Ascend Champions

The Ascend Champions Program is built on a simple idea: educators can't create supportive environments for students without supportive spaces for their own growth.

The program brings educators together in communities of transformation to discover, learn and support one another - exploring student success through key conditions for thriving, like belonging.

Participants apply high-impact, evidence-based practices, gather real-time student feedback and build lasting relationships that extend beyond the classroom.

After the cohort ends, the community continues. Alumni can join a growing network of 100+ educators to keep connecting and sharing ideas.

Key Learning Conditions

The Ascend Champions program is centered on the seven evidence-based learning conditions that have been shown to support more effective classroom outcomes for all students, as highlighted by the Student Experience Project:

Social Belonging
Belonging Certainty
Trust and Fairness
Institutional Growth Mindset
Self-Efficacy
Identity Safety
Social Connectedness

Qualifications & Expectations

All instructors teaching at least one course during the upcoming term are eligible to apply. Each Ascend Champion will receive a stipend, pending budgetary constraints, acceptance into the program and active participation.

The expectations for community participants are as follows:

Availability to meet for two orientation meetings and weekly virtual community meetings.
Willingness to implement evidence-based practices to improve belonging and student success in at least one of your concurrent semester courses.
Regular surveying of your students using a validated online survey tool to gather feedback from your students that can be used in real time to improve the student experience in your class(es).
Commitment to engage as a full member of the Ascend Champions community of transformation, working together to explore and confront difficult issues, sharing ideas and supporting each other in our work.

Questions? Contact Crystal Bradley at crystal.bradley@louisville.edu or 502.852.7611.

Resources for Ascend Champions and Alumni

Resources to help Ascend Champions collect, interpret and act on student experience data.

Join the Ascend Champion alumni community, use the Ascend Survey in your other courses and more!