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EDUCATION PHILANTHROPY DIVISION OF ASCENDIUM EDUCATION GROUP

Resource Library

Sharing knowledge is at the heart of our mission. Explore Ascendium’s growing library of publications that examine the complex challenges facing postsecondary learners, and how we’re helping our partners address them.

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How to Encourage College Summer Enrollment Final Lessons from the EASE Project

How to Encourage College Summer Enrollment: Final Lessons from the EASE Project

October 2020
MDRC’s Encouraging Additional Summer Enrollment (EASE) study used behavioral insights and a financial incentive with the goal of boosting enrollment rates. This report, supported by Ascendium, presents findings from the EASE evaluation and is the final report on this project. It examines impacts on academic outcomes one year plus one summer after students were randomly assigned.
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Improving Workforce Outcomes for Rural Community College Students

Improving Workforce Outcomes for Rural Community College Students

October 2020
This Social Finance report, supported by funding from Ascendium, is intended to serve as a “how-to guide” for rural community college leaders in building or refining workforce partnerships. For workforce program directors, the checklists in the Getting Started and Rural Considerations sections are designed to be printed and used as a work plan. For presidents and provosts, the executive summary and stories of peer institutions serve as examples for transformation.
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Supporting Success The Higher Education in Prison Key Performance Indicator Framework

Supporting Success: The Higher Education in Prison Key Performance Indicator Framework

September 2020
This much-anticipated framework was released by the Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP), with support from Ascendium. The framework details key performance indicators (KPIs) of high-quality postsecondary education in prison programs.
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How Did Six Community Colleges Design Support of Part-Time Faculty?

July 2020
The final report by Columbia University's Community College Research Center analyzes the experience of six community colleges' efforts to support adjunct faculty and issues four recommendations to the field.
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Rethinking College Course Placement During the Pandemic

Rethinking College Course Placement During the Pandemic

June 2020
This MDRC resource is for college administrators as they tackle college course placement during the pandemic. The document outlines advice for how to create simple decision rules using high school GPA and other measures. It also links to additional resources on multiple measures placement.
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Remove Structural Barriers to Success

May 2020
This overview of one of Ascendium’s funding focus area explores Ascendium’s investment priorities supporting leadership development and student success, and the desired outcomes of that support.
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Streamline Key Learner Transitions

May 2020
This overview of one of Ascendium’s funding focus area explores Ascendium’s investment priorities for streamlining diverse pathways into and through postsecondary education and learner transitions into the workforce, and the desired outcomes of that support.
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Expand Postsecondary Education in Prison

May 2020
This overview of one of Ascendium’s funding focus area explores Ascendium’s investment priorities for expanding networks and sharing data and best practices around high-quality postsecondary education in prison, and the desired outcomes of that support.
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Support Rural Postsecondary Education and Workforce Training

May 2020
This overview of one of Ascendium’s funding focus area explores Ascendium’s investment priorities for expanding networks and sharing data around postsecondary education and workforce needs in rural areas, and the desired outcomes of that support.
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About Ascendium Education Philanthropy

May 2020
This overview of Ascendium's education philanthropy details our strategic approach to philanthropy: how, where and what we fund, our four focus areas and our belief in the power of education for upward social mobility.
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Using Insights from Behavioral Science to Help College Students Stay Enrolled

Using Insights from Behavioral Science to Help College Students Stay Enrolled

May 2020
This Center for Applied Behavioral Science at MDRC paper offers insights for institutions facing a host of concerns about the upcoming fall semester in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The paper uses context from the Encouraging Additional Summer Enrollment (EASE) project, funded by Ascendium.
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Providing Student Support Services in Extraordinary Times A Caring Campus Approach

Providing Student Support Services in Extraordinary Times: A Caring Campus Approach

May 2020
This well-attended webinar from the Institute for Evidence-Based Change (IEBC) explores how colleges can engage students and best connect with them in a virtual environment. Ascendium supported this webinar as part of IEBC’s Caring Campus programming.
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