State & System Engagement

Aspen partners with state and system leaders to provide professional development to institutional leaders on how to advance student success and develop the institutional capacities needed to enact scaled and sustained reforms. We deliver virtual and in-person programs for presidents, their trustees, leadership teams, and mid-level leaders using research from the Aspen Prize process, Aspen’s playbooks and publications, and other field research. Curricular modules include student success strategies in access, completion, transfer, workforce, and teaching and learning. We also offer sessions on six institutional capacities: senior teams, boards, strategic finance, human capital, data use, and implementation systems. Programming is customized with state and system partners to align with their goals, contexts, and audiences. Our state and system engagements are designed to lead to practical reform strategies and plans, and include presentations from senior Aspen staff, Aspen Senior Fellows and other field experts as well as group activities centered around data analysis, qualitative assessment results, and guided questions and discussion.

The Maryland Transfer Intensive (Maryland Intensive) is a multi-year initiative aimed at substantially improving transfer and bachelor’s attainment outcomes for community college students across Maryland. The goal of the program is to support greater economic mobility and security for Maryland residents and develop a diverse talent pool to strengthen the state’s workforce and communities. The Maryland Intensive is a collaboration with the Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC) and is supported by the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation.

Our Approach and Mission

The Maryland Statewide Transfer Intensive program is committed to driving meaningful improvements by focusing on:

• Data and Analytics: Enhancing data collection and utilization to better inform transfer pathways.
• Leadership Engagement: Activating state and institutional leaders to prioritize transfer student success.
• Institutional and Partnership Practices: Strengthening and scaling best practices that foster strong and equitable transfer student outcomes and experiences.

Key Dates

• Maryland Transfer Intensive Kick Off: February 4, 2025
• Designing Transformational Transfer Models [In-Person]: June 25, 2025

Download a PDF of the full program schedule.

Questions?

Contact Program Manager Bernard Huggins with any questions: bernard.huggins@aspeninstitute.org

The Presidential Steering Committee on Transfer Student Success was convened by the Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC) and charged with identifying a statewide vision and agenda for transfer student success in Maryland. The Maryland Transfer Intensive will support institutions and partnership teams of community colleges and four-year institutions in Maryland to develop a Strategic Transfer Excellence Plan aligned to this vision.