), was chosen to provide quality assurance on the standards of data reporting jointly developed by the charter institutions of the Transparency by Design initiative. 

"College Choices for Adults isn’t about colleges promoting their wares, but creating an environment where we can help adult students make more informed choices on attending college, what opportunities there are to learn at a distance and what institutions match up on their needs," said Russ Poulin, Project Director of Transparency by Design and Associate Director of WCET. “We’re excited to roll out more services to help students make informed choices.”  

Transparency by Design is funded by a generous grant from Lumina Foundation for Education and by contributions from each of the member institutions. Lumina Foundation for Education is committed to enrolling and graduating more students from college — especially low-income students, students of color, first-generation students and adult learners. The organization’s goal is to increase the percentage of Americans who hold high-quality degrees and credentials to 60 percent by 2025.  

About Ashford University

Founded in 1918, Ashford University is a coeducational institution regionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, with programs in education, business, accounting, criminal and social justice, computer animation and graphic design, and other areas.  The University offers undergraduate and graduate degrees, as well as a range of student activities and athletics, at its Clinton campus.  Online degree programs are available in education, organizational management, business administration, and psychology.  The University is known for its high quality yet highly affordable on-campus and online programs, with tuition fees among the lowest in the U.S. compared to other private institutions.  Its tagline is: “Higher Education Made Affordable”^SM.  For more information, please visit www.ashford.edu or contact Shari Rodriguez, director of Public Relations, at 858.513.9240 x2513.