News

Keith Witham Reflects on His First Six Months as Vice President of Education Philanthropy

Halfway through his first year as Vice President of Education Philanthropy, Keith Witham provides an overview of the past six months of Ascendium’s grantmaking. He also looks ahead, reaffirming Ascendium’s commitment to transforming the lives of learners from low-income backgrounds through postsecondary education and workforce training.

Q&A with UIA’s Bridget Burns, Improving Learner Outcomes with Updated CUNY Transfer Explorer, and More

• Q&A: UIA’s Bridget Burns on Helping Struggling Students Get Back on Track (Part 1)
• Updated Tool Saves Time and Money to Improve Learner Outcomes
• Helping Learners See a Clearer Path: Awareness Continues to Build Around Guided Pathways Framework

Helping Learners See a Clearer Path: Awareness Continues to Build Around Guided Pathways Framework

The guided pathways framework is a whole-college redesign of the student experience that helps learners explore, choose, plan, and complete programs aligned with their education and career goals. It can be especially helpful to learners from low-income backgrounds as it more clearly outlines their program with considerations to efficiency and affordability. As leaders in developing, evaluating, and implementing the guided pathways framework, Community College Research Center (CCRC) continues to build awareness of this targeted reform strategy.

Evolving Our Team to Better Meet the Needs of Learners, We’re Hiring, and More

• Changes in Education Philanthropy Support Evolving Needs of Learners from Low-Income Backgrounds
• New Initiatives Aim to Cut Early Student Dropouts by Increasing Connection
• Why Supporting Financial Aid Administrators Is Key to Unlocking Opportunities for Incarcerated Learners

Changes in Education Philanthropy Support Evolving Needs of Learners from Low-Income Backgrounds

Ascendium’s Education Philanthropy is adapting our organizational structure to meet the current and future needs of learners from low-income backgrounds. The promotion of two internal leaders to key positions will enhance our grantmaking strategy, tools, and partnerships. We are also hiring a deputy director of education grantmaking to oversee strategic grantmaking pipelines in one or more philanthropic focus areas.

Support for Evidence-Based Workforce Training Models, New Projects to Help English-Language Learners, and More

• Targeted Investments Support Expansion of Evidence-Based Workforce Training Models
• New Projects Examine Barriers for English-Language Learners
• Recent Resources Show the Value of Good Workforce Training Programs

Recent Resources Show the Value of Good Workforce Training Programs

A college education can be transformative, but it’s not the only route to career success. We’ve rounded up three resources highlighting promising approaches to workforce training that are already working to improve the lives of learners from low-income backgrounds.

Meet Our New Program Officer for Strategic Engagement, Learn How Rural Community Colleges Are Helping Learners, and More

• Introducing Our New Program Officer for Strategic Engagement, Amy Kuether
• Rural Community Colleges Utilize Strengths and Assets to Improve Learner Success
• Perspectives from the Field: Community Colleges Connect Learners to Credentials that Meet Local Workforce Needs

Rural Community Colleges Utilize Strengths and Assets to Improve Learner Success

Rural community colleges offer many examples and lessons on how to improve postsecondary education success for learners from low-income backgrounds. Institutions across the country can learn from the rural community colleges profiled in the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program’s (CEP) latest report, which highlights how they utilize their strengths and assets to best serve their learners. Insights shared in the report will also inform continued enhancements to CEP’s curriculum for community college leadership and its on-the-ground support of institutions working on transforming to better serve learners.

Lifting Up Postsecondary Education in Prison During Second Chance Month and More

• It’s Time to Change the Way We Think About Incarcerated Learners
• Three Takeaways from RAND Corporation’s Report: Assessing the Impact of COVID-19 on Prison Education
• Record Number of Wisconsin Apprentices Receive Tools of the Trade Scholarships