Ascend

Blue Ridge Community and Technical College’s Accelerating Student Completion: Encouraging New Dreams (Ascend) is a program created to help more students earn certificates and associate degrees within three years. Funded by a grant from Arnold Ventures, Ascend replicates the ASAP program at CUNY colleges in New York whose students doubled their graduation rates by providing a range of financial, academic, and personal supports.

Blue Ridge Community and Technical College’s Accelerating Student Completion: Encouraging New Dreams (Ascend) is a program created to help more students earn certificates and associate degrees within three years. Funded by a grant from Arnold Ventures, Ascend replicates the ASAP program at CUNY colleges in New York whose students doubled their graduation rates by providing a range of financial, academic, and personal supports. These supports include comprehensive and personal advisement, career counseling, tutoring, waivers for tuition and mandatory fees, gift cards for groceries and/or gas, and additional financial assistance to reduce or eliminate 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 receive additional assistance to help them transfer to a 4-year college or transition into the workforce, depending on their goals.

Program Benefits

• Monthly incentive to help with groceries and/or gas
• Textbook assistance to reduce (or eliminate) the cost of textbooks
• Waiver covering tuition and mandatory fees for any gap left over after applying your financial aid award
• Dedicated Ascend Advisor to guide you from entry to graduation
• Special registration options to help you get the classes you need that fit your schedule
• Enhanced career development and academic support services

Eligible Programs Include…

Business

• Business Administration
• Business Operations

Culinary

• Baking and Pastry
• Catering and Hospitality Management
• Culinary Arts
• Food Service Retail Management

Engineering

• Electric Distribution Engineering Technology
• Mechatronics
• Plastics Engineering Technology
• Welding, Certificate

Health Science

• Health Information Management
• Healthcare Professions
• Medical Assisting
• Nursing
• Paramedic
• Physical Therapist Assisting

Occupational

• Accounting
• Agribusiness
• Applied Laboratory Technician
• Board of Governors
• Criminal Justice
• Early Childhood Specialist
• Electric Utility Technology
• Engineering Technology
• Environmental Science Technician
• Human Services
• Occupational Development: Child Development Specialist
• Paralegal Studies
• Technical Studies

Technology

• Applied Technology
• Applied UAS Technologies
• Computer Network Engineering Technology
• Cyber Security
• Database Management
• Digital Media Specialist
• Information Technology
• Software Development Engineering

Eligibility Requirements
Apply To Ascend Now
Register For An Information Session

Questions? Contact:

Lisha Burks, Ascend Director:
ASCEND@blueridgectc.edu
304-260-4380 EXT. 2409