Turnover solutions are varied

Tennessee Reconnect, which started as a small-scale "mentorship and financial support program", has now been adopted and expanded throughout the state as a way to help adults start or continue higher education. Now in its second year, the program matches applicants with "navigators," adult mentors who understand the specific student's financial and social challenges and helps them navigate the process every step of the way. The program also provides funding to students to pay for coursework and is now looking to expand its operations to jails and prisons.

Amazon has developed a cloud computing certificate. It is one of a growing number of technology companies partnering with community colleges and increasingly four year colleges to offer vendor-specific curriculum. But critics don't believe colleges will be able to change coursework as fast as the quickly evolving industry requires and argue that such as an approach is an imposition on academic freedom.

Since the passage of a new law in 2013 that called for "closer coordination between academic institutions and industry" in response to a high unemployment rate, Kenya has shifted dramatically from its theory-based higher education approach to coursework that delivers technical education. So far, the initiatives are up against outdated equipment and a negative perception of the program among young people.

At St. Vrain, a public school in Boulder County, Colorado's district, students work on projects for IBM and about 100 other industry partners, sometimes earning money and college credits in the process. Educators from across the country are flocking to the school to understand how its STEM curriculum and innovative partnerships are increasing the Latino graduation rate and dramatically decreasing the number of suspensions districtwide.

Amidst the rise of new forms and packages of higher education, a traditional four year college with no computer science department of its own and a coding boot camp are joining forces. Students at Dominican University of California can now take computer science coursework at Make School, while Make School learners can engage in liberal arts courses at Dominican.

Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus is treating its patients both inside the hospital and in their community by helping to fund the construction of affordable housing and a workforce initiative that is creating jobs. Through these actions, the hospital recognizes that to properly care for their patients they need to not only address their personal health but also the social determinants of heath.

Dallas' Paul Quinn College is changing the dated perception of work colleges. At the first urban and historically black work college, students are graded on both academic and workforce performance. In the next few years, Paul Quinn hopes to expand its model into a national network of schools, with the goal of introducing students to corporate connections and offering an alternative to overwhelming student debt.

In Switzerland, 30 percent of companies host high school age children for paid apprenticeships. These same companies are involved in setting the national standards for skills required for specific professions. This statistic illustrates the embedded nature of dual vocational and educational training programs in Swiss economic culture: "Apprenticeships and vocational education programs train both welders and lawyers alike." In light of Betsy Devos' recent trip to Switzerland, Quartz asks what barriers exist in the United States that would prevent schools from adopting the same approach.

The Akilah Institute, the first all-female college in Rwanda, is empowering women to be financially independent through training in entrepreneurship, the hospitality industry and information technology.

By partnering with the Mayo Clinic, focusing on just two bachelor's degree programs (in health sciences), and emphasizing the importance of close support systems between faculty and students, the decade-old University of Minnesota at Rochester is quickly closing achievement gaps. Can the model, which is currently being used with a small 500-student school, be successfully transferred to other higher education institutions?