Lumen Learning Partners with APLU to Pilot Equitable Courseware at More Universities

• By Rhea Kelly
• 08/23/22

Digital courseware provider Lumen Learning is working with the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities to bring Lumen's Introduction to Statistics course to more colleges and universities across the United States. The collaboration is part of Lumen's Gates Foundation-funded effort to create and implement equitable course materials that will boost student success.

Introduction to Statistics is a "critical 'gateway course' proven to have the highest dropout and failure rates among underserved and minority students," Lumen explained in a news announcement. To inform the courseware creation process, the company has opened user testing centers at minority serving institutions such as New York's Rockland Community College and Santa Ana College in California, which collect feedback directly from students. It is also working with Howard University on platform development and faculty support.   

Through the partnership with APLU, Lumen will connect with key APLU member institutions — which are focused on supporting large populations of students — to "help both Lumen and potential academic partners understand adoption and scaling of the pilot courseware to further establish the program's impact," the announcement said. Pilots are already launching at Florida International University, Georgia State University, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, and South Texas College.

"We are extremely aligned with Lumen Learning in the purpose of improving teaching and learning for more student success, particularly minority and underserved students," said Karen Vignare, executive director of the Personalized Learning Consortium at APLU, in a statement. "What makes our partnership unique is that we are using high-quality digital tools that provide faculty with enhanced courseware designed for more equitable outcomes, improved instruction, and more student preparedness and engagement for those participating in gateway courses like Introduction to Statistics."

"We are extremely thankful to be able to partner with the talented faculty and staff at APLU that will allow us to successfully reach a wide range of students that will benefit from our cutting-edge Intro to Statistics courseware," commented Kim Thanos, co-founder and CEO of Lumen Learning. "With our new ability to scale our courseware to academic institutions across the country, we will better reach our ultimate goal in delivering more relevant digital learning through our unparalleled learning solutions."

"Collaborating with APLU will allow us to bring our diverse capabilities together in support of a common mission in creating equitable success for students of all races, ethnicities, and socioeconomic status across the country," said David Wiley, co-founder and chief academic officer of Lumen Learning. "APLU has great expertise in helping institutions implement and scale innovations like this, and Lumen's expertise in creating innovation solutions will drive results and help us to create courseware that will enable unprecedented learning outcomes for all students."