AA-to-BA Transfer Apprenticeship Pathway for Rural Talent
Exploration
This grant supports Reach University in building career pathways between rural community colleges and school districts in four states, providing rural learners from low-income backgrounds with job-embedded training that leads to a bachelor’s degree and employment in high-quality, high-demand jobs in the education sector.
Institutional Collaborations in the Postsecondary Education in Prison Space
Exploration
This grant supports Rhodes College in Tennessee in facilitating collaboration across three postsecondary institutions that each operate programs in one prison facility in order to strengthen program alignment, facilitate resource sharing and improve offerings and outcomes for incarcerated learners.
Seeding Innovation in Restorative Justice Curriculum
Exploration
This grant supports the Restorative Justice Lab at the University of North Alabama in developing an applied learning complement to its 18-hour credit-bearing Certificate in Restorative Justice for incarcerated learners and laying the groundwork for evaluation contextualized to in-prison program delivery.
Optimizing Delivery Systems for Higher Education in Prison
Exploration
This grant supports the Minnesota Department of Corrections in redesigning their postsecondary educational delivery system to dramatically increase incarcerated learner access and success. The Minnesota Department of Corrections will work alongside a variety of external partners to build a solid infrastructure for core operations across internal departments and external organizations, as well as address relevant institutional policy and practice barriers.
Expanding Coverage of Postsecondary Success and Workforce Training in Rural America
Other
This grant supports the Institute for Nonprofit News’ Rural News Network in collaborating with five rural newsrooms to develop greater coverage of postsecondary education and workforce training issues in rural communities and highlight the experiences of rural learners.
Actualizing Community Vibrancy Metrics
Exploration
This grant supports Achieving the Dream (ATD) in helping its member colleges collect and use learner- and community-level data to drive college-wide reform. ATD will pilot the use of its new Community Vibrancy metrics framework with 15 colleges, learning how the metrics can be applied to drive change and produce tools and a training curriculum to support broader adoption across ATD’s 300+ member institutions.
Assessing the Pandemic's Impact on Postsecondary Education in Prison
Scaling
This grant supports The RAND Corporation in assessing the near- and long-term impacts of COVID-19 on postsecondary education in prison. Promising practices and responses to the pandemic that are being employed by corrections departments, colleges and universities, and postsecondary practitioners will be identified and disseminated to the field and key stakeholders.
Transfer Funders Group Facilitation & Planning
Exploration
This grant supports Sova Solutions in facilitating a planning process for the transfer funders group created informally by Ascendium and other postsecondary education funders in 2020. This process will explore the continued role of the network, including the potential for funding collaboration in support of shared grantmaking priorities related to transfer and credit mobility.
Community College Growth Engine Fund Expansion
Exploration
This grant supports Education Design Lab (The Lab) in deploying the Community College Growth Engine Fund with two community college systems. The Lab will support the design and pilot of employer-validated micro-pathways to connect low-income learners to economic mobility.
2023 Aspen Prize and New Student Outcomes Data Benchmarking Tool
Scaling
This grant supports the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program in awarding the 2023 Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence and developing a set of data tools, benchmarks and resources to expand adoption of core student success practices related to community college excellence. This grant will support broader field use and engagement with metrics, enabling colleges to benchmark their progress and set institutional reform goals accordingly.