EmpowerED Community of Practice Project

an SBCTC and Jobs for the Future (JFF) Student Success Collaboration

About the Project

The EmpowerED CoP (formerly known as Early Adopter Advising Technology Implementation) Project is a statewide initiative led by the Washington Student Success Center (SBCTC) in partnership with Jobs for the Future (JFF). This year-long project supports a cohort of community and technical colleges as they adopt or expand student success and advising platforms—such as ConexED—to strengthen Guided Pathways implementation.

The goal is to build stronger, equity-centered advising systems that help students navigate from entry to completion with clarity and support. Participating colleges receive funding, coaching, and access to a collaborative Community of Practice (CoP) focused on sustainable, student-centered transformation. This initiative supports Guided Pathways reforms by streamlining student support, improving advising structures, and fostering equitable educational outcomes.

FAQ

EmpowerED CoP Charter

Watch Informational Webinar

Project Guidelines

Learn more about our partner, Jobs for the Future (JFF):

Transforming systems for the workforce of the future - Jobs for the Future (JFF)Discover the workforce of the future. At Jobs for the Future, we drive transformation in U.S. education and workforce systems, fostering equitable economic advancement for all.

Tool Spotlight: ConexED

Student Experience Platform of The Future - ConexEDWe believe students and staff deserve a future-forward student services platform that does it all with no hiccups. That’s why we’re reinventing EdTech for an era that demands and deserves more.

🎊 CONGRATULATIONS to our Participating Colleges (2025-26)

Six colleges were selected through a competitive process to serve as early adopters and leaders for future statewide implementation:

As early adopters, these colleges are leading the way in shaping the future of advising and student success—pioneering innovative practices that will inform and inspire change across our entire system.

Project Updates & Highlights

This project is designed to be collaborative and transparent. Regular updates will be shared here, including emerging lessons from implementation, spotlights on local innovation, and insights from student engagement.

📌 Stay tuned for upcoming stories from participating colleges and lessons that will inform statewide advising technology adoption.

CoP Meeting #1- June 2025 (In-Person)

The EmpowerED Community of Practice met for the first time in person at the SBCTC offices in Olympia, WA. During the session, the group clarified its purpose and engaged in visioning exercises to outline key goals for the coming year. Colleges began the project with a range of local challenges (e.g., outdated systems for scheduling, case management, and tracking), but all shared a vision for improving the future state of advising for their students.

The group previewed the new advising platform, ConexED, and discussed anticipated implementation challenges, including change management, two-way integration, and college-wide user adoption. Colleges also began developing strategies to ensure students and staff have timely technology support, manageable processes for case notes, and accessible reporting tools.

CoP Meeting #2- August 2025 (Virtual)

The second meeting was held virtually via Zoom and focused on ConexED features, implementation timelines, student engagement strategies, and team progress.

Highlights from colleges:

Cross-Functional Collaboration: Teams are forming across departments and districts with shared planning underway.
Student Engagement: Students are providing input via surveys and focus groups, with compensation (e.g., gift cards) for their time and expertise.
Advising Reform & Frameworks: Colleges are conducting advising scans with JFF and restructuring advising models, launching frameworks and degree planning tools.
ConexED Adoption: Demos are underway, with contracts anticipated in September.

Colleges are also addressing key priorities:

Continuity: Sustaining advisor capacity during staff transitions.
Streamlining: Strengthening referral systems to clarify support connections.
Integration: Ensuring smooth two-way integration with ctcLink and transitioning from existing platforms.
Optimization: Aligning ConexED with Guided Pathways and business processes for maximum impact.