Advancing lives: Investing in systems that work (The ADVE Framework in practice).

^{Written by Mara Woody, Director of Strategic Partnerships, US Ecosystem at Riipen, this perspective draws from both lived experience and extensive work with higher education institutions. Mara partners with colleges, universities, and workforce organizations to expand access to experiential learning and career-connected opportunities. Part four of a six-part blog series sees Mara's insights help academic leaders better understand the systemic barriers learners face and how institutions, partners, and states can design more inclusive, scalable pathways to student success.}

In the last piece, I wrote about what it takes to move from alignment to action. We can bring the right people together, build shared understanding, and design strong solutions, but without the conditions to sustain and scale that work, progress slows.

This is where financial policy becomes one of the most powerful levers states have. If convening builds alignment and trust, funding determines whether that trust leads to lasting change.

One of the most important lessons I have learned working in and alongside state systems is this: where funding flows, systems follow.

Institutions prioritize what is resourced. Employers engage when barriers are reduced. Partnerships grow when there is the capacity to sustain them. When it comes to work-based learning, that reality matters.

We know these experiences improve outcomes. We know they help learners connect what they are studying to what they will do. We know they increase access to opportunity. Yet access remains uneven, not because we lack evidence, but because we have not built systems that can deliver these experiences at scale.

Financial policy has the ability to change that, but only if it is designed intentionally.

Across states, we are beginning to see different approaches take shape.

In California, legislation such as AB 323 allows community college districts to use Strong Workforce Program funds to support work-based learning experiences, including paid internships and apprenticeships. What stands out is not just the funding itself, but what it signals to the system. Work-based learning is not an add-on. It is a core part of how career education is delivered.

In Colorado, the state has combined funding with structured pilots and broader workforce readiness investments. Legislation such as HB 1186 establishes a work-based learning consortium pilot within higher education, while SB 315 creates a funding model for K-12 to expand workforce-readiness programs across systems. Together, these approaches recognize that scaling work-based learning requires both targeted innovation and sustained investment.

Other states are focusing on reducing barriers to employer participation.

Maryland has implemented a pay-per-apprentice model that provides financial incentives to expand apprenticeship opportunities. Georgia has taken a similar approach by expanding incentives tied to high-demand apprenticeship programs.

These policies reflect a shared understanding.

Work-based learning does not scale solely through institutions. Employers must be part of the system, and financial policy can help make that participation viable.

Some states are going further by embedding expectations directly into institutional practice while aligning funding alongside it.

In Virginia, policy directs institutions to integrate work-based learning into degree programs without extending time to completion. These approaches reinforce that work-based learning is not optional. It is part of the core educational experience.

Funding in these contexts becomes a reinforcing mechanism rather than the sole driver.

Across all of these examples, a pattern begins to emerge.

States are not approaching work-based learning through a single strategy. They are combining approaches:

• Some are funding expansion.
• Some are incentivizing employers.
• Some are embedding requirements into systems.
• Many are beginning to do all three.

But there is a critical factor that determines whether any of this works. Community.

I have seen funding accelerate change, but I have also seen it fall short. Not because the investment was wrong, but because the ecosystem around it was not strong enough to sustain it. Funding alone does not create alignment. It does not build relationships. It does not establish trust. Without those elements, even well-designed policies can lead to fragmented implementation.

This is where financial levers must be understood in the context of the broader system. Through the lens of the ADVE Framework, funding plays a critical role in enablement. It creates the capacity to act, to expand, and to sustain what is working. But it must be connected to alignment, design, and validation.

Alignment ensures that resources are directed toward shared goals. Design ensures that funding supports integrated learning and experience, not disconnected programs. Validation ensures that we understand what is working and can adjust over time. And enablement, through financial policy, provides the means to scale.

When these elements are connected, funding no longer supports isolated efforts. It strengthens ecosystems. Institutions are not working alone. Employers are not participating in isolation. Partners are not duplicating efforts. Instead, systems begin to move together.

We are at a moment when incremental approaches are no longer enough. The data is clear. Work-based learning improves outcomes. It expands opportunity. It shapes long-term success. And yet, millions of learners still lack access to these experiences.

Not because we do not know what works. But because we have not built systems that can deliver it consistently. Financial policy is one of the most powerful tools states have to change that.

The question is not whether to invest. It is whether we are willing to invest in ways that build alignment, strengthen community, and create the conditions for work-based learning to scale.

In the next part of this series, I will explore how statutory policy can reinforce this work by removing barriers, creating clarity, and embedding work-based learning into the structure of our systems.

Funding can accelerate change, and policy determines how far that change can go.

About the author:

Dr. Mara Woody, Ed.D., is an award-winning leader, nationally in-demand speaker, and a leading national voice on transforming higher education for a rapidly evolving workforce. With over two decades of experience across public policy, academic affairs, and workforce development, she is known for turning bold ideas into scalable, system-wide impact. As Director of Strategic Partnerships at Riipen, she brings together educators, employers, and policymakers to expand access to real-world learning and advance responsible AI-enabled education. Previously serving as Missouri’s Assistant Commissioner for Postsecondary Policy, she led statewide initiatives to redesign systems around learner success. Dr. Woody, who holds a doctorate from Vanderbilt University, is dedicated to building collaborative, education ecosystems that expand opportunity and drive meaningful outcomes.

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