Non-Credit Mobility Academy
Exploration
State Higher Education Executive Officers Association|$750,000|9/2023 - 8/2025
This grant supports the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association in supporting four to six states to strengthen policy and data infrastructure around non-credit postsecondary education. Participating states will work to ensure that learners have access to high-quality non-credit postsecondary training, and that clear pathways exist from that training into credit-bearing credentials in fields where those are required qualifications for high-demand jobs.
Enhancing and Expanding the Transfer Explorer Tool
Scaling
Ithaka Harbors Inc|$1,716,350|9/2022 - 8/2025
This grant supports Ithaka Harbors in enhancing and expanding the Transfer Explorer tool so that more transfer students have prior credits applied to a four-year degree, leading to reduced cost, reduced time-to-degree and a greater chance of completion.
Exploring TRIO's Capacity to Provide Career Development to Low-Income Students
Exploration
Council for Opportunity in Education|$748,000|2/2023 - 5/2025
This grant supports the Pell Institute, the research arm of the Council for Opportunity in Education, in exploring the capacity for federally-funded TRIO programs to provide more robust career development and support services to the low-income college students they serve. This study is the first to explore opportunities to leverage TRIO programs in service of post-college career outcomes.
Establishing a Data Use Challenge to Inform Education & Workforce Transitions
Scaling
Coleridge Initiative Inc|$1,347,166|10/2021 - 3/2025
This grant supports Coleridge Initiative in developing and launching a data use challenge and call for proposals to solicit data-driven ideas that inform education and workforce transitions. Ascendium will select individual data challenge projects to support from a set of proposals submitted by Coleridge Initiative during the grant period. The selected projects will link education and workforce data, provide states the relevant data analysis capacity to answer critical questions about student progression and inform evidence-based policies and practices that support learners from low-income backgrounds.
Building a National Apprenticeship Intermediary Infrastructure
Exploration
Apprenticeships for America|$500,000|2/2023 - 1/2025
This grant supports Apprenticeships for America in creating the first national network of apprenticeship intermediaries in the United States and developing research to support the role of intermediaries with the goal of expanding apprenticeship opportunities nationwide.
Examining Faculty Decision-Making in Course Equivalency and Transfer
Validation
MDRC|$1,122,000|12/2021 - 12/2024
This grant supports MDRC in assessing faculty behavior and motivations related to course equivalency decisions, a key bottleneck in the transfer process. In partnership with the National Association of System Heads and UC Berkeley, MDRC will conduct research and analysis of faculty's role in transfer articulation processes and explore system-level policy and practice considerations which may support more effective faculty engagement.
Connected Pathways for Tribal Colleges and Universities
Exploration
Wakiya Foundation Inc|$750,000|10/2022 - 9/2024
This grant supports the Wakiya Foundation in piloting the development of new, career-aligned bachelor’s degree programs at three tribal colleges in Montana. In partnership with the tribal college leaders and Western Governors University (WGU), Wakiya Foundation will lead a process of using labor market data to identify in-demand jobs for which no postsecondary education programs currently exist for tribal learners, and to fill those gaps through offerings delivered jointly by the tribal colleges and WGU.
College Promise Careers Institute, Promise Regional Convenings, & Expanding Ecosystems for Promise Student Support
Scaling
College Promise Campaign|$250,000|9/2023 - 8/2024
This grant supports the College Promise Campaign (CPC) in providing professional development and technical assistance to new and existing Promise programs by hosting regional workshops and its fourth annual College Promise Careers Institute. CPC will also expand work focused on developing career pathways for Promise students in high-growth labor market segments.
STEM Transfer Partnerships
Exploration
University of Washington|$1,173,375|9/2021 - 8/2024
This grant supports the University of Washington in implementing a statewide consortium of institutional partnerships to increase successful transfer for low-income learners in STEM programs. Relying on the evidence-based framework for transfer partnerships developed by the institution's Community College Research Initiatives, this project endeavors to institutionalize collaborative partnerships at the departmental level, leading to long-term structural improvements in transfer policy and practice.
Learning Partner for Future Sectoral Training Evidence-Building Initiative
Validation
MDRC|$334,500|2/2024 - 6/2024
This grant supports MDRC in partnering with Ascendium to design a grantmaking initiative that will build next-generation evidence on sectoral training programs. The initiative will identify the conditions and mechanisms needed to deliver and scale effective programs.
