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Ascend Learning

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Ascend Learning reviews

3.9

62% would recommend to a friend

(511 total reviews)
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Greg Sebasky

58% approve of CEO

61% positive business outlook

Ascend Learning has an employee rating of 3.9 out of 5 stars, based on 511 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Ascend Learning employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Education industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

511 reviews
1.0
Dec 8, 2022
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

At even the worst organizations, you can find comfort in others as you swap war stories of dysfunction.

Cons

Ascend is a disjointed disaster with a toxic culture that embraces little of what makes for a rewarding experience. The management provided vague direction to avoid any culpability. At the same time, people on the ground receive blame for any issues. I can’t speak for all their products, but the ones I supported were subpar and in desperate need of replacement. It’s a midsized company with the worst aspects of a large and small organization. There aren’t enough resources, so you do the job of 3 people. Yet, you’ll have little impact because it’s so difficult to succeed at the company. Overall, this was a horrible experience and would recommend anyone look elsewhere for employment. In this case, the grass is almost certainly greener on the other side of the fence.

2.0
May 31, 2016
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Coworkers who truly want to help each other. Opportunities to get involved in various projects. Some flex time allowed, but not all departments can take advantage of it.

Cons

Top management that can only be described as bullies to make their projects top priority. Hardly any innovation going on. Promotions happen more frequently in select business units so if you're not in the right BU, you need to leave the company to grow your career. Employee morale is terrible.

2.0
Dec 12, 2021

Only cares about profit

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Unlimited PTO, good benefits, great bonus program, awesome coworkers in my department, company takes covid and protecting its workers seriously

Cons

Ever since the Blackstone acquisition, SLT only cares about maximizing profits, no matter the cost. There is no empathy at higher levels of leadership. Some highlights: - No more work/life balance. Unlimited PTO is meaningless if you can't take time off and still meet unrealistic deadlines. My department was consistently working 60-70 hour weeks, and our complaints to SLT fell on deaf ears. Additionally, in spite of making promises to reduce workload during covid, it was the busiest year we ever had. The CEO actually said in a meeting, "You are responsible for managing your own stress," and the senior VP for our department said about pandemic isolation, "Loneliness is a choice." -Outdated technology and the wrong tools for the job. Platforms are surviving on temporary workarounds and thoughts and prayers. Upgrades have been promised for years, but it's always the first line item to be cut to maximize profits. Employees are expected to create time-intensive, non-sustainable workarounds to achieve unrealistic goals. -Cutting corners to meet increased demands instead of investing in more resources. Product quality will continue to go downhill when the solution to too much work is to eliminate important QC steps and hire poorly qualified contractors instead of investing in talent. -Low pay (except for client-facing positions). Any R&D, tech, or production position is grossly underpaid for this industry. We didn't get a decent raise for 5 years. -No clear delineation of responsibilities. My department didn't have any kind of structure or job definition, which allows leadership to keep piling on new tasks and higher levels of responsibility without a commensurate increase in pay.

Viewing 7 - 9 of 511 Reviews

Glassdoor has 555 Ascend Learning reviews submitted anonymously by Ascend Learning employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Ascend Learning is right for you.