News

Postsecondary Education and Workforce Training Trends We’re Watching in 2024

Part of being a reflective funder is listening to our grant partners and tracking the evolving needs of learners from year to year. With 2024 underway, we’re seeing notable trends across postsecondary education, including statewide efforts to align postsecondary education and the workforce and continued concerns about the return on investment of college necessitating more flexible models of delivery. Remaining aware of these trends allows us to tailor our grantmaking for meaningful impact.

Answering Questions About Learners and Employment Starts with Good Data

Despite investments in postsecondary education and workforce training by state and federal government, and from the learners themselves, we don’t today have adequate data to answer simple questions about the return on those investments in terms of employment outcomes. The Coleridge Initiative’s efforts to link postsecondary education and workforce training data, boost state data analysis capacity, and ultimately address knowledge gaps, can inform evidence-based policies and practices that lead to upward mobility and successful outcomes for learners.

A Boost for Skills Experiments

Ascendium is among several funders supporting an initiative that elevates the use of learning and employment records (LERs) to make more equitable skills-based hiring decisions. Kept by learners and workers, LERs are digital records that communicate to employers the skills an individual has to qualify for a job.

Introducing our New Deputy Director of Education Grantmaking, Ascendium Acts on Grant Partner Feedback, and More

• Introducing our New Deputy Director of Education Grantmaking, Dr. Janice Hicks
• Ascendium Acts on Grant Partner Feedback to Refine Philanthropic Practices
• New Resources Aim to Increase Understanding of CBE Program Designs

New Resources Aim to Increase Understanding of CBE Program Designs

A new framework and accompanying research brief from American Institutes for Research and the Competency-Based Education Network aims to improve understanding of competency-based education (CBE) program design at colleges and universities in the U.S. These new resources also explore an intentional approach to CBE program design by practitioners, with goals of facilitating rigorous research on the efficacy of key design elements and supporting stronger program design that leads to positive learner outcomes.

Introducing our New Deputy Director of Education Grantmaking, Dr. Janice Hicks

Ascendium is pleased to welcome Dr. Janice Hicks to our Education Philanthropy team as our new deputy director of education grantmaking. Janice will support grantmaking across portfolios focused on strategies to transform postsecondary education institutions and systems to better serve learners from low-income backgrounds.

Keith Witham Reflects on the Past Six Months, Ascendium Discusses the State of Postsecondary Education in Prison, and More

• Keith Witham Reflects on His First Six Months as Vice President of Education Philanthropy
• Ascendium’s Molly Lasagna and Others Discuss the State of Postsecondary Education in Prison
• Strategic Media Partnerships Amplify Solutions to Rural Learners’ Challenges

Aligning Postsecondary Education Programs and Workforce Demands to Help Learners Access Good Jobs

Research from the Urban Institute has led to the development of a framework and dedicated resources that explore how the alignment of training and credential programs with good jobs improves outcomes for learners from low-income backgrounds. These resources specifically outline approaches for learners in short-term career and technical education programs.

Keith Witham Reflects on His First Six Months as Vice President of Education Philanthropy

Halfway through his first year as Vice President of Education Philanthropy, Keith Witham provides an overview of the past six months of Ascendium’s grantmaking. He also looks ahead, reaffirming Ascendium’s commitment to transforming the lives of learners from low-income backgrounds through postsecondary education and workforce training.

Free Job Trainings for Immediate Employment for Maui Residents

Good Jobs Hawai’i offers free job training to Maui residents who want to upskill and earn industry credentials in the healthcare, skilled trades, and technology industries. Ascendium’s support of this initiative includes funding to help with industry partner coordination and the development of career pathways within the University of Hawaii System.