Letter from the Editor: March 3, 2026

Over the weekend, I saw a Led Zeppelin tribute band that needed seven musicians to recreate the songs of the original four members. What seemed seamless and fluid was the result of many parts working in “concert.” From the Latin “concertare,” concert means not only harmony, but striving, debate, and tension worked through together. This interdependence offers a useful frame for this issue, with examples of a similar dynamic that supports work in service to military-connected learners and families, adult and traditional learners, and those on nonlinear pathways. Let’s celebrate the careful work of our international evaluation practitioners. Learn from collegiate commissions and working group recommendations to strengthen our data stewardship and language shifts, making learning more trusted, connected, and actionable. These simultaneous efforts to advance postsecondary education systems require more than any one office, institution, or sector can provide on its own. Like the additional musicians needed to recreate a sophisticated blend of sounds, this work calls for new partnerships, stronger alliances, and a wider circle of people willing to work in concert.