News

Local and Online Postsecondary Education Providers Partner to Offer In-Demand Career Credentials in Rural Areas

Rural postsecondary institutions often lack the resources to offer bachelor’s degree programs in locally in-demand fields that lead to well-paying jobs. One solution is to supplement local postsecondary courses and training with online offerings that can be completed from any location. Ascendium’s recent awards to the Wakiya Foundation and to Reach University support postsecondary education credentials resulting from partnerships between local and online postsecondary providers. These partnerships lead to options for learners from low-income backgrounds to pursue family-sustaining careers where they live.

Families and Workers Fund Joins the White House and Partners to Announce More Than $70 Million in Infrastructure Workforce Funding Aligned with the Talent Pipeline Challenge

The White House Talent Pipeline Challenge resulted in grants totaling $70 million to support equitable development of the infrastructure workforce, especially in rural areas and for underrepresented groups. Ascendium and peer organizations contributed to these funds.

Caring Campus Makes Student Success Everyone’s Business, With Promising Results

Despite mounting evidence pointing to the crucial role nonacademic staff play in removing cultural barriers to success, large-scale efforts to improve retention at community colleges and elsewhere typically focus little direct attention on interpersonal interactions between students and staff. That’s where Caring Campus comes in. Developed and administered by the Institute for Evidence-Based Change (IEBC), the program engages faculty and nonacademic staff in building a culture of belonging, with promising results.

New Investments Total $17 Million+ for Dev Ed Reform, Rural Workforce Training, Skills Training Programs and More

• Investments in Dev Ed Reform, Rural Workforce Training Among $17 Million+ in Recently Approved Grants
• Merit America Skills Training Programs Generate Upward Socioeconomic Mobility

Merit America Skills Training Programs Generate Upward Socioeconomic Mobility

Postsecondary education and workforce training is not one-size-fits-all. Nearly two-thirds of American workers don’t have a degree, work full time and need a route to better jobs.  Diverse education and training pathways help meet the needs of these historically underserved students. Merit America, a national nonprofit that prepares individuals without four-year degrees for family-sustaining careers in tech, offers a promising way forward. Ascendium will support Merit America in scaling its skills training and career placement programs in IT support, data analytics and Java web development.

Investments in Dev Ed Reform, Rural Workforce Training Among $17 Million+ in Recently Approved Grants

Ascendium recently approved nine new grants totaling over $17 million. These grants support a range of initiatives designed to help learners from low-income backgrounds, including developmental education reform, expanding pathways to upwardly mobile careers in information technology and the scaling of proven strategies to improve transfer outcomes.

Advancing Colleges in Appalachia

Like many community colleges across the country, members of the Community Colleges of Appalachia (CCA) faced challenges during and in the wake of the COVID-19 health crisis. However, membership in CCA remains strong. With a grant from Ascendium, CCA will enhance their ability to support member colleges in better serving learners from low-income backgrounds.

New COVID-19 Transfer Data Findings, the Impact of Media Grant Partners on Inequity and More

• COVID-19 Transfer Data Reveals Trends that Can Inform Equity and Student Success Policies
• Engaging with Media Showcases Grant Partners’ Positive Impact on Inequity
• Are You Interested in a Student-Centered Partnership?

Engaging with Media Showcases Grant Partners’ Positive Impact on Inequity

Ascendium is growing its partnerships with media organizations that share postsecondary education research and programs helping learners from low-income backgrounds achieve their education and career goals. Recently, we have added new partnerships with American Public Media, Chalk Beat, Rural Matters, Open Campus - Institute for Nonprofit News, Academic Intelligence and Restless Productions. These collaborations help get actionable information that fosters system level change into the hands of practitioners, researchers, funders and policymakers.

COVID-19 Transfer Data Reveals Trends that Can Inform Equity and Student Success Policies

The National Student Clearinghouse (NSC) Research Center has been reporting on student transfer patterns in near real time over the past two years. The data can help colleges and universities develop policies and system level initiatives that address student transfer and pipeline needs to support student success in the post-COVID environment. Doug Shapiro, executive director of the NSC Research Center, spoke with Ascendium to help us learn more about how this data can help inform systemic change to support learners from low-income backgrounds.