UPDATE: WE DID IT! THANK YOU!!!
Our campaign has ended with 801 people contributing a total of $206,451 towards helping to reimagine higher education. We can't thank you enough for your support.
Even if the campaign has ended, you can still support and contribute to helping us launch by going to our website directly here:
wayfindingacademy.org
WE ARE THE WAYFINDING ACADEMY
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We're a group of professors, students, higher education professionals, non-profit and community leaders, and everyday citizens with over 100 years of experience in higher education who know college can be the incredible experience it promises to be. Right now too many students can't afford college, drop out, or even finish college without finding direction or purposes in their lives. We believe there is a better way.
We are starting our own college. A new model for higher education.
COLLEGE REIMAGINED
The current model for higher education works for some people, but not all. You might know someone who:
- has a job unrelated to their major;
- went to college as a rite of passage, but wasn't ready;
- has interests that don’t fit in a specific major;
- learns better through experience than in a classroom;
- wants guidance to help discover their strengths, passions, and interests;
- accumulated an unacceptable amount of student loan debt;
- has a job they are not passionate about.
The Wayfinding Academy will be an affordable, 2-year college based in Portland, Oregon focused on what matters most in education: real world experience, community support and individual passion.
Students won’t be asked to choose a major from a list, they’ll be supported in discovering their own personal mission. They’ll take core classes building skills that will serve them on any path. And they’ll work with advisors to create handcrafted experiences meaningful to them and build a portfolio through real experiences. We stand committed to helping students find their pathway, so when a student graduates from the Wayfinding Academy, we guarantee we will work with them to plan and execute their next steps. We promise
no student will leave the Wayfinding Academy not knowing what they are
doing next.
WHAT WILL IT BE LIKE TO BE A WAYFINDING ACADEMY STUDENT?
We will start by getting to know our students and what they are passionate about. What they might be good at. What they might want to spend their time doing. We will connect them with experiences that will help them explore what those options might be.
When a student arrives they will participate in a cornerstone course called Passion Based Leadership where they will engage with these questions:
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Students will then be given a team of 2-3 advisors and community mentors who will help them take some next steps based on their interests, the options they would like to explore, and the skills they would like to build. They will sit together and map out a portfolio of experiences for the student to complete. All students will choose a topic or issue they care about and will be
supported in making a short film or a podcast episode or blog or similar project about that topic.
All students will have some type of travel experience where they explore
another culture. The rest of their portfolio will be customized for them.
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This portfolio will serve as a record of learned skills, accolades, as
well as reports and recommendations from teachers and professionals
they’ve worked with. Prospective employers or 4 year colleges or
internships or volunteer programs will be able to look at a student’s
portfolio and view all the experiences and skills they have acquired.
Students will also complete several foundational courses designed to provide skills that are useful no matter what they choose to do with their life. Skills that are important to being a good citizen, which include:
Futures and Citizenships - examine your role in
creating a better world and confronting the challenges of citizenship
with courage and imagination
Systems and Conflicts - explore a range of tools
from general systems thinking and conflict resolution to discover a
sense of mutual interconnection and interdependence
Problems and Choices - explore creative
approaches to problem solving and decision-making, engage real-world
issues and learn to focus and clarify your choices.
Communication Strategies - explore the theory and practice of communication in everyday life and gain greater confidence and skill for speech
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Engaging Information - build greater power to research
any topic and learn how to accurately sort good information from bad
while making fast use of the Internet and other sources of online
information, libraries, dictionaries, thesauruses, encyclopedias, and
academic publications
When a student graduates from the Wayfinding Academy, we we will work with them to plan and execute their next steps.
HOW YOU CAN GET INVOLVED
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We took some of the first steps to getting the Wayfinding Academy started, but we need your support to take the next ones. We plan to open student applications in February 2016 and one year from now (August 2016) we will enroll our first cohort of students. This campaign will raise the funds we need to prepare for those students to arrive. Soon we will be eligible to apply for grants, financial aid monies, and start collecting tuition dollars, but right now, we need your help to launch.
WHAT WILL THE FUNDS BE USED FOR?
Our goal of $200,000 will enable us to get a space for Wayfinding
Academy headquarters, pay a few of our current volunteers to be staff,
apply for regional accreditation, and establish a scholarship fund for
students.
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WHAT YOU WILL GET FOR YOUR CONTRIBUTION
When you contribute to the Wayfinding Academy you will become part of the higher education revolution! And your contribution is a tax deductible donation. And you can also select some perks that will help you tell others about what we are doing so they can join us too.
Our feature perk at the $110 level includes everything you need to show your support
of the Wayfinding Academy including a custom
journal for you to explore who you are and what you’re passionate about,
a limited edition t-shirt (you’ll
choose your size after the campaign closes), a lightweight
and secure backpack made of recycled PET ripstop fabric to take you anywhere, and your choice of one of our favorite books which were donated by some of our early supporters!
