News

Recent Resources Show the Value of Good Workforce Training Programs

A college education can be transformative, but it’s not the only route to career success. We’ve rounded up three resources highlighting promising approaches to workforce training that are already working to improve the lives of learners from low-income backgrounds.

Meet Our New Program Officer for Strategic Engagement, Learn How Rural Community Colleges Are Helping Learners, and More

• Introducing Our New Program Officer for Strategic Engagement, Amy Kuether
• Rural Community Colleges Utilize Strengths and Assets to Improve Learner Success
• Perspectives from the Field: Community Colleges Connect Learners to Credentials that Meet Local Workforce Needs

Perspectives from the Field: Community Colleges Connect Learners to Credentials that Meet Local Workforce Needs

As postsecondary education costs continue to rise, today’s community colleges are vital to delivering high-value, affordable credentials that result in upward mobility and meet regional labor market needs. To develop these paths and guide learners through them, these institutions need strong data, advising and partnerships. We talked to leaders from three colleges, Valencia College, Lorain County Community College and Southwest Wisconsin Technical College. They share how their work with the Aspen Institute Unlocking Opportunity Program will shift learners into identified high-value credentials, serving as a model for others to follow. 

In Utah, Major Educational Gaps Exist for Incarcerated People. Here's What's Being Done

Of the 2.3 million people currently incarcerated in the U.S., only 5% have access to high-quality postsecondary education. A new university research center aims to fix that problem by gathering and distributing data that allows states to serve incarcerated learners more equitably.

Rural Community Colleges Utilize Strengths and Assets to Improve Learner Success

Rural community colleges offer many examples and lessons on how to improve postsecondary education success for learners from low-income backgrounds. Institutions across the country can learn from the rural community colleges profiled in the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program’s (CEP) latest report, which highlights how they utilize their strengths and assets to best serve their learners. Insights shared in the report will also inform continued enhancements to CEP’s curriculum for community college leadership and its on-the-ground support of institutions working on transforming to better serve learners.

Amarillo College and Imperial Valley College Win Aspen Institute Prize for Community College Excellence

The biennial prize is the nation’s signature recognition for America’s community colleges. This year’s honorees are two rural-serving schools that beat national rates by achieving 8 and 12 percentage point improvements in graduation rates over four years.

Introducing Our New Program Officer for Strategic Engagement, Amy Kuether

Our Education Philanthropy team continues to grow with the addition of Amy Kuether as program officer for strategic engagement. In this role, she leads investments in strategic media partnerships and field engagement. This role will help further amplify insights generated by our grant partners’ work and extend the impact of our grantmaking.

Lifting Up Postsecondary Education in Prison During Second Chance Month and More

• It’s Time to Change the Way We Think About Incarcerated Learners
• Three Takeaways from RAND Corporation’s Report: Assessing the Impact of COVID-19 on Prison Education
• Record Number of Wisconsin Apprentices Receive Tools of the Trade Scholarships

It’s Time to Change the Way We Think About Incarcerated Learners

As the postsecondary education field recognizes Second Chance Month, Senior Program Officer Molly Lasagna argues it's time to apply what we've learned in broader education reforms to ensure the success of incarcerated learners. Doing so will require building the capacity of the field to be student ready.

Ascendium Releases 2022 Education Philanthropy Report: Meeting the Moment

Ascendium Education Group has released its 2022 Education Philanthropy report, Meeting the Moment. The report tells the story of Ascendium's philanthropy during 2022 as we provided $122 million in new grants to meet the challenges created and compounded by our changing world.