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Ascendium Education Philanthropy is a division of Ascendium Education Group.

Awarded Grants

The grants we award advance our core strategies to Expand Opportunity, Support Learner Success, and Connect and Align Systems. They also promote field support and development efforts across strategies.

Strategies

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Massachusetts Prison Education Consortium Expansion

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The Educational Justice Institute at MIT|$810,700|7/2021 - 12/2024
This grant supports The Educational Justice Institute at MIT in designing a scalable, sustainable and replicable model of postsecondary education delivery throughout the Massachusetts prison system. This model will unite the disparate courses offered throughout the correctional system into a coordinated network of transferable credits, guide students through facility transfers and create comprehensive programs leading to credentials.

Training Low-Income Workers for Remote Opportunities

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The Foundation for Maine's Community Colleges|$535,000|7/2021 - 6/2024
This grant supports The Foundation for Maine's Community Colleges in building and implementing a state-wide training program designed to prepare rural Maine residents for success in remote working roles. Over three years, the program will train 700+ learners and establish the Maine Advisory Council on Remote Working.

National Reporting on Rural and Prison Higher Education

Field Development
Open Campus Media Inc|$600,000|7/2021 - 10/2023
This grant supports Open Campus in developing an indepth series of stories covering rural postsecondary education and workforce training and postsecondary education in prison.

Reporting of Postsecondary Education

Field Development
The Hechinger Report|$220,000|7/2021 - 6/2023
This grant supports The Hechinger Report in exposing the challenges and elevating possible solutions to problems facing our postsecondary education system.

Advancing Student Success through Leadership

Support
North Carolina State University|$1,803,200|6/2021 - 5/2025
This grant supports North Carolina State University’s Belk Center for Community College Leadership in building capacity for presidents, senior teams and trustees of the state’s 58 community colleges. Learner-centered leadership development is needed to address structural barriers to student success and implement solutions that support learners from low-income backgrounds.

Optimizing Delivery Systems for Higher Education in Prison

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State of Minnesota Department of Corrections|$1,970,738|6/2021 - 5/2024
This grant supports the Minnesota Department of Corrections in redesigning their postsecondary educational delivery system to dramatically increase incarcerated learner access and success. The Minnesota Department of Corrections will work alongside a variety of external partners to build a solid infrastructure for core operations across internal departments and external organizations, as well as address relevant institutional policy and practice barriers.

Strengthen and Scale Multiple Measures Assessment Implementation

Support
MDRC|$2,300,000|12/2020 - 12/2024
This grant supports MDRC, in partnership with the Community College Research Center at Teachers College, Columbia University, in expanding the adoption of multiple measures assessment systems for student placement in math and English.

Assessing the Pandemic's Impact on Postsecondary Education in Prison

Field Development
RAND Corporation|$303,592|12/2020 - 4/2024
This grant supports The RAND Corporation in assessing the near- and long-term impacts of COVID-19 on postsecondary education in prison. Promising practices and responses to the pandemic that are being employed by corrections departments, colleges and universities, and postsecondary practitioners will be identified and disseminated to the field and key stakeholders.

Maintain Momentum: Supporting Postsecondary Education Membership Organizations and Networks

Field Development
University Innovation Alliance|$436,250|11/2020 - 6/2023
This grant supports the University Innovation Alliance and its members in continuing to advance student success reforms despite COVID‐19‐related impacts.

Maintain Momentum: Supporting Postsecondary Education Membership Organizations and Networks

Field Development
Wisconsin Technical College System Board|$150,000|11/2020 - 12/2022
This grant supports the Wisconsin Technical College System and its members in continuing to advance student success reforms despite COVID-19-related impacts.