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EDUCATION PHILANTHROPY DIVISION OF ASCENDIUM EDUCATION GROUP

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Remove Structural Barriers to Success

Our philanthropy focuses on reducing or eliminating institutional and systemic barriers for underrepresented postsecondary education learners so they can achieve their academic and career goals.

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focus area page Structural

How We See the Problem

Today’s learners often aren’t well served by the educational systems that were built years ago for more traditional students. Now students are often older, more diverse, working one or more jobs, raising families, and struggling to make ends meet.

Colleges and universities are complex, and often don’t have a student-centric approach to course offerings or availability, advising and other institutional policies. The problem shows in the equity gaps in completion rates: just 11% of low-income students graduate with a bachelor’s degree. Almost 6 times as many students — 58% overall — from higher-income households graduate.

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Ascendium's Approach

An investment priority to…

Create conditions for institutional and system readiness for learner success reforms

Means we support…

  • Identifying misaligned policies and practices that reduce the efficacy of learner success reforms
  • Developing learner-centered postsecondary leaders in roles across institutions and systems

Which will lead to…

  • Networks of institutions and systems achieving more equitable learner outcomes
  • Networks and systems better understanding the financial impacts of learner success reforms
  • Leadership development that contributes to equitable student success

An investment priority to…

Support the development and evaluation of promising approaches and interventions to increase completion rates and decrease time to degree

Means we support…

  • Seeding the exploration of innovative ideas
  • Conducting mixed methods evaluations to determine the efficacy and scalability of interventions

Which will lead to…

  • Creation of evidence supporting reforms that lead to more equitable learner outcomes
  • Stakeholders having a better understanding of what works to drive equitable learner outcomes

An investment priority to…

Support the widespread adoption of evidence-based institutional and system policies and practices that drive equitable student outcomes

Means we support…

  • Scaling effective practices that ensure leaners complete degrees or credentials without excess credits
  • Enhancing data infrastructure to maximize its use for decision making and information sharing

Which will lead to…

  • Institutions adopting developmental education reforms at scale
  • More learners enrolling in and completing gateway courses during their first year
  • Institutions prioritizing course availability and advising in a way that decreases time to degree and unnecessary credit accumulation

Grants to Remove Structural Barriers to Success

To learn about our approach to grantmaking (Exploration, Validation, Scaling), visit our How We Fund page.

Evaluation of Open Educational Resources Degree Initiative

Validation
Achieving the Dream Inc|$800,000|4/2016 - 12/2019
This grant supports Achieving the Dream (ATD) in engaging the research firm SRI to conduct an evaluation of ATD’s Open Educational Resources (OER) Degree Initiative. Working with the 20-30 colleges selected to create OER degrees, SRI will evaluate outcomes in three areas: academic impact on students; economic impact on institutions; and models, guidelines and best practices for successful OER Degree implementation.

2017-2019 College Completion Grant

Exploration
North Dakota State University|$200,000|1/2017 - 11/2019
This grant supports efforts at 14 two- and four-year colleges in Arkansas, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio and Wisconsin to identify students nearing completion but at-risk of dropping out and apply appropriate interventions to help them overcome their obstacles.

2017-2019 College Completion Grant

Exploration
Kent State University-Kent|$200,000|1/2017 - 11/2019
This grant supports efforts at 14 two- and four-year colleges in Arkansas, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio and Wisconsin to identify students nearing completion but at-risk of dropping out and apply appropriate interventions to help them overcome their obstacles.

2017-2019 College Completion Grant

Exploration
Columbus State Community College|$128,526|1/2017 - 11/2019
This grant supports efforts at 14 two- and four-year colleges in Arkansas, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio and Wisconsin to identify students nearing completion but at-risk of dropping out and apply appropriate interventions to help them overcome their obstacles.

2017-2019 College Completion Grant

Exploration
North Central State College|$175,008|1/2017 - 11/2019
This grant supports efforts at 14 two- and four-year colleges in Arkansas, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio and Wisconsin to identify students nearing completion but at-risk of dropping out and apply appropriate interventions to help them overcome their obstacles.

2017-2019 College Completion Grant

Exploration
Lorain County Community College|$106,540|1/2017 - 11/2019
This grant supports efforts at 14 two- and four-year colleges in Arkansas, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio and Wisconsin to identify students nearing completion but at-risk of dropping out and apply appropriate interventions to help them overcome their obstacles.

2017-2019 College Completion Grant

Exploration
Northcentral Technical College|$181,449|1/2017 - 11/2019
This grant supports efforts at 14 two- and four-year colleges in Arkansas, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio and Wisconsin to identify students nearing completion but at-risk of dropping out and apply appropriate interventions to help them overcome their obstacles.

2017-2019 College Completion Grant

Exploration
University of Arkansas Community College at Batesville|$198,968|1/2017 - 11/2019
This grant supports efforts at 14 two- and four-year colleges in Arkansas, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio and Wisconsin to identify students nearing completion but at-risk of dropping out and apply appropriate interventions to help them overcome their obstacles.

2017-2019 College Completion Grant

Exploration
University of Arkansas-Fort Smith|$199,880|1/2017 - 11/2019
This grant supports efforts at 14 two- and four-year colleges in Arkansas, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio and Wisconsin to identify students nearing completion but at-risk of dropping out and apply appropriate interventions to help them overcome their obstacles.

2017-2019 College Completion Grant

Exploration
Saint Paul College|$200,000|1/2017 - 11/2019
This grant supports efforts at 14 two- and four-year colleges in Arkansas, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio and Wisconsin to identify students nearing completion but at-risk of dropping out and apply appropriate interventions to help them overcome their obstacles.
View All Ascendium Grants

Latest News

June 23, 2022

Read About Our New Team Supporting Incarcerated Learners, Help Us Shape Our Future Communications and More

  • Introducing Our New Expand Postsecondary Education in Prison Team
  • Help Us Evolve Our Communications
  • Informed Self-Placement Engages Students in the College Placement Process, With Encouraging Results
Read More
June 16, 2022

Informed Self-Placement Engages Students in the College Placement Process, With Encouraging Results

A new report from the Center for the Analysis of Postsecondary Readiness (CAPR) suggests that Informed Self-Placement (ISP) has the potential to increase the number of students enrolling in and completing college-level math and English courses during their first year. This in turn increases students’ chances of completing their degree.

Read More
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Resources

Informed Self-Placement Today: An Exploratory Study of Student Outcomes and Placement Practices

Informed Self-Placement is a placement system in which students decide their math and English placement level based on information provided by colleges. This report from CAPR provides an opportunity for institutions to evaluate their placement systems relative to the degree of choice and guidance provided, and to consider changes that may boost student progression and success.

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Research Evidence on Ask-Connect-Inspire-Plan Onboarding Practices

New research behind a framework aimed at enriching learners’ experiences as they choose and plan a program of study has been shared by the Community College Research Center (CCRC). This brief describes the motivation, research evidence and equity implications that allow CCRC’s Ask-Connect-Inspire-Plan framework to serve as a useful strategy for colleges to engage learners and encourage completion.

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Sue
Cui

Senior Program Officer,
Remove Structural Barriers to Success

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