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EDUCATION PHILANTHROPY DIVISION OF ASCENDIUM EDUCATION GROUP

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Sharing knowledge is at the heart of our mission. Explore Ascendium’s growing library of publications that examine the complex challenges facing postsecondary learners, and how we’re helping our partners address them.

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Belk Center for Community College Leadership and Research

Project Profile: Rural College Leaders Program: Catalyzing Institutions to Improve Student Outcomes

July 2023
A project of the Building Evidence to Increase Rural Learner Success initiative, the Belk Center evaluates its Rural College Leaders Program (RCLP) to ensure it has the best impact on its partner colleges and the learners they serve. Through evaluation, RCLP will be strengthened and broader lessons from the community of practice shared with other rural-serving community colleges across the country.
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MDRC SectorStrategies
MDRC

Sector Strategies for Workforce Development

July 2023
Programs that are specialized by sector and train people for high-quality, high-demand jobs in their communities are vital for improving the educational and economic outcomes of learners from low-income backgrounds. These programs offer targeted skills training and assistance with the job search as well as credentials for long-term career advancement. This paper recommends several strategies for ensuring that such specialized workforce training programs are robust, equitable, and in line with researched best practices.
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veraSecondChancePell
Vera Institute of Justice

Second Chance Pell: Six Years of Expanding Higher Education Programs in Prisons

June 2023
Since 2016, the Vera Institute of Justice has provided technical assistance to colleges and corrections departments participating in the Second Chance Pell Experimental Sites Initiative, which provides need-based Pell Grants to people in state and federal prisons. This report describes the first six years of the initiative, with special focus on the 2021–22 financial aid year.
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RuralEducatorBriefs
Community Colleges of the Appalachia Region

Rural Educator Academy Cohort 1 Report Briefs

June 2023
Six community colleges participated in the first cohort of the Rural Educator Academy (REA). This community of practice is focused on ways to improve student success metrics for rural learners from low-income backgrounds across the Appalachia region. Through these briefs, each college shared their journey, including goals, challenges, and what they learned through participation in REA.
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PforPNewEngland
New England Board of Higher Education

Report of the New England Commission on the Future of Higher Education in Prison

June 2023
The New England Commission on the Future of Higher Education in Prison was formed with the goal of working to ensure that every incarcerated person in New England has access to high-quality, workforce-aligned equitable postsecondary opportunities with a wide range of educational pathways. With the restoration of Pell Grants for incarcerated learners occurring July 1, this report speaks to how such aims can be achieved.
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ImplementingCaringCampusReport
Institute for Evidence-Based Change

Implementing Caring Campus: Strategies College Presidents Use to Improve Culture and Support Reform

May 2023
Developed by the Institute for Evidence-Based Change, Caring Campus is a reform effort based on research that shows students who feel connected to their college are more likely to persist from semester to semester and complete their academic goals. This report highlights the role of college presidents in supporting campus culture and offers guidance for leaders at other institutions as they consider how best to institute Caring Campus and other culture-focused reforms.
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futureUPod
Academic Intelligence

Learner Mobility and Transfer in Higher Ed

May 2023
According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, it’s estimated that transfer students lose 43% of their credits when they move to a new institution. In this podcast episode, Michael Horn and Jeff Selingo speak to Greg Washington, president of George Mason University, about university programs that support learner mobility, especially for transfer students. These programs show promise as they make it easier for learners to keep prior-earned credits and integrate into their new institution.
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2023aspenprize
Aspen Institute

The 2023 Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence

April 2023
The Aspen Prize recognizes the transformative power of community colleges by honoring institutions with outstanding student outcomes. The winners and finalists for 2023 offer lessons on what’s possible when a college commits to delivering on its promises, both to students and the broader community.
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states take steps
RAND Corporation

States Can Take Steps to Address Potential Barriers to Equity in Stackable Credential Pipelines

April 2023
To ensure that stackable credentials are advancing equity, states and institutions can take actions to scale initiatives in ways that ensure learners from low-income backgrounds have access to and succeed in these pathways. A new research brief offers insights and recommendations for stakeholders based on a study of potential barriers within stackable credential pipelines.
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stacking cred
RAND Corporation

Do Low-Income Students Benefit from Stacking Credentials? Descriptive Evidence from Colorado and Ohio

April 2023
Stackable credential programs may be especially helpful for learners from historically underserved communities as they provide greater flexibility to pursue postsecondary education and workforce training. Using data from Colorado and Ohio, this research brief details the differences in credential-stacking and labor market returns from stacking for learners from low-income backgrounds versus middle- and high-income learners.
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stackable
RAND Corporation

Stackable Credential Pipelines and Equity for Low-Income Individuals: Evidence from Colorado and Ohio

April 2023
The ability for learners to “stack” short-term credentials in order to gain specific skills needed for in-demand jobs is a strategy gaining momentum around the country. This report features findings from two states pursuing stackable credential initiatives. It details what they’ve learned from analyzing administrative data to describe patterns in credential-stacking and earnings for learners from low-income backgrounds relative to middle- and high-income learners.
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MDRC Deg to dollars
MDRC

From Degrees to Dollars: Six-Year Findings from the ASAP Ohio Demonstration

April 2023
This brief shares college attainment and employment outcomes for learners six years after the implementation of the Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP) model at three community colleges in Ohio. Based closely on City University of New York’s ASAP program, the Ohio program boosted participants’ earnings and graduation rates, raising attainment of both associate and bachelor’s degrees.
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