News

Postsecondary Education and Workforce Training Trends We’re Watching in 2024

Part of being a reflective funder is listening to our grant partners and tracking the evolving needs of learners from year to year. With 2024 underway, we’re seeing notable trends across postsecondary education, including statewide efforts to align postsecondary education and the workforce and continued concerns about the return on investment of college necessitating more flexible models of delivery. Remaining aware of these trends allows us to tailor our grantmaking for meaningful impact.

In this shrinking Mississippi Delta county, getting a college degree means leaving home behind

As part of the Rural News Networks’ “Rural Realities: Education, Workforce, and Progress” series, this article traces the economic and generational effects of one Mississippi county’s lack of access to primary and postsecondary education. By focusing on the feedback loop between education access and good jobs, it provides a powerful example of how important educational opportunities are for the long-term economic health of a geographical area and its residents.

Partners Reflect on Progress from Ascendium’s Rural Learner Success Initiative

Since March, seven grant partners have been engaged in work through Ascendium’s Building Evidence to Increase Rural Learner Success initiative. They’ve been busy generating an array of research that advances the understanding of rural learners and the postsecondary education and workforce training pathways that best serve them. These partners recently convened to discuss their work and reflect on the progress they are making in their research.

Introducing our New Deputy Director of Education Grantmaking, Ascendium Acts on Grant Partner Feedback, and More

• Introducing our New Deputy Director of Education Grantmaking, Dr. Janice Hicks
• Ascendium Acts on Grant Partner Feedback to Refine Philanthropic Practices
• New Resources Aim to Increase Understanding of CBE Program Designs

Introducing our New Deputy Director of Education Grantmaking, Dr. Janice Hicks

Ascendium is pleased to welcome Dr. Janice Hicks to our Education Philanthropy team as our new deputy director of education grantmaking. Janice will support grantmaking across portfolios focused on strategies to transform postsecondary education institutions and systems to better serve learners from low-income backgrounds.

Keith Witham Reflects on the Past Six Months, Ascendium Discusses the State of Postsecondary Education in Prison, and More

• Keith Witham Reflects on His First Six Months as Vice President of Education Philanthropy
• Ascendium’s Molly Lasagna and Others Discuss the State of Postsecondary Education in Prison
• Strategic Media Partnerships Amplify Solutions to Rural Learners’ Challenges

Strategic Media Partnerships Amplify Solutions to Rural Learners’ Challenges

Three recent Ascendium grants support media organizations whose work makes a national impact in rural postsecondary education and workforce training systems. These organizations' reporting is critical to increase public understanding of issues affecting rural learners from low-income backgrounds, amplify rural learners’ voices, and share promising solutions through national media outlets and networks.

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.