About the Coalition
Level Up is a collaborative of local, state, and national partners committed to significantly increasing the number of high school students prepared for and successfully transitioning to postsecondary education and training programs.
As leaders of institutions, systems, agencies, and organizations, we believe the time is right to level up our efforts to support postsecondary transitions and commit to engage our staff, peers, and community in this work. We will leverage the highest-impact actions to significantly increase the number of students prepared for and succeeding in postsecondary education and training.
Through our efforts, we aim to level the playing field for students of color, first-generation students and those from low-income backgrounds, and put all students—and our country as a whole—on a higher level for economic opportunity.
Our Mission
As K-12 and higher education leaders and advocates, our coalition stands together to level up our alignment efforts and accelerate student transitions. Postsecondary readiness and success must be a priority for every student, educator and policymaker to ensure that the transition between high school and postsecondary education is a launch pad, not a hurdle.
Level Up will support state and local K-12 and higher education leaders in jointly developing and executing a postsecondary transition strategy to measurably increase the preparation and success of all students, with an explicit focus on students of color, those from low-income families, and whose parents did not attend college.
Learn more about Elements of a Strong Postsecondary Transitions Strategy.
How Level Up Will Get There
The process of aligning expectations, improving transitions, and, ultimately, helping more students succeed from start to finish is complex. It requires collaboration between K-12 and higher education leaders, and well as state and local government. As a coalition, Level Up will:
- Shine a spotlight on places that are getting results, working to identify and promote how to bring about significant change.
- Increase the number of states and communities with strong postsecondary transition strategies and provide supports to help them get there.
- Focus efforts on closing gaps so that students of color, low-income students, and first-generation college students can find postsecondary success at the same rate as their peers.