News

Program Officer Perspectives: Kirstin Yeado Reflects on Rural Guided Pathways Work

This June, Kirstin Yeado, a program officer in Ascendium’s Support Rural Postsecondary Education and Workforce Training focus area, traveled to Minneapolis, Minnesota for the first institute of the National Center for Inquiry and Improvement Rural Guided Pathways Project. Yeado shares her reflections from this institute, which was supported via a grant from Ascendium.

A Pivotal Time for Postsecondary Education in Prison, the Impact of Administrative Holds on Student Success and More

• Q&A: Molly Lasagna on the State of Postsecondary Education in Prison Ahead of Pell Restoration
• Hold Up: What We Do and Don’t Know about the Impact of Holds on Postsecondary Student Success
• Congratulations to 10 Exemplary Community Colleges in the Running for 2023 Aspen Prize

Data Tools Help Stakeholders Identify and Support Rural and Rural Serving Institutions

Defining and identifying institutions that support rural learners nationwide has long been challenging. Recently, Ascendium funded two projects resulting in publicly available, interactive data tools that do this. One identifies diverse institutional settings in which rural learners are enrolled. The other identifies a metric that accounts for institutions that are attended by rural learners and deliver rural-focused programs regardless of whether they are in a rural location. Together, these projects help stakeholders to advance their understanding of diverse, rural learners and aid in resource allocation to address the growing economic gaps between rural and non-rural communities and to help rural learners succeed.

Q&A: Molly Lasagna on the State of Postsecondary Education in Prison Ahead of Pell Restoration

There’s less than a year to go before the restoration of Pell Grant eligibility for incarcerated learners. Ahead of this historic moment, our new senior program officer focused on expanding postsecondary education in prison shares what is being done to prepare providers, what goes into creating high-quality programs and how Pell restoration is informing Ascendium’s philanthropy.

Hold Up: What We Do and Don’t Know About the Impact of Holds on Postsecondary Student Success

Policy changes at institutions, systems and states are curtailing the use of transcript holds. These types of holds can be detrimental to student success. However, there are other types of administrative holds that colleges can impose on students who are still enrolled (e.g., a registration block for an incomplete immunization record, an unpaid library fine or poor academic standing). The impact of these varied holds, especially on learners from low-income backgrounds, requires further examination to be understood.

Ascendium Grows its Team to Further Our Grantmaking, Bringing Together Rural College Leaders and More

• Education Philanthropy Positions Will Enhance Evidence Based Grantmaking, Translate Evidence to Insights and Enrich Strategic Connections
• Learning Communities Bring Together Rural College Leaders
• Proposals Still Being Accepted for Fund for Workforce Equity

Education Philanthropy Positions Will Enhance Evidence Based Grantmaking, Translate Evidence to Insights and Enrich Strategic Connections

Ascendium’s Education Philanthropy is hiring for three mission-critical positions. These roles underscore our commitment to evidence-based grantmaking and will deepen our capacity to tell essential stories that amplify partners’ important work. This growth will also advance Ascendium’s thought leadership in the fields in which we operate and bolster our ability to share insights with those best positioned to improve outcomes for learners from low-income backgrounds.

Learning Communities Bring Together Rural College Leaders

Since early 2020, leaders at rural community colleges have been meeting virtually to discuss ways their institutions could be better prepared to meet the challenges of learners and communities as they emerge from the COVID-19 health crisis. Convened through National Center for Inquiry and Improvement (NCII) and with grant funding from Ascendium, briefs created through the Rural Leader Learning Community remain helpful resources and tools for rural community colleges as they navigate pandemic challenges. Additionally, conversations from the initial learning community have laid the foundation for NCII to convene a new cohort of colleges focused on rural guided pathways implementation.

Read About Our New Team Supporting Incarcerated Learners, Help Us Shape Our Future Communications and More

• Introducing Our New Expand Postsecondary Education in Prison Team
• Help Us Evolve Our Communications
• Informed Self-Placement Engages Students in the College Placement Process, With Encouraging Results

Eight HBCUs Receive Funding to Explore Innovative Partnerships on Improving Mental Health among College Students of Color

The Transformational Partnerships Fund (TPF) awarded $50,000 to eight Historically Black Colleges and Universities to pursue collaborative efforts to improve mental health support for their students. The TPF provides colleges and universities support to explore student-centric partnerships that foster reliable, high-quality educational opportunities for diverse learners.