What is Ascend?
WVU Parkersburg’s Accelerating Student Completion: Encouraging New Dreams (Ascend) is a program created to help more students earn certificates and associate degrees within three years by offering our Riverhawks personal and academic support. Funded by a grant from Arnold Ventures, Ascend replicates the ASAP program at CUNY colleges whose students doubled their graduation rates with ASAP’s individualized course schedules, required full-time study, comprehensive and personalized and career development services. Financial incentives include waivers of tuition and mandatory fees for financial aid-eligible students who have a gap between their financial aid award and tuition, assistance to reduce (or eliminate) the cost of textbooks, and costs to travel to campus. WVU Parkersburg’s Ascend student supports include comprehensive and personal advising, career counseling, tutoring, waivers for tuition and mandatory fees, Kroger gift cards for groceries and/or gas, and additional financial assistance to defray the cost of textbooks.
Ascend also offers special class scheduling options to ensure that Ascend students get the classes they need, are in classes with other Ascend students, and attend classes in convenient blocks of time to accommodate their work schedules. As students approach graduation, they will receive additional assistance to help them transfer to a bachelor’s degree program, another 4-year college, or transition into the workforce, depending on their goals.
Beginning Fall 2021, West Virginia University at Parkersburg will be participating in a multi-year study of academic success support programs in higher education. WVUP received a grant from Arnold Ventures to replicate the highly successful Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP) at City College of New York (CUNY). For this study, students in approved associate and certificate programs will be randomly selected to participate in the Ascend program. Students in the program will receive additional advising, tutoring, and career development opportunities. They will also receive financial assistance as needed for tuition and mandatory fees, textbooks, and a monthly incentive card for completing advising, tutoring, and career development benchmarks.
Why am I being asked to take part in a study?
Ascend is an adaptation of a program called Accelerated Study in Associate Programs, or ASAP, developed by the City University of New York (CUNY). A study of CUNY ASAP found that students who took part in the program were nearly twice as likely as other students to graduate within three years. The program has since been implemented at other colleges in New York, Ohio, California, and West Virginia. The question that educators, funders, and others want to answer is whether the program works as well in locations outside of New York City, where the student population and college offerings may differ. A recent study of ASAP at three colleges in Ohio also found that the program nearly doubled graduation rates after three years.
Arnold Ventures (AV), a private philanthropic organization, provided funding to two colleges in West Virginia, Blue Ridge Community and Technical College (BRCTC) and West Virginia University at Parkersburg (WVUP) for Ascend. As part of that funding, Arnold Ventures is requiring that the colleges take part in a study to learn whether Ascend is successful in increasing graduation rates for students pursuing selected Associate degree and certificate programs. The study will also look at how Ascend affects students’ earnings, particularly after graduation. The study’s findings will be used to increase knowledge about what works in helping students earn college credentials and increase their income, to improve the colleges’ services, and to expand these services to help more students in the future.
Who is doing the study?
BRCTC and WVUP are working with the Economic Mobility Corporation (Mobility) to conduct the study. Mobility is an independent nonprofit research organization located in New York that develops and evaluates policies and programs that seek to help people succeed in the labor market.
How does the lottery work?
If you are eligible for Ascend and agree to be in the study, your name and the names of all other eligible students will be entered into a computer program that will randomly select which students will be in the group that can receive the Ascend services and which students will be in the control group that cannot receive the Ascend services. Neither WVUP nor Mobility will have the ability to influence or change the outcome. You will have a 60 percent chance of being randomly assigned to the group that can participate in Ascend and a 40 percent chance of being randomly assigned to the group that cannot participate in Ascend.
Why is a lottery being used to select who participates in the program?
The study will determine whether Ascend improves students’ outcomes by comparing the outcomes of students in the Ascend group to the outcomes of students in the non-Ascend (control) group. The lottery ensures that all qualified applicants have an equal chance of participating in Ascend. The lottery also ensures that students in the Ascend group and students in the non-Ascend group have similar characteristics and goals at program intake. Therefore, any differences in the outcomes of students in the Ascend group and students in the non-Ascend group can be attributed to the program. This rigorous study design will provide the type of highly credible evidence that funders, policymakers, and educators need to make decisions about whether to invest more resources in Ascend and programs like it.
How will applicants who are randomly assigned to the group that participates in Ascend be affected by the study?
If you are assigned to the Ascend group you will receive services from Ascend staff. As part of the study, Mobility will collect the following information about you.
• Ascend will provide Mobility information about your demographics and other characteristics and your participation in Ascend services.
• Mobility will collect information from WVUP about your major or program of study, the courses in which you enroll, dates enrolled, course completion, credits earned, and degree and other credential completion.
• Mobility will collect information about your enrollment in college and any degrees or diplomas you earn from the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC), which holds data from public and private postsecondary educational institutions across the country.
• Mobility will collect information about your earnings from work and receipt of unemployment benefits, if any, from state agencies.
A small group of students in Ascend will also be asked to take part in a small group discussion about your experiences with the program.
What if I am assigned to the group that does not participate in Ascend? How will I be affected by the study?
If you are assigned to the group that does not participate in Ascend, you will not receive services from Ascend but you may continue to attend classes and receive any other services offered by the college or by other agencies in the community. As part of the study, Mobility will collect the following information about you.
• Ascend staff will provide Mobility information about your demographics and other characteristics.
• Mobility will collect information from WVUP about your major or program of study, the courses in which you enroll, dates enrolled, course completion, credits earned, and degree and other credential completion.
• Mobility will collect information about your enrollment in college and any degrees or diplomas you earn from the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC), which holds data from public and private postsecondary educational institutions across the country.
• Mobility will collect information about your earnings from work and receipt of unemployment benefits, if any, from state agencies.
Am I required to participate in the study?
Your participation in the study is voluntary. Only individuals who provide written consent will be included in the study. However, if you choose not to participate in the study, you will not be eligible to receive the Ascend services. You may seek other services at the college or at other agencies in the community. If you agree to take part in the study and later decide you no longer want to participate, you may withdraw your consent.
Will the information be confidential?
Yes, all information that Mobility collects will be kept private and will only be used for the study of Ascend. Your name or other information that could be used to identify you will not appear in any reports or other public documents. The research team follows very strict rules to keep data about you confidential.
Will I be compensated for my time?
A small number of students who are assigned to the group that receives the Ascend services will be asked to take part in a small group discussion about their experiences with the program that is expected to last about 90 minutes. If you take part in the small group discussion, you will receive a $25 gift card.
Contact Information
Ascend phone: (304) 424-8353 | Ascend Email: ascend@wvup.edu
