Too many institutions, in focusing on competition, rankings and prestige, have given short shrift to their role in growing the middle class and helping less advantaged Americans move up, writes Bridget Burns, founding executive director of the University Innovation Alliance, in this op-ed.

Better outcomes and graduation rates are possible for underrepresented and low-income students if institutions work together and share what they've learned, she says. This week, the UIA released results from its own work to improve student success—lessons it believes can be applied at institutions across the country.

As a working mom, attending career-building classes outside of her job did not fit well into Kandyce Ashlock’s life.

Ashlock works at CareNow Urgent Care, an integrated line of business for HCA Healthcare. A new partnership between her employer and The College of Health Care Professions (CHCP) in Texas is giving the medical assistant an opportunity to take a step up in her career by training online—and while at work—to become a limited medical radiography technologist.