Resource Library

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

K-12 districts and schools have the ability to create, change and improve their advising practices to better serve their students as they prepare for the next step in academic and career success. The National College Attainment Network (NCAN) has resources available to help – from readiness rubrics and key approaches for supporting postsecondary education transitions to NCAN member program connections.

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.

Placement testing often determines whether a student is required to take developmental education courses or college-level courses upon entry to postsecondary education. Placement testing can also be a barrier for students, which is why Ascendium supported the research captured in this resource by MDRC and the Community College Research Center which explores an alternative to high-stakes placement testing.

The College System of Tennessee analyzed re-enrollment, transfer and completion patterns for 113,000 of its learners who reconnected with its community colleges. This Ascendium-funded working paper identifies four distinct reconnector groups and includes research and action steps for institutions to consider.