Our Mission and Values

Our mission is to increase equity and excellence in college completion through engaging, supportive, rigorous, and socially responsive education.

We believe that education...

  • is a public good,
  • is critical for a functioning multi-cultural democracy,
  • is a tool to help dismantle long-standing oppression,
  • empowers historically marginalized students to become impactful leaders for social justice.

Metro is a redesign of the first two years of higher education. Students join career-themed learning communities that follow core GE pathways. Wraparound support services for every step of their educational journey and a faculty community with a passion for learning and social justice foster student success.

Four main components of Metro: Small learning communities, student services, integrated data systems, faculty development
Our students come to us with brilliance and beauty and a wealth of skills and capital. Our job is to recognize, uplift, and foster their genius and full authentic selves."
- Mary Beth Love, Executive Director of Metro

Female students raising hands enthusiastically
Students writing on white board
Three smiling Metro graduates in cap and gown
Our students are our super - power!
student
Our voices matter and we can create change!" - Anonymous Metro Student

Our Values

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COMMUNITY

We welcome our students in a supportive community. We cultivate communal spaces that celebrate our cultural wisdom and help us grow as scholars and activists.

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REIMAGINE

Together, we reimagine an educational system where all students thrive, not just survive. We see education as a mechanism for collective liberation and healing, and ultimately a thriving multicultural democracy.

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LOVE

Our work is guided by acts of radical, decolonial love. With love, we see and honor the brilliance of our young scholars and foster their collective dignity.

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EQUITY

We commit to our students and our communities. We commit to understanding and dismantling educational injustices, in solidarity with all oppressed peoples.

four hands holding each other at the wrist in support

SOLIDARITY

In solidarity with our students and communities, we aim to transform higher education to become a catalyst for deeper social change.

raised fist

JUSTICE

We work with urgency for intersectional social justice. We embrace and celebrate the many intersecting identities of our young scholars and understand that all forms of justice are interconnected.