The ESP Change Model centers data agency and curricular redesign as levers of change to remove barriers to student success and close gaps in outcomes. The model was collaboratively developed and implemented with the University of Texas System’s nine academic universities over three years of the Exemplary Student Pathways Project, with generous support from the Lumina and Trellis Foundations.
Between 2022-24, the UT System funded 22 projects leading institutional teams through a process of refinement of a curricular problem, facilitated data discovery, and the development of an action plan focused on stakeholder engagement, assessment, continuous improvement, and sustainability. Project Profiles can be found here.
The ESP Project addresses two challenges faced by higher ed:
- Leaders and practitioners are inundated with data and yet don’t always have the capacity to access and act on it; and
- The curriculum is structurally stagnant in ways that do not meet the needs of the modern learners we strive to educate, whether due to legacy practices, structural complexity, or cultural norms.
To learn more about the ESP Project and Change Model, access the ESP Playbook, an online, interactive resource designed to guide institutions in replicating and adapting the ESP Change Model.
The Playbook includes references to a variety of materials designed to support your use of the ESP model, available in the ESP Playbook Resource Library, a curated hub of tools, templates, self-assessment rubrics and examples.
