Every Learner 2021 Annual Report

In 2021 we’ve seen tremendous strides in how institutions are prioritizing digital learning transformation while also grappling with the realities of systemic injustice and other inequities laid bare by the pandemic. As a dynamic network of partner organizations, the Every Learner Everywhere® mission is to help faculty and institutions use digital learning technologies to create equitable learning experiences that better serve students who have been systemically marginalized. This year our network has prioritized increasing our knowledge and capacity for equity and racial justice work along with centering equity and racial justice in our resources and services. Some of the highlights of our work include: creating a rubric to evaluate the language we use and about how we can better serve the students and institutions our network supports; engaging in a series of professional learning workshops with leading scholars; completing intensive courses in document accessibility; and designing a series of service tracks that center equity in digital learning implementation. In addition to our personal and professional equity work, we have spent this last year inviting Black, Latino, Indigenous, first-generation, and poverty-affected students into our work. In Every Learner’s first annual report since its founding in 2017, the Every Learner network reflects on the services and resources developed in 2021 and the network’s commitment to centering equity and amplifying student voices. We also look ahead to a new year in which we will hold ourselves accountable to deepening the network’s understanding of the perspectives and needs of minoritized students and providing equity-first leadership in higher education.