Dear Friends and Colleagues:

In last year’s annual report, we introduced our updated strategy to support our mission to ensure all Texas students complete a postsecondary credential. I outlined:

1) how our strategy helps us define our work through different roles, including grantmaker, convener, partner, communicator, and policy advisor, and

2) how our strategy allows us to hone in on certain issues – rural, mathematics for college readiness, transfer from colleges to universities, and transition from high school to postsecondary education – but provides the flexibility to take on new issues as the field evolves.

In 2015, we were thankful for the flexibility within our strategy as we have seen the field move toward creating guided pathways for Texas students. Guided pathways is based on the premise that students should have clear, cohesive paths to their postsecondary goals. They should receive advising and support to help them stay on their intended path and should be learning all along the way.

As we learn more about our strategy and our priority issue areas, we are finding guided pathways is the right direction for our state and also a natural framework for thinking about our strategy, particularly with respect to transitions, math, and transfer.

Many of our partners are working hard to ensure students are on a clear pathway. You’ll see in this report, for example, the work of the Texas Regional STEM Degree Accelerator to ensure students in different areas of the state are on a clear path to a postsecondary credential aligned with their region’s workforce needs. You’ll see how College Forward is helping Sul Ross State University students stay on their path to a postsecondary credential, also highlighting the critical importance of ensuring strong pathways for students in our state’s rural areas. You’ll see how Lee College is helping rural students start an early path to a technical credential with it’s innovative Dual Credit Institute. The examples could go on and on.

Read more about how pathways is aligned with our strategy as well as how the El Paso region is smoothing pathways and removing barriers for its growing early college high school population in the “Looking Forward” section of our report.

We hope you enjoy reading about the great work of our partners and what we’ve been up to at GTF.
Thank you for your partnership and all you do to support Texas students.

Sincerely,

Wynn Rosser, Ph.D.
President & CEO

Dr. Rosser completed his tenure with Greater Texas Foundation on August 31, 2016.