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.
Perceptions of Postsecondary Education and Training in Rural Areas
June 2021
This Education Commission of the States report, in partnership with Strada Education Network and Gallup and funded by Ascendium, provides a greater awareness and deeper understanding of how rural residents perceive postsecondary education and training, particularly in light of the COVID-19 health crisis.
Higher Education in Puerto Rico: Conditions and Context Influencing Institutional Resilience
May 2021
The profile of many rural communities across the U.S. is not that dissimilar from those in Puerto Rico. Understanding the context of Puerto Rican institutions to enroll, retain and graduate their Latino students can inform efforts to better serve this student population on the island, as well as on the U.S. mainland. This report, produced by Excelencia in Education with support from Ascendium, provides an overview of the educational environment in Puerto Rico and is part one of a two-part series exploring institutional resilience and transformation in Puerto Rico.
Emerging Solutions: Improving Institutional Collaboration and Student Outcomes Through the Texas Transfer Alliance
May 2021
Effective policies around transfer were important before COVID-19 and are arguably even more important as institutions recover from the health crisis. This brief, produced by the Charles A. Dana Center through Tackling Transfer, co-funded by many partners, including Ascendium, showcases work completed by the Texas Transfer Alliance as it relates to emerging transfer practices that show promise in improving student success and social mobility.
University Innovation Alliance Completion Grants Playbook
April 2021
The University Innovation Alliance produced a comprehensive suite of materials to provide qualitative analysis for the completion grants strategy and a roadmap for institutions considering starting their own programs. With support from Ascendium and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, it draws on the experiences of 11 member institutions using completion grants to increase graduation rates for low-income learners.
Convening Summary: Mapping the Future of Technology in Prison Higher Education
April 2021
In February, Ascendium supported Open Campus Media’s virtual convening of more than 100 attendees exploring the future of technology in postsecondary education in prison. Representatives from universities, advocacy groups, funders and state corrections systems examined such topics as student perspectives on technology in prison education and the lifting of the Pell Grant ban. This summary highlights the day’s discussions.
Examining the Educational and Employment Outcomes of Reverse Credit Transfer
April 2021
Reverse credit transfer is an emerging policy that awards an associate degree retroactively to students who hadn’t been awarded one before transferring from a two-year to a four-year school. This study examines how reverse credit transfer impacts students’ education and career outcomes using data from Texas, where the legislature mandated the policy in 2011. Ascendium funded this research as part of Degrees when Due, a completion and equity initiative to increase degree attainment among the "some college, no degree" population.
COVID-19 Transfer, Mobility and Progress Report: First Look Spring 2021
April 2021
The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center released the third of a nine-part series, which Ascendium co-funded to provide institutions and researchers with near real-time data on how the COVID-19 health crisis is impacting transfer students. This report shows the community college sector with a 15.2% transfer decline, a worrisome trend for learners from low-income backgrounds.
Caring Campus: An Initiative to Involve Community College Staff in Increasing Student Success
April 2021
This research brief, developed by the Community College Research Center, highlights the Caring Campus initiative with a special focus on evaluating the importance of nonacademic college staff to the student experience. With funding from Ascendium, the work draws on observations at six colleges, plus interviews with representatives and staff, to detail initial findings related to the initiative’s potential to affect college culture and further change efforts for learners.
Investing in Student Success at Community Colleges: Lessons from Research on Guided Pathways
April 2021
The Community College Research Center at Columbia University Teachers College prepared this primer and federal policy brief on Guided Pathways, a comprehensive reform approach whereby community colleges fundamentally reshape themselves in ways that create clearer pathways to credentials with strong labor-market value. The brief draws heavily on research funded by Ascendium in the past several years.
Our 2020 report, Empowering Possibilities, tells the story of our philanthropy during an unprecedented time and the tremendous efforts of our grant partners who were able to advance their work despite numerous challenges.
Accelerating Recovery through Credentials: Rapid Response Toolkit
March 2021
This resource by Education Strategy Group provides postsecondary education leaders with an action-oriented toolkit to help pandemic-displaced workers gain new skills and credentials as they re-enter the workforce. Co-funded by Ascendium and The Kresge Foundation, it includes evidence-based strategies, resources and a process to create a rapid response action plan.
This new report by Next Generation Sector Partnerships documents the lifecycle of six unique partnerships across the U.S. as they worked to align education, workforce and economic development needs of their regional economies. With funding support from Ascendium, these profiles and framework are intended to add to the growing set of tools available for public and private partners.