Open Campus Media
Project Title
For general support
Date
Mar. 05, 2026
Duration
24 months
Description
Open Campus, founded in 2019 by former editors at The Chronicle of Higher Education, is a nonprofit dedicated to transforming America’s understanding of higher education. It addresses a critical information gap: while colleges are vital engines of social mobility, their performance is woefully under reported, creating a disconnect with employers and the public. Two-thirds of major media markets have no dedicated higher education reporter, and community colleges, whichserve40 percent of all U.S. undergraduates,receive less than 3 percent of coverage. Open Campus fills this void through a unique collaborative model, embedding specialized reporters directly into local newsrooms across the country and supporting them with a national team of editors, data analysts, and training. This network, now 18 partners, connects education to opportunity through ground-level reporting. The impact is substantial, producing over 600 stories reaching 18 million readers monthly and driving tangible reforms. With continued support, Open Campus will expand this network into underserved regions, build greater newsroom capacity, and deepen essential coverage on how education equips people for work and democratic life.
Project Title
For general support and project support of the continued implementation and expansion of the "Life After High School" project, seeking to deliver trusted, accurate local news to more Americans
Date
Sep. 12, 2024
Duration
18 months
Description
Open Campus, a nonprofit news organization founded in 2019 by two former editors at the Chronicle of Higher Education, aims to improve the information Americans receive about college atnational and local levels. Colleges play crucial roles in social mobility, but limited coverage of their performance creates a disconnect with employersand citizens. ManyAmericans lack key information about postsecondary options. Although some resources, like FAFSA guides, are available, few local, independent tools exist to help students begin their postsecondary journey. Trusted, independent local news outlets can disseminate this much-needed information to the public. Currently partnering with fourteennewsrooms nationwide, Open Campus aims to expand to all fifty states. Support from the Corporation will fund two strands of work: expanding higher education and college readiness coverage in local newsrooms and advancing the Life After High School project.
Project Title
For project support of the 'life after high school' initiative and to continue support of the HBCU journalism fellowship
Date
Dec. 14, 2023
Duration
12 months
Description
The education journalism ecosystem has never been more essential. School as we know it — from teaching to testing to extracurriculars — has been profoundly disrupted over the last few years, with troubling consequences often falling hardest on communities of color. Education journalists need to be the public’s guide to an uncertain future, providing real-time information and analysis to stakeholders as we emerge from the pandemic and its aftermath. Open Campus, a nonprofit news organization founded in 2019 dedicated to investigating and elevating higher education, seeks to bridge this gap. Their aim is to transform local reporting on college by combining the sophistication of a national newsroom that knows a topic very deeply with the engagement of a community newsroom that also knows local issues best. With support from the Corporation, OpenCampus will launch a project to collaborate with local news outlets to assess how three local communities seek and attain information about life after high-school, inclusive of higher education and career pathways. They will also continue to strengthen reporting on HBCUs and building a pipeline of Black journalists into the news industry.
Project Title
For project support to launch the HBCU Student Journalism Fellowship
Date
Dec. 08, 2022
Duration
12 months
Description
The education journalism ecosystem has never been more essential. School as we know it — from teaching to testing to extracurriculars — has been profoundly disrupted over the last few years, with troubling consequences often falling hardest on communities of color. Education journalists need to be the public’s guide to an uncertain future, providing real-time information and analysis to stakeholders as we emerge from the pandemic and its aftermath. Open Campus, a nonprofit news organization founded in 2019 dedicated to investigating and elevating higher education seeks to bridge this gap. Their aim is to transform local reporting on college by combining the sophistication of a national newsroom that knows a topic very deeply with the engagement of a community newsroom that also knows local issues best. With support from the Corporation, OpenCampus will launch the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Student Journalism Fellowship, which provides HBCU students with high-quality professional development, publish their work on local and national platforms, and build a pipeline for Black journalists into the industry.