Background/Context: Public two-year and technical colleges have experienced declines in enrollment since the COVID-19 pandemic. While new data from the National Student Clearinghouse show that enrollment is beginning to increase, it is still below pre-pandemic levels and not all areas are experiencing the same levels of rising enrollment. At the…

As Mississippi prepares to support the statewide postsecondary attainment goal, understanding the returns to higher education is crucial to determining where to invest resources. Ithaka S+R has partnered with the Woodward Hines Education Foundation to provide Mississippi policymakers, advocates, and legislators with information they need to make…

Using data from the Quarterly Workforce Indicators, this brief explores changes in the Los Angeles County labor market and in the working-age population as a plausible explanation for some of the enrollment decline at the county's community college campuses.

Objective: The process by which students decide to stay in college has been primarily based on models that are independent of geographic context. This article describes the local labor market in which community college students are situated and discusses the multiple and complex ways these labor markets impact student decisions to persist and…

This book examines access, lifelong learning and education for all, which have been policy preoccupations in all countries for more than half a century, but have been overlaid and pushed aside by the development of mass higher education. The authors examine what has been achieved, what lessons have been learnt and what still remains to be done,…

Overall, too few students are completing two-year college. Those who complete are still starting off unequally. About one-third of students earning academic degrees do not transfer, but rather go directly to work and find their degree has little value in the labor market. Research suggests they could have benefitted from having marketable skills…

This chapter urges researchers to use a "spatial lens" to identify mismatches between educational offerings and the local labor market for middle-skill careers. Students who are unlikely to relocate for a job will benefit from occupational credentials aligned with geographically local and available careers. The proposed spatial research…

This article explores the impact of funding cuts to the Further Education colleges in Scotland. The reduction in the number of students in the colleges has been hugely politically controversial. The research utilised the Infact database on the Scottish Funding Council's website and also a literature review. The research found there had been a…

Community colleges play a key role in educating the large number of non-traditional, low-income, and under-prepared students who have entered higher education in the past several decades. Despite increased access, community colleges are struggling to graduate students. Most, if not all, strategies provided by scholars to improve college completion…

This year approximately 3,300 employers attempted the survey with 2.560 providing enough information to be included in our analyses. Seventy-three percent (1859 respondents) are recruiters seeking full-time talent or hiring managers overseeing talent acquisition within their organizations. Other contributors include internship and co-op managers…

This article examines the employment and placement in the working life of Finnish higher education graduates (i.e. graduates from universities and polytechnics), focusing on gender equality. It reports a study on gender segregation in higher education and working life, considered in relation to Nordic gender equality policies. The data were…

Community colleges are under pressure these days to produce graduates who can land jobs. But identifying which occupations and skills are in demand is often easier said than done. LaGuardia, a City University of New York campus in Long Island City, is one of 10 community colleges across six states experimenting with software that collects…

The gap that separates so many workers from the prospect of good-paying, stable jobs demands urgent action by states--even as the unrelenting fast pace of economic change makes a sound response all the more difficult and as the "rules of the game" continue to evolve. This is especially true in the Science, Technology, Engineering and…

The gap that separates so many workers from the prospect of good-paying, stable jobs demands urgent action by states--even as the unrelenting fast pace of economic change makes a sound response all the more difficult and as the "rules of the game" continue to evolve. This is especially true in the Science, Technology