When Arthur Cohen launched "New Directions for Community Colleges" ("NDCC") in 1973, the focus was on sharing updates and practical advice for those leading and working in community colleges. At the time, scant attention was given to these institutions as most research centered on 4-year colleges and universities. The context…

High-quality non-degree workforce programs at community colleges, including both credit-bearing and non-credit programs, play a crucial role in equipping low-income and marginalized workers and learners with the skills and credentials they need to secure quality jobs and careers in a variety of occupations. Financing these programs can be a…

There are nearly 1 million credentials in the United States that students and workers can take advantage of, but how information about these credentials is collected and communicated is oftentimes inconsistent and hard to access. In February, we invited a group of postsecondary and workforce development experts to consider how policymakers can…

Despite profound benefits of high-quality early childhood education (ECE) that could address and avert educational inequities for children of color and those from low-income backgrounds, ECE in Michigan and across the nation lacks sufficient funding. Students of color and students from low-income backgrounds particularly encounter many barriers to…

States are increasingly adopting changes to K-12 funding systems in order to promote and encourage student engagement in secondary-level career and technical education (CTE). Two of the most prevalent reforms include: a) establishing tiered weights for CTE in school funding formulas based on the connection between a program of study and workforce…

Across the country, as technology continues to advance rapidly, the labor market exhibits a growing need for workers who receive frequent and ongoing skill development. Employers in many fields struggle to find adequately trained workers to meet their needs. Community college noncredit career and technical education (CTE) programs are an important…

The objective of this study was to explore and empirically investigate the relationship between the labour force across educational levels and foreign direct investment (FDI), and to facilitate comparisons of education statistics and indicators across countries based on uniform and internationally agreed definitions. The analysis focuses on OECD…

Over the years, students gained new skills, making them more productive workers, by studying at America's community colleges. Today, millions of these former students are employed in the U.S. The accumulated impact of former students currently employed in the U.S. workforce amounted to $898.5 billion in added income for the U.S. economy in fiscal…

Adult basic education (ABE) scholars, practitioners, and policymakers have long debated the purpose and outcomes of federal ABE policy. Although the current policy, the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), became law in 2014, there is no comprehensive analysis of the diverging perspectives on WIOA implementation. This integrative…

The State University of New York (SUNY) is the largest comprehensive system of higher education in the United States, currently providing affordable, quality higher education to about 1.4 million students across its system of 64 college and university campuses and its entire portfolio of credit- and noncredit-bearing courses and programs,…

This paper reports on research conducted with staff employed in the Australian higher education sector during the COVID-19 pandemic. The sector has been significantly impacted, particularly those institutions heavily reliant on revenue from international student enrolments. Universities moved swiftly to introduce cost-savings measures such as,…

This chapter examines institutionally funded free community college programs that address specific community workforce needs. Within the article, the authors showcase "Rediscover LCCC," a foundation-funded scholarship program at Laramie County Community College in Wyoming that pays students' tuition and fees for up to three years in…

The nation's workforce demands look vastly different today than they did just a few years ago. The COVID-19 pandemic, economic challenges, and complex technological developments across all industries continue to change the way America works. Unfortunately, labor market demand has not coincided with similar shifts in America's education systems,…

Widespread layoffs resulting from the coronavirus pandemic have put the labor market challenges facing workers, especially those without a college degree, into sharp focus. Workforce training can support the economic outcomes of displaced and unemployed workers, but only if it is carefully designed to connect directly to durable, high-quality…

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to describe how Louisiana Community and Technical Colleges' leadership describes their dependency on external funding sources and its influence on the elimination of program offerings, general operating expenses, and funding of workforce development non-credit education programs in Louisiana.…