Professional Learning Communities - Pass: Promoting At-Promise Student Success

Professional Learning Communities (PLCs)

A postsecondary Professional Learning Community (PLC) brings together a cross-functional group of educators (i.e., faculty, student affairs practitioners, academic affairs practitioners, central affairs administrators, ) to learn in community, imagine ways to improve practice, and implement change efforts. PASS PLCs seek to create spaces where educators can explore the concept of ecological validation and strategize ways to bolster support to at-promise students.

On this page, you’ll find resources for running PLCs in higher education settings and explore lessons learned through our collaboration with our University of Nebraska practitioner partners.

PLC Quickstart Guide

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Creating systemic culture change and solving vexing problems on campus: The promise of professional learning communities in higher education.

Kezar, A., Corwin, Z.B, Hallett, R.E, Hypolite, L., & Nagbe, M. (2022).

Ongoing challenges in higher education require innovative thinking, but we have few structures in place to support learning to address these challenges. While we have standing groups (e.g., committees and councils) and episodic groups (e.g., task forces), few groups focus on learning together to improve practice across the campus. One exception is faculty learning communities, which are becoming more common as a way for instructors to come together and read about a pedagogical strategy, such as active learning, and work collectively to alter their approach to teaching.

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Considering college students as “at-promise.”

This brief advocates for using a strengths-based "at-promise" approach to describe and support marginalized students in higher education, moving away from deficit-oriented "at-risk" terminology. It highlights the dual focus of recognizing students' potential and institutional responsibility to remove barriers while fostering equitable and inclusive environments for success.

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Cross functional professional learning communities in higher education.

This brief provides an overview of how PLCs can be used in higher education. We discuss the origin of PLCs and compare them to other improvement processes in the higher education field. We then explain what a cross functional PLC is and why postsecondary institutions may benefit from using them. We end with some guiding questions to help campus stakeholders decide if this approach would be useful for your campus.

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Who is an educator on your campus?

This brief redefines the role of an educator on college campuses, emphasizing that all faculty, staff, and administrators contribute to student learning and success. It advocates for a student-centered approach to interactions, policies, and practices, promoting collaboration and systemic cultural change to address students' multifaceted needs effectively.

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Ecological validation coordinating groups: Key processes related to campus-wide culture change.

This brief outlines key processes for Ecological Validation (EV) Coordinating Groups to drive campus-wide cultural change that improves outcomes for at-promise students. It emphasizes strategies like mapping student experiences, developing professional development initiatives, and fostering sustainable leadership networks to embed EV principles across institutional practices.

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Considering college students as “at-promise.”

This brief advocates for using a strengths-based "at-promise" approach to describe and support marginalized students in higher education, moving away from deficit-oriented "at-risk" terminology. It highlights the dual focus of recognizing students' potential and institutional responsibility to remove barriers while fostering equitable and inclusive environments for success.

'}}

Cross functional professional learning communities in higher education.

This brief provides an overview of how PLCs can be used in higher education. We discuss the origin of PLCs and compare them to other improvement processes in the higher education field. We then explain what a cross functional PLC is and why postsecondary institutions may benefit from using them. We end with some guiding questions to help campus stakeholders decide if this approach would be useful for your campus.

'}}

Who is an educator on your campus?

This brief redefines the role of an educator on college campuses, emphasizing that all faculty, staff, and administrators contribute to student learning and success. It advocates for a student-centered approach to interactions, policies, and practices, promoting collaboration and systemic cultural change to address students' multifaceted needs effectively.

'}}

Ecological validation coordinating groups: Key processes related to campus-wide culture change.

This brief outlines key processes for Ecological Validation (EV) Coordinating Groups to drive campus-wide cultural change that improves outcomes for at-promise students. It emphasizes strategies like mapping student experiences, developing professional development initiatives, and fostering sustainable leadership networks to embed EV principles across institutional practices.

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Creating a constellation of student support using ecological validation.

This activity brief outlines a step-by-step process for creating a "constellation of student support" using ecological validation principles to address systemic challenges in higher education. It emphasizes cross-functional collaboration, leveraging existing resources, and centering student success through proactive, holistic, and identity-conscious approaches.

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Developing a summit or professional development event.

This activity brief offers a guide for planning summits or professional development events focused on promoting ecological validation and systemic cultural change in higher education. It includes strategies for defining event goals, engaging cross-functional participants, fostering collaboration, and utilizing data to measure impact and inform future efforts.

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Improving communications to at-promise students: A validating approach.

This activity brief explores how institutions can improve communications with at-promise students by applying an ecological validation framework. It includes strategies for addressing communication overload, conducting student feedback through focus groups, and auditing email practices to ensure messaging is meaningful, inclusive, and supportive of student success.

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Ecological validation reflection tool for educators. [To guide individual reflection]

This tool guides individual reflection on how educators can align their practices with ecological validation principles, focusing on strengths-based, holistic, identity-conscious, and developmental approaches. The tool encourages self-assessment, collaboration with colleagues, and actionable steps to improve student support, emphasizing proactive and reflective practices in higher education.

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Ecological validation reflection tool for educators. [For use at the unit or programatic level]

This tool helps professional units assess how well they integrate ecological validation principles in supporting at-promise students. The tool includes guiding questions for group reflection, evaluates key norms like holistic, strengths-oriented, and identity-conscious approaches, and helps track progress through actionable steps aimed at enhancing cultural change within units.

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Assessing campus culture through an ecological validation lens.

This tool provides a framework for assessing the integration of ecological validation (EV) into campus cultures to support at-promise students. It offers tools and metrics for evaluating progress in areas such as outreach, cross-functional collaboration, leadership engagement, data use, and reflective practices, emphasizing the importance of sustainable, systemic change at institutional levels.

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Reflection tool – Sustaining the work of the coordinating group.

This tool provides a framework for evaluating the ongoing impact of ecological validation efforts on campus culture. It guides the development of reports and presentations to campus leadership, highlights accomplishments, shares challenges, and outlines next steps for sustaining work on at-promise student support through continued learning, resource alignment, and engagement with institutional leadership.