All Grants

This grant supports Merit America in testing service delivery models for learners engaged in place-based programs and those engaged in geographic-agnostic programs to compare learner completion and job placement outcomes and inform plans for scale.

This grant supports the Center on Rural Innovation in researching foundational questions related to building an inclusive tech workforce in rural America. Research will be synthesized into a public-facing report that will drive real impact on creating skilling pipelines, localizing outsourced tech jobs and leveraging the power of remote work in rural areas—ultimately setting the stage for low-income rural learners to achieve their academic and career goals in the fast-growing, high-paying fields of the digital economy.

This grant supports the Institute for Higher Education Policy in conducting the impact research component of the Degrees When Due initiative, a national effort to advance degree reclamation for the “some-college, no-degree” population. This research includes an examination of current degree reclamation strategies and student-level postsecondary and employment outcome data.

This grant supports The Aspen Institute in operationalizing the Ascendium-funded Workforce Playbook by engaging community college leaders in a variety of contexts through additional curricular materials and embedding the Workforce Playbook into the existing guided pathways framework.

This grant supports the Coleridge Initiative in developing and delivering training classes for two states to build capacity for state education and workforce agencies in the use of data to improve education and workforce transitions. The Coleridge Initiative will partner with state-based public policy staff and college-based data science programs within each state to develop curricula, deliver ongoing applied data training to state agency staff and build new analytical products to inform the design and development of effective education and training policy and practice.

This grant supports Digital Promise Global in conducting a landscape scan of micro-credential use in rural postsecondary education and workforce training programs. The scan will aim to determine whether and to what extent micro-credentials are being used as a tool for economic recovery in rural postsecondary settings to support credential attainment and workforce entry for rural learners from low-income backgrounds, especially learners of color.

This grant supports Education Writers Association in meeting the professional development needs of postsecondary education journalists as well as media coverage projects related to socio-economic mobility and education beyond high school.

This grant supports the Kentucky Community and Technical College System in developing and executing an in-depth planning process to understand the system, academic and structural changes necessary for a statewide implementation of competency-based education within its general education, career and technical and workforce training programs.

This grant supports the Presidents Forum, a non-profit 501(c)(3) membership organization of college and university and other leading education stakeholders, in planning a series of collaborative convenings focusing on the development of an agile and resilient workforce prepared for the knowledge economy. Held over 18 months, the purpose of these meetings is to share ideas, actions and practices shaping the future of higher education.

This grant supports DVP-Praxis in evaluating the Military Credentialing Advancement Initiative-Pathways Project, an initiative of Lumina Foundation. The Pathways Project will support the creation of new pathways between military occupational competencies and high-quality civilian credentials, and the formative evaluation will highlight learnings from the pilot sites to inform the field and encourage broader recognition of military training and experience.