About

In an effort to address challenges of equity of access and success in higher education, the Bard Sequence works to provide a meaningful bridge between high school and college, one in which a young person’s first exposure to higher education is rigorous and intellectually inspiring while also providing them with the support they need to become confident, self-motivated college students. The Bard Sequence is based on the belief that all students benefit from a safe space in which they can learn to succeed in college by failing forward, taking risks in the classroom, and finding their voices as collegiate learners.

Bard Sequence’s theory of change is rooted in the belief — backed by 20+ years of evidence from our early colleges — that students are most successful in college when they have early and authentic exposure to and preparation for serious collegiate study. This gives young people the confidence that they have the core skills they need to succeed academically and socially as members of a college community. This is particularly true for the students that Sequence is focused on serving: first-generation college students, low-income students, and students from historically underrepresented racial/ethnic backgrounds. Early college fundamentally changes students’ high school experiences by allowing them to learn in a more student-centered, responsive way and helping them develop critical knowledge, skills, confidence, and momentum toward the postsecondary paths of their choosing.