The Gates Foundation will focus on redesigning introductory college courses to improve passage rates and promoting stronger credit-transfer programs, among other priorities. The Gates Foundation has a new North Star: ensuring 10 million learners ages 18 to 34 earn “credentials of value” by 2045. Last year, the philanthropy’s founder Bill Gates announced that it must spend roughly $200 billion before it closes permanently Dec. 31, 2045. “If we get this right, the result will be more than higher completion rates or stronger educational outcomes,” Golston wrote in an online post about the new vision. Patrick Methvin, the current director of postsecondary success, who has worked at the foundation since 2013, will serve as interim president.