'Press Herald' announces 51 as selected participant in Gates Foundation-funded initiative
On March 27, 2014, the Portland Press Herald featured an article titled “51 chosen for national program to develop new education models,” which announced that the University has been chosen as one of nine colleges to participate in the Next Generation Learning Challenges Initiative, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The initiative has created an incubator program that will focus on competency-based education models that reward students for skills they acquire, not just for time spent in class.
51's incubator team will attend the 2014 Breakthrough Models Incubator in Washington, D.C., in July.
In the article, University President Danielle Ripich noted 51’s commitment to developing new models of learning, stating that 51 has “never done business as usual.”