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If you jump to the $250 level you'll receive the Wayfinder curriculum, an innovative, engaging, and empowering curriculum featuring Sean Aiken and based on the Wayfinding Academy introductory course and Sean's One Week Job Project. Wayfinder consists of 10 lessons and is designed with a focus on the development of self-knowledge, examining the questions, “Who am I?” “What do I want?” and “What is the first step?” Learn more: One Week Job Curriculum
At the $500 level you have a choice. If you've ever wanted to experience simple living, select the Portland tiny house retreat option. You'll receive a two night stay for two in a tiny house in Portland, OR. Exact dates (between October 2015 and October 2016) to be mutually agreed upon. Alternatively, if you've always wanted to go someplace special, but can't quite afford the cost, let us help you travel hack! An expert member of our team will help you get started on your travel hacking journey and give you some tips and resources!
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Everyone who donates $1,000 or more will receive an exclusive, engraved tabletop lantern to thank you for your generous contribution. You'll also receive your name and picture proudly displayed on our founder wall.
A gift of $5,000 will help us get and equip a space to host our students. As a donor at this level, you'll have the opportunity to name and theme one of our spaces, which may be a classroom, part of a community space, a co-working area, or other learning space. You let us know the name (the sky is almost the limit, but exact wording will need to be approved by our Board) and the theme of the room and we'll make it happen!
At the $10,000 level, your contribution will help a student attend the Wayfinding Academy who otherwise couldn't. This amount is the equivalent of one year's tuition at the Wayfinding Academy. Donors at this level will have a scholarship fund named in their honor and will be invited to meet the students whose Wayfinding experience they are helping provide.
Check out our full list of perks for additional details and to find the ones that are a good fit for you.
ADDITIONAL WAYS YOU CAN HELP
Share this campaign with people you know who care about re-imagining higher education and finding a better way (Or who just think it is pretty cool that some folks in Portland are starting their own college.) Here's the link to share: www.WayfindingAcademy.org
We are on Facebook and Twitter (and Instagram and LinkedIn and all those cool places). Find us there. Follow us. Like us. Invite your friends to do it too.
If you want to get updates as we grow, sign up for our email list and we will send you those updates right to your Inbox. Invite your friends to do the same.
THANK YOU!
No, really, thank you! We can't do this without you and are so glad you have chosen to join us.
YOU'VE GOT QUESTIONS. WE'VE GOT ANSWERS.
Is my contribution to the Wayfinding Academy tax deductible?
Yes! In February 2015, we filed our application with the IRS to get approved as a tax exempt 501(c)3 organization. We are still in the waiting period for the paperwork to be processed and in the meantime, our friends at the American Gap Association are serving as our fiscal sponsor for this crowdfunding campaign. When you donate to our campaign, you will receive a receipt for your tax exempt donation amount (your contribution minus the value of the perks you have chosen).
Are there other ways Wayfinding Academy will be funded?
Yes. This Indiegogo campaign will cover our operating budget in “Year Zero” (between now and when our first students arrive). We will also be applying for grants, continuing long-term fundraising, hosting workshops and seminars open to the community for a small fee, and utilizing tuition dollars once students are enrolled.
Where will the Wayfinding Academy be located?
Our headquarters will be located in a urban location in Portland, Oregon. The student experience is based on the partnerships we are able to form in the community and Portland is our home and where our friends and colleagues live and work. The city of Portland will be our first campus. In a few years, we will start considering where we want our next location to be.
Will the Wayfinding Academy be an accredited degree program?
Yes, that’s the plan! As soon as we are eligible, we will apply for accreditation with the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. The first phase of earning accreditation is to apply for candidacy. To do this, the Wayfinding Academy must be operating its programs and have its first cohort of students enrolled. During our first year of operations, we will be working with Oregon's Higher Education Coordinating Commission Office of Degree Authorization whose mission is to ensure our program meets all their requirements for approval.
How much will tuition cost at the Wayfinding Academy?
Tuition for one trimester style term will cost approximately $3,500, which is about the same as other community colleges in the region for one term’s tuition and fees. We will also establish some scholarship funds for students who can't afford full price tuition. Our goal is to make Wayfinding Academy accessible for everyone.
Want to know more about the people on our team and the folks behind the creation of our trailer video and the other items you see?
We are honored to have worked with an amazing group of friends to get us this far. We are deeply indebted to them for their hard work and passion. We made a special page just for them on our website. You should check it out.
For short bios and photos of the members of our founding team, click here.
What is the best way to contact you for a media request?
All media requests can be sent by email to hello@wayfindingacademy.org
You can see all of our media coverage by clicking here.
How will I get my perks? What if I don't want to receive any perks?
We will be sending a survey at the close of the campaign to ask you for specifics like your t-shirt size and which book you'd like (supplies of each book are limited). You are welcome to select any perk below the level you are donating at if you do not want all the perks included in your level of giving. You may also opt not to receive any perks and just donate. Additionally, if you'd like to donate above and beyond a perk amount (for example $75 or $350) just select the perk closest to that amount. On the following page you can then add an additional donation of any amount you'd like.
