News

Rural community colleges respond to health crisis, a look at non-traditional models for students transitioning from training to the workforce and more

• Resources Help Rural Community Colleges in Aftermath of COVID-19 Health Crisis
• An Interest in Innovation: New Grants Explore Non-Traditional Models
• Keith Witham Named Ascendium’s New Deputy Director - Education Grantmaking

Keith Witham Named Ascendium’s New Deputy Director - Education Grantmaking

Ascendium welcomes Keith Witham as our new Deputy Director - Education Grantmaking. He will provide day-to-day supervision and support to program officers across Ascendium’s four focus areas to maximize the impact of investments that support learners from low-income backgrounds.

Our Vision for Learning and Impact, Ascendium Education Philanthropy on Social Media, New Rural Matters Podcasts and More

• Learning and Impact at Ascendium
• Starting this Month, Find Ascendium's Education Philanthropy News and Info on Social @AscendiumEP
• New Podcasts Shine Light on Rural Voices, Partners

Starting this Month, Find Ascendium Education Philanthropy News and Info on Social @AscendiumEP

Ascendium’s Education Philanthropy is now on social media — find us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram. Now you’ll be able to connect, share and converse with us on social media channels we’ve established just for our education philanthropy. These channels will be focused exclusively on initiatives we’re backing, the work of our amazing grant partners and other topics of interest to the field.

New Grants Awarded, New Completion Grants Playbook Available, Q&A with Ed Trust and More

• Ascendium Invests $16 Million in Postsecondary Education in Prisons, Math Pathways and More
• UIA Completion Grants Playbook Shows How a Little Can Go a Long Way for Student Success
• Q&A with Ed Trust: Justice Fellows Will Center Voices of the Incarcerated in Postsecondary Education in Prison Policy

Education Behind and Beyond Bars

The country's postsecondary education institutions are ramping up efforts to serve students currently or formerly in prison. Ascendium Vice President - Education Philanthropy Amy Kerwin discusses recent grants that will research quality benchmarks for prison education programs and center the voices of incarcerated students in policy discussions.

Q&A with Ed Trust: Justice Fellows Will Center Voices of the Incarcerated in Postsecondary Education in Prison Policy

Ascendium believes it’s essential to include the voices of incarcerated learners in shaping policy on postsecondary education in prisons, particularly with the restoration of Pell Grants for these learners. That’s why we supported The Education Trust in its efforts to launch the Justice Fellows Policy Program. Ascendium’s Toya Wall reached out to Ed Trust leaders to see what’s in store for the new initiative.

Ascendium Invests $16 Million in Postsecondary Education in Prisons, Math Pathways and More

Ascendium’s Board of Directors approved funding for 18 new grants totaling $16 million at its spring meeting. The approved proposals include efforts to improve postsecondary education in prison, restructure math requirements to increase first-year persistence, retention and completion rates, and build the capacity of rural Pacific Island postsecondary institutions to use data and collaboration to increase student success.

2020 Philanthropy Report Now Available, Formation of Rural Postsecondary Research Agenda Underway and More

• Now Available! 2020 Education Philanthropy Report, Empowering Possibilities
• Work Underway for Creation of a Rural Postsecondary Education Research Agenda
• Initiatives Address Transfer from Different Angles

Ascendium Education Group Releases 2020 Education Philanthropy Report: Empowering Possibilities

Ascendium Education Group has released its 2020 Education Philanthropy report, Empowering Possibilities. The report tells the story of Ascendium’s philanthropy during an unprecedented time and the tremendous efforts of our grant partners who were able to advance their work despite numerous challenges.