SDP Convening 2025

If we offer college for free, students will go—but will they stay and complete their degrees?  That’s the question Hope Chicago, a scholarship-focused nonprofit, hoped to answer with its innovative, data-driven approach to improving student outcomes. The...

Imagine walking into the lighting aisle at Lowe’s. Your lamp went out, and you need a new light bulb. Perusing the shelves, you see a million varieties: incandescent, halogen, CFLs, and LEDs; 25, 40, 60, 75 and 100 watts; standard, blunt tip, conical...

Going around the room, each participant cast their memory back to share one word that defined the first weeks of college. Almost universally, the words returned to the same theme: overwhelming, lost, confused, disoriented. Though their stories were unique...