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About the MOA-TN initiative

The Making Opportunity Affordable initiative aims to improve higher education efficiency in order to produce more college graduates. MOA is not alone in improving education. Other Tennessee initiatives have worked to increase the efficiency of education in the state as well, including the following;

Complete College America

In March 2010, Tennessee joined the Complete College America Alliance of States. The CCA alliance intends to "take bold actions to significantly increase the number of students successfully completing college and achieving degrees and credentials with value in the labor market and close attainment gaps for traditionally underrepresented populations." From www.completecollege.org.

Tennessee Diploma Project

In January 2007, Tennessee joined the American Diploma Project (ADP) Network, a coalition of 29 states dedicated to aligning high school curriculum, standards, assessments, and accountability policies with the demands of college and work. The ADP Network is the flagship initiative of Achieve Inc., a bipartisan nonprofit organization that helps states raise academic standards, improve assessments and strengthen accountability to prepare young people for postsecondary education, work and citizenship.

The ADP Network calls on states to commit to four key priorities:

  1. Align high school standards with the demands of college and work;
  2. Require students to complete a college- and work-ready curriculum so that earning a diploma ensures that a student is ready for postsecondary opportunities;
  3. Build college- and work-ready measures into statewide high school assessment systems; and
  4. Hold high schools and postsecondary institutions accountable for student preparation and success.


College and Career-Ready Policy Institute

The Institute is designed to help states put K-12 assessment and accountability systems in place that will ensure that all students graduate from high school college- and career-ready. In addition, the Institute will also assist states, including Tennessee, in developing strategies for building the capacity of districts and schools so that all students successfully reach higher standards

Tennessee Developmental Studies Redesign

In October, 2006, The Tennessee Board of Regents and the Education Commission of the states received a three-year grant from the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) at the U.S. Department of Education to implement the Academic Preparation Initiative, also known as the Developmental Studies Redesign Project. The project seeks to broaden access and success, and create a more affordable system of higher education for students by developing and implementing a more efficient delivery and assessment system to ensure college readiness through a comprehensive design of Tennessee Board of Regents developmental studies programs.

CEOs for Cities Talent Dividend

The biggest predictor of success for cities today is educational attainment. The better educated the population is, the more robust the economy will be. In order to integrate educational attainment goals into city planning, CEOs for Cities calculated the Talent Dividend. The Talent Dividend identifies the economic impact of increasing the four-year college attainment rate by one percent. If the 51 largest cities in America increased their attainment rate by one percent, the economic impact would be $124 billion annually. Memphis, Tennessee was the first stop in the CEOs for Cities Talent Dividend Tour.