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EDUCATION PHILANTHROPY DIVISION OF ASCENDIUM EDUCATION GROUP

All Grants

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Planning for a Center for Prison Education Research and Leadership

Exploration
University of Utah|$750,000|7/2023 - 12/2024
This grant supports the University of Utah in planning the design and launch of a research center focused on postsecondary education in prisons. The proposed center will serve as a national hub for defining critical evidence gaps and advancing rigorous research to inform the design, evaluation and improvement of postsecondary education programs for incarcerated learners.

Paving the Way to Equitable, Adequate, and Effective Community College Funding

Validation
Teachers College, Columbia University|$742,100|12/2021 - 12/2024
This grant supports the Community College Research Center (CCRC) at Teachers College, Columbia University in executing a project designed to understand the costs of implementing evidence-based practices to support postsecondary success for learners from low-income backgrounds and students of color at two-year institutions. CCRC will use insights from the study to provide guidance to institutional leaders and state and system policymakers for advancing adequate and equitable funding strategies.

Strengthen and Scale Multiple Measures Assessment Implementation

Scaling
MDRC|$2,300,000|12/2020 - 12/2024
This grant supports MDRC, in partnership with the Community College Research Center at Teachers College, Columbia University, in expanding the adoption of multiple measures assessment systems for student placement in math and English.

Examining Student Loss at Community Colleges

Exploration
The RAND Corporation|$560,400|2/2023 - 12/2024
This grant supports The RAND Corporation in partnering with Dallas College to address early student attrition. The partners will examine institutional data, student experiences and campus-level practices to share insights with the field about students who leave prior to colleges' official enrollment count and how community colleges can help retain them.

Helping the Field Prepare for Pell Reinstatement

Scaling
Vera Institute of Justice Inc|$1,400,000|12/2022 - 12/2024
This grant supports Vera Institute of Justice in providing technical assistance, training and advising to new and existing Second Chance Pell college sites and their state corrections system partners. The goal of these activities is to ensure the implementation of high-quality postsecondary education in prison and to help the field prepare for the full restoration of Pell Grants for incarcerated learners on July 1, 2023.

Minnesota Math Pathways

Scaling
Minnesota State Colleges & Universities|$2,371,200|7/2021 - 12/2024
This grant supports Minnesota State Colleges & Universities in replacing pre-requisite remediation with co-requisite options and ensuring all students enter a mathematics pathway relevant to their program of study. These reforms are designed to facilitate transfer and reduce disparities in low-income and minoritized student completion outcomes.

Academic Planning Tool Pilot

Exploration
Partnership for Education Advancement|$1,417,900|12/2021 - 12/2024
This grant supports Partnership for Education Advancement in bolstering college capacity to plan for, successfully implement and evaluate the use of academic planning technology to help students map a clear path to courses needed for degree completion. In addition to decreasing excess credit accumulation and speeding time to degree for students, the project will help institutions calculate the return on their investment in this type of technology.

Examining Faculty Decision-Making in Course Equivalency and Transfer

Validation
MDRC|$1,122,000|12/2021 - 12/2024
This grant supports MDRC in assessing faculty behavior and motivations related to course equivalency decisions, a key bottleneck in the transfer process. In partnership with the National Association of System Heads and UC Berkeley, MDRC will conduct research and analysis of faculty's role in transfer articulation processes and explore system-level policy and practice considerations which may support more effective faculty engagement.

Changing Systems to Support Partnerships Between Rural Community Colleges and Industry Stakeholders

Exploration
National Skills Coalition|$600,000|12/2022 - 11/2024
This grant supports the National Skills Coalition in helping states implement policy and systems changes to create and/or strengthen partnerships between rural-based community colleges and industry. This effort will document how existing partnerships have impacted the postsecondary and workforce success of rural learners and provide targeted technical assistance and coaching to state agencies and workforce coalitions.

Fast Track to Success? A Mixed Methods Study of Accelerated Course Formats

Validation
Tennessee Board of Regents-The College System of Tennessee |$734,300|12/2022 - 11/2024
This grant supports the Tennessee Board of Regents in partnering with Stanford University researchers to better understand the impact of accelerated courses on students from low-income and other non-traditional backgrounds.