Streamline Key Learner Transitions

How We See the Problem

Leveraging workforce training systems, transferring between postsecondary providers and entering or re-entering the workforce are pivotal moments in a learner’s career or academic journey. Institutions and systems can implement policies and practices that inadvertently make these transitions difficult. For example, when curricula don’t align, or information systems are incapable of sharing data effectively, students risk losing credits, momentum and money. The jump from postsecondary education into the workforce also presents challenges, especially when institutions offer programming that does not align with the skills employers need.

Ascendium’s Approach

We support diverse pathways to technical education and workforce training, efforts that ease returning to and transferring between postsecondary institutions and initiatives that smooth transitions between postsecondary education and the workforce.

Outcomes we seek

The outcomes we seek measure progress across areas that include: providing learners with the information they need to understand the education landscape and take advantage of career pathways; increasing numbers of learners with some college but no degree efficiently completing a degree or high-quality credential; and fostering collaborative efforts around data coordination between postsecondary and workforce systems with learners’ needs and goals in mind.

How we work

We fund initiatives that develop multiple pathways into training and certificates; promote collaboration between education, non-degree credential partners and workforce systems; align transfers between institutions at system, state, and regional levels; and ultimately work to ensure that learners are well-prepared to enter and advance in the workforce.

Grants to Streamline Key Learner Transitions

Text Steps Summer Melt Texting-NCAN memberships for Wisconsin school districts

Scaling

National College Attainment Network|$30,883|9/2018 - 6/2021

This grant supports National College Access Network membership fees for the 13 school districts participating in the Text Steps project.

Constructing a Predictive Analytic Model to Adult Learner Pathways

Exploration

The Graduate! Network Inc|$260,000|6/2020 - 5/2021

This grant supports The Graduate! Network in developing a platform-agnostic quantitative and qualitative analysis of their data to construct a predictive analytic model to further understand patterns in adult learner pathways to degree completion. The analyses produced from this project will ultimately culminate in a report that will inform institutional policies and practices to further support adult learner re-engagement strategies and increase degree completion.