Ready for Pell
Scaling
This grant supports Jobs for the Future Inc (JFF) in leading Ascendium’s Ready for Pell initiative, including identifying and selecting high-capacity postsecondary education providers; surfacing and disseminating best practices; and providing technical assistance to enable institutions to implement best practices. JFF will also manage the third-party evaluation and share lessons from the initiative to inform efforts to scale access to Pell in prison settings.
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.
Governing Board Success Academy
Exploration
This grant supports the John N. Gardner Institute for Excellence in Undergraduate Education, in partnership with the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges, in providing professional development to governing boards on prioritizing equitable student success through practice, policy and budget oversight.
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.
Community Colleges as Apprenticeship Intermediaries: Learning What Works
Exploration
This grant supports New America Foundation in exploring the role of apprenticeship intermediaries. New America will conduct research to identify effective community college apprenticeship intermediaries and offer policy and practice
recommendations for community colleges to scale this strategy.
recommendations for community colleges to scale this strategy.
Transformational Partnership Fund
Exploration
This grant supports SeaChange Capital Partners in developing and launching the Transformational Partnership Fund, a funding vehicle that will provide postsecondary institution leaders with opportunities to explore and form long-term strategic partnerships ranging from mergers and acquisitions to administrative shared services or consolidated programs.
Michigan Community College Workforce and Transfer Alignment
Scaling
This grant supports the Michigan Community College Association in improving equitable access to and through community college workforce programs for low-income learners statewide by improving program alignment with industry certifications, building new baccalaureate transfer pathways with universities and strengthening advising practices related to both transfer and career outcomes.
Understanding Educational Space Needs in Prisons
Exploration
This grant supports Ithaka S+R in exploring intersections of high-quality postsecondary education in prison and physical space constraints that impact educational programming in prisons. The goal of the project is to conduct research and develop policy recommendations and design solutions that will allow prisons to maximize access to high-quality postsecondary education programming.
Data Fellows Program Pilot
Exploration
This grant supports the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities and the Association for Institutional Research in piloting a Data Fellows program to improve data literacy on campus among faculty and staff. The program will foster increased use of student data to inform strategic, tactical and operational decisions, with the ultimate aim of improving student success outcomes.
Preparing Incarcerated Learners for Careers in Technology
Exploration
This grant supports the LaunchCode Foundation in expanding access to their foundational coding/web development training and employment program to incarcerated students in several Missouri prison facilities. The goal of the project is to increase workforce training opportunities and improve employment outcomes for incarcerated adults while providing a pathway to further education.
