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EDUCATION PHILANTHROPY DIVISION OF ASCENDIUM EDUCATION GROUP

Streamline Key Learner Transitions

Our philanthropy supports institutions and systems as they work to facilitate seamless transitions between educational and career opportunities after high school.

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How We See the Problem

Leveraging workforce training, transferring between postsecondary providers and entering or re-entering the workforce are pivotal moments in a learner’s career or academic journey. Institutions and systems can implement policies and practices that inadvertently make these transitions difficult. For example, when curricula don’t align, or information systems are incapable of sharing data effectively, students risk losing credits, momentum and money. The jump from postsecondary education into the workforce also presents challenges, especially when institutions offer programming that does not align with the skills employers need.

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Our Three Investment Priorities

Explore diverse pathways to and through postsecondary education and workforce training.

  • Identify and test diverse pathways (e.g., short-term credentials, apprenticeships, career pathways/hybrid college models) that promote upward socioeconomic mobility for learners from low-income backgrounds.
  • Support the scaling of diverse pathway models with promising results to serve greater numbers of learners from low-income backgrounds.

Ease transitions between, and returning to, postsecondary education providers.

  • Support innovative policies and practices that create more integrated, holistic approaches to giving learners credit for prior learning (including transfer credits).
  • Support the implementation of strategies proven to ease the transition from community colleges to four-year institutions.

Smooth transitions between postsecondary education and the workforce.

  • Identify and advance strategies that support the strengthening of infrastructure, usability and standardization of data across sectors related to learner success and socioeconomic mobility.
  • Find, evaluate and support scaling of postsecondary education practices that are yielding strong workforce outcomes for learners from low-income backgrounds.

Grants to Streamline Key Learner Transitions

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

Text Steps Summer Melt Texting-NCAN memberships for Wisconsin school districts

Scaling
National College Attainment Network|$30,883|9/2018 - 6/2021
This grant supports National College Access Network membership fees for the 13 school districts participating in the Text Steps project.

Scaling Education to Employment Solutions

Exploration
America Achieves Inc|$180,000|4/2020 - 4/2021
This grant supports America Achieves in developing actionable recommendations for how philanthropy and the public sector can work together to scale high potential postsecondary education to employment initiatives.

Text Steps Summer Melt Texting

Scaling
School District of Monroe|$37,975|9/2018 - 12/2020
This grant supports 13 Wisconsin public school districts in launching summer melt text nudging to help increase on-time college enrollment rates.

Text Steps Summer Melt Texting

Scaling
Unified School District of Antigo|$38,105|9/2018 - 12/2020
This grant supports 13 Wisconsin public school districts in launching summer melt text nudging to help increase on-time college enrollment rates.

Text Steps Summer Melt Texting

Scaling
Green Bay Area Public Schools|$47,900|9/2018 - 12/2020
This grant supports 13 Wisconsin public school districts in launching summer melt text nudging to help increase on-time college enrollment rates.

Text Steps Summer Melt Texting

Scaling
Sheboygan Area School District|$47,880|9/2018 - 12/2020
This grant supports 13 Wisconsin public school districts in launching summer melt text nudging to help increase on-time college enrollment rates.

Text Steps Summer Melt Texting

Scaling
Watertown Unified School District|$37,975|9/2018 - 12/2020
This grant supports 13 Wisconsin public school districts in launching summer melt text nudging to help increase on-time college enrollment rates.

Text Steps Summer Melt Texting

Scaling
Racine Unified School District|$28,665|9/2018 - 12/2020
This grant supports 13 Wisconsin public school districts in launching summer melt text nudging to help increase on-time college enrollment rates.

Text Steps Summer Melt Texting

Scaling
West Allis West Milwaukee School District|$32,835|9/2018 - 12/2020
This grant supports 13 Wisconsin public school districts in launching summer melt text nudging to help increase on-time college enrollment rates.

Text Steps Summer Melt Texting

Scaling
School District of La Crosse|$47,910|9/2018 - 12/2020
This grant supports 13 Wisconsin public school districts in launching summer melt text nudging to help increase on-time college enrollment rates.
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Latest News

March 23, 2023

Keith Witham Named New Vice President - Education Philanthropy, Q&A with AHEP’s Ved Price and More

  • A Message from Our New Vice President - Education Philanthropy, Keith Witham
  • Q&A: AHEP’s Ved Price on the State of Postsecondary Education in Prison Programs
  • Grant Partners Selected for Building Evidence to Increase Rural Learner Success
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March 09, 2023

Community College Transfers to Four-Year Colleges Tumbled Almost 8% Last Fall

A National Student Clearinghouse Research Center analysis reveals that upward transfer, or transfer from a two-year to a four-year postsecondary institution, continues to drop in the aftermath of the COVID-19 health crisis. Upward transfers, an important way that many learners from low-income backgrounds pursue their education goals, decreased 7.5% between fall 2021 and 2022.

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Resources

Short, Affordable College Alternatives Lead to Careers with Upward Mobility

In this Future U. podcast episode, Merit America and Marcy Lab School founders talk about how their organizations train learners facing financial and other barriers to postsecondary education and connect them with careers in the technology sector. Merit America’s program is designed for and supports working adults while the Marcy Lab is an alternative to college for those who either never enrolled or dropped out. Organizations like these are creating opportunities for low-income learners to pursue careers leading to upward mobility.

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Ohio Partnerships Inform Best Practices that Help Transfer Students Succeed

Kent State University worked with three local community colleges to advance a “statewide comprehensive transfer blueprint” modeled on the Aspen Institute’s Transfer Playbook. Kent State and its partners implemented two key strategies recommended in the Playbook, clear programmatic pathways and tailored transfer student advising, with success. The partnership resulted in a transfer process that can help all learners transition to four-year programs and meet their academic goals.

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Carolynn
Lee

Senior Program Officer,
Streamline Key Learner Transitions

Valerie
Crespín-Trujillo

Program Officer,
Streamline Key Learner Transitions

Maryann
Rainey

Senior Program Officer,
Streamline Key Learner Transitions

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