Rutgers GSE Receives $1.28 Million to Expand Apprenticeships at Rural MSIs
The Rutgers Graduate School of Education (GSE) received a $1.28 million grant from the nonprofit Ascendium Education Philanthropy. The funded initiative, Building Registered Apprenticeship at Rural Minority-Serving Institutions, is a three-year project led by the Rutgers Center for Minority Serving Institutions (CMSI) at the Rutgers GSE.
Through the Rutgers CMSI, the project will expand the school’s research and public impact while helping rural Minority Serving Institutions build stronger pathways from college to well-paying careers. It includes working with three rural-serving Minority Serving Institutions, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Tribal Colleges and Universities, to strengthen their capacity to develop and sustain registered apprenticeship programs.
“Rural Minority Serving Institutions are deeply connected to their communities, but they are too often expected to build these programs without adequate resources or infrastructure,” said Executive Director of the Rutgers CMSI Dr. Marybeth Gasman. “Our research will help us understand what these institutions and their employer partners need to develop apprenticeship programs that are practical, sustainable, and responsive to local workforce needs.”
Research is an important part of the work. The project team will conduct approximately 60 interviews with institutional leaders, faculty and staff members, workforce partners, and employers across the three participating sites. These interviews will document the conditions that support registered apprenticeships, the barriers institutions encounter, and the strategies that can be adapted by other rural MSIs.
“Most importantly, this work is about expanding opportunity for students and ensuring that rural communities benefit from the talent already within them,” Gasman said.
The project will produce a practical toolkit, national webinars, case studies, and other resources for colleges, employers, policymakers, and workforce-development organizations. Its larger purpose is to create sustainable pathways into well-paying careers for students while helping rural MSIs respond to regional workforce needs and contribute to the economic health of their communities.
Registered apprenticeships combine paid, work-based learning with classroom instruction, mentorship, progressive wage increases, and a nationally recognized credential. Although this model can create strong pathways from college to employment, rural MSIs often face challenges establishing programs because of limited staffing, fewer nearby employers, insufficient administrative infrastructure, and the complexities of federal and state registration requirements.
The initiative will help participating institutions build partnerships with employers, identify occupations suited to apprenticeship, navigate the registration process, and develop systems for recruiting and supporting students. The project will also examine how colleges can collaborate with groups of employers, rather than relying on a single employer, to make apprenticeship programs more viable in rural communities.
It will create opportunities for Rutgers faculty and students to contribute to applied research with practical benefits for institutions, employers, students, and rural communities. The grant was awarded from August 2026 through July 2028.
The grant’s principal investigator, Marybeth Gasman, Ph.D., leads the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Institute for Leadership, Equity, & Justice as well as the Rutgers Center for Minority Serving Institutions. She serves as the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Endowed Chair in Education and a Distinguished Professor at Rutgers GSE.