The Association of STEMM Pathway and Bridge Programs (ASPBP) is a collaborative, solutions-oriented community advancing equitable STEMM education and career pathways. This year, at ASPBP’s virtual conference, Center co-directors Amber Richardson and Dr. Charles Muiruri facilitated a roundtable discussion focused on one key question: What does it take to secure the support of your institutional leadership?
Session attendees shared that while leaders often view pathway programs as essential, they also see them as resource-intensive, requiring financial and human investment. This confirmed our assumption that leaders see pathway programs as worthwhile, but they need reassurance that the associated costs are sustainable and the program’s impact is measurable.
Many administrators face the challenge of balancing program management with other responsibilities, often without dedicated time or support. Limited administrative resources, shared staffing, and evolving program delivery needs make it difficult to focus on tasks such as fundraising, data analysis, or research publication—tasks that are critical to demonstrating impact and justifying investment. Additional administrative staff could alleviate these challenges, but funding is hard to acquire.
Attendees made clear that data is essential to securing buy-in from the decision-makers at their institutions. Most important are the number of students served and their demographics. Tracking students to the next step in their journey, beyond completion of a singular pathway program, is a problem that remains to be solved. This is a crucial step in proving pathway programs’ impact on learner trajectories, and YOJO is being designed to support these efforts directly.
YOJO, short for “Your Journey,” is a web-based platform for people who manage, leverage or participate in pathway programs. It is designed to make processes like program promotion and application review easier, while enabling admins to stay connected to program alumni, regardless of whether they remain in STEMM. YOJO’s advanced tracking ability is made possible by providing unique value to learners, making it easy to identify, apply for, and access progressive opportunities that keep them returning for their career development needs. By generating detailed reports and visualizations on participant outcomes and engagement, YOJO aims to help administrators track learner trajectories and illustrate program impact to stakeholders, yielding the fundable results decision-makers crave. The platform’s efficiency also frees up time for administrators to focus on high-impact tasks, supporting decision-makers’ investment in pathway programs.
YOJO was the source of considerable enthusiasm as attendees discovered how it is being crafted to address some of the most persistent challenges in pathway program administration. Administrators provided generous feedback on YOJO’s design and applicability, which will be directly translated into development priorities. Ultimately, YOJO is poised to become as Click here to learn more about YOJO.
