Disparities in postsecondary success between rural students and their urban and suburban peers exist at every point in the pipeline, from learner enrollment to workforce entry. These disparities contribute to a shortage of skilled, qualified workers, which affects the economic health of both families and entire communities.

How can we collectively reduce those disparities? In rural places, community colleges can utilize their assets to lessen those attainment gaps and position their communities for future success. Ascendium Education Group believes in the transformative power of education and invests in partners across the country to create opportunities for learners from low-income backgrounds. Since 2019, Ascendium has been focused on providing rural postsecondary education and workforce training opportunities for learners. (Read about other facets of Ascendium’s philanthropy here.)

Like other facets of our identities (i.e., race, gender, sexual orientation and age), where we live impacts the way we learn, build relationships, and make decisions. By having a dedicated geographical lens to thinking about learner success, our partners have demonstrated how rural institutions are building a more equitable future. Below are three promising strategies for supporting rural learners.

• Build Rootedness Through Relationships: Many rural learners feel a strong connection and sense of rootedness to the communities in which they grew up. Our partners at Education Design Lab interviewed hundreds of rural learners and found that students who feel embraced as their whole selves are more likely to succeed. Institutions can contribute to that inclusion by intentionally facilitating strong, consistent, and accessible relationships with faculty, staff, and advisors. Emulating the social, familial, and communal connections present in many rural communities on a campus can reduce isolation, particularly for first-generation learners.
• Design Holistic Supports for Rural Learners: While researching rural Hawaiian and Pacific Island institutions, APIA Scholars found that supports such as cultural programming, navigation of training programs, mitigation of food insecurity, and transportation reduce barriers students face to completing their training programs. In rural Hawaiian and Pacific Island communities, success extends beyond the individual student to the immediate and extended family, village, island, and nation.
• Improve Workforce Outcomes Through Partnerships: Community colleges are uniquely positioned to lead economic recovery and to create new employment opportunities in rural places across the country. Social Finance worked with rural experts and leaders across the U.S. to build a framework for deepening partnerships with local and regional employers. The framework emphasizes the importance of understanding who an institution’s learners are, assessing local labor market demand, and centering alignment in partnership design and implementation. Leaders also echoed the importance of embracing ongoing improvement to programs and partnerships—the workforce needs of today are not necessarily the workforce needs of tomorrow and the rural institutions positioned for success in the future will be able to adapt and change their offerings.

There is much opportunity to continue to learn about rural learners, how we can support their success, and the innovations present on rural campuses across the country. We look forward to continuing to learn and share broadly the work of our partners.

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Ascendium Education Group was an Innovations 2021 sponsor and exhibitor.