HCM Strategists (HCM) is an impact-driven consulting firm focused on the transformative power of education to improve social and economic mobility. Founded in 2008, its goal is to be practical problem solvers contributing to meaningful and equitable change for communities underserved by our education systems.
HCM focuses on pre-K, K-12, postsecondary, and work-based learning to improve social and economic mobility for all. HCM's approaches include work across the political aisle to achieve impact, considering the unique context of each state in which it works, bridging the gap between public policies and the people they affect -- within its core mission of equitable outcomes for all learners.
Examples of HCM's work include:
- Exploring the Exodus from Higher Education & Ways to Fix It
- Partnering with EDGE Research for the Gates Foundation to ask over 1600 high school graduates in seven states (California, Florida, New York, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington) why they are opting out of college.
- Providing Strategic Counsel for Redefining Rural Education
- A new advocacy and research organization that challenges Capitol Hill leaders to rethink how they evaluate and fund rural and regional colleges.
- TransferBOOST
- TransferBOOST is part of ECMC Foundation’s Catalyzing Transfer Initiative (CTI), a national shared learning and collaboration effort between high-impact non-profit organizations that build, manage, and activate new ways to increase successful transfer of postsecondary credits and timely bachelor’s degree completion among marginalized racial and ethnic groups.
- A Typology and Policy Landscape Analysis of State Investments in Short-Term Credential Pathways
- Research published in 2023 defined “short-term credentials as educational achievements that require less than one year of full-time study, aligning with the definition commonly used in federal data systems.”
Resources
Providing Strategic Counsel for Redefining Rural Education
TransferBOOST
A Typology and Policy Landscape Analysis of State Investments in Short Term Credential Pathways.
