Guides

Guides for Postsecondary Success

Our guides offer postsecondary institutions and policymakers in Michigan practical, evidence-based support for advancing adult learner success. By summarizing proven approaches and highlighting real-world implementation, these guides help stakeholders replicate what works—quickly and effectively.

Why These Guides Matter

Michigan institutions are innovating, and many have already begun learning from their peer organizations. Our guides go beyond these beginnings to distill case studies, frameworks, and lessons from across the state and the nation. Moreover, they offer a clear roadmap for translating strategy into practice, whether you’re designing equitable advising models, building stackable credentials, or expanding credit for prior learning.

What You’ll Find in the Guides

  • Student Support Models: Explore holistic advising, wraparound services, and guided pathways.

  • Program Design Tools: Learn how to implement corequisite learning, competency-based education, and micro-credentials.

  • Policy & Funding Insights: Discover strategies for aligning with statewide initiatives like Michigan Reconnect and Sixty by 30.

  • Implementation Checklists: Use practical templates to guide stakeholder engagement, pilot design, and impact evaluation.

How to Use Our Guides

The guides are useful regardless of institutional role. For example, administrators can adapt templates for grant proposals or change management planning. Faculty can apply design tools in department-level projects. Policymakers can use the insights to craft supportive statewide policies. For example, you could use guidance from Lumina or CAEL—accessible via their toolkits—to reinforce your institutional strategy. 

More Resources to Explore

  • External Insights—a curated collection of national and state research and reports.

  • Learner Profiles—enrollment trends and demographics from Michigan’s adult learner data dashboards.

  • MI‑LEARN Design Lab—design support for competency-based and system redesign efforts.

Join the Guide-to-Action Network

By engaging with our guides, you join a growing community working to scale scalable, sustainable solutions for adult learners. Together, we can build a more responsive, equitable postsecondary system—one that supports learners today and prepares Michigan for tomorrow.

Photo by Allison Shelley/Complete College Photo Library