All Grants

This grant supports Arkansas Community Colleges in creating thoughtful and sustainable changes to the student advising systems so that students are better served academically and supported on their paths to completing a postsecondary credential.

This grant supports attendance of at least 20 community college leaders as fellows at the 2019 Achieving the Dream (ATD) Data & Analytics Summit, September 11-13, 2019 and Holistic Student Supports Institute, October 1-4, 2019. ATD will also collect and share the fellows' reflections on their practical next steps and anticipated challenges in implementing their learnings.

This grant supports MDRC and the Minnesota State System in promoting campus transformation by providing workshops and coaching on implementing multiple measures assessment, promoting summer enrollment, and understanding the impact of practices and policy around Satisfactory Academic Progress.

This grant supports the Dana Center at the University of Texas at Austin in developing an intensive, interactive virtual professional learning series for math faculty and delivering it over the summer so that faculty are prepared to provide high-quality learning experiences to students in their fall math courses.

This grant supports the Aspen Institute in developing pragmatic guidance for postsecondary institutions on student-centered credit mobility, and developing timely, COVID-context-specific content emphasizing evidence-based practices colleges and universities can adopt that enable seamless transitions between institutions.

As part of Ascendium’s Optimizing Delivery Systems for Higher Education in Prison initiative, this grant supports the Minnesota Department of Corrections, in partnership with the "Just Education" Collaborative at the Institute for Advanced Study at the University of Minnesota, Inver Hills Community College/Dakota County Technical College and Augsburg University, in preparing to launch their “College at Prison” effort to reimagine postsecondary education offerings across all prison facilities in Minnesota.

As part of Ascendium’s Optimizing Delivery Systems for Higher Education in Prison initiative, this grant supports the Iowa Department of Education, in partnership with the Iowa Department of Corrections, Iowa Central Community College, Des Moines Area Community College and the University of Iowa, in developing a plan for expanded postsecondary education options across Iowa that are workforce-relevant and support varied academic and career pathways.

This grant supports the University of Wisconsin System in helping its colleges increase completion of math gateway courses. The colleges will collaborate on improving developmental math offerings and establish new pathways that are aligned and developed concurrently with meta-majors.

This grant supports the Lab for Economic Opportunities at the University of Notre Dame in convening practitioners, researchers and policymakers to develop a shared understanding of the research on student advising and counseling. Six rigorously evaluated programs, including Accelerated Study in Associate Programs, will be examined to develop policy recommendations on how to build and apply this evidence base to improve student outcomes more widely.

This grant supports the Minnesota Department of Corrections in increasing access to high-quality career and technical education for incarcerated students at four prisons in Minnesota. New certification (OSHA and Forklift) and training (Heavy Equipment Operation) opportunities will be combined with advising to help students obtain gainful employment post-release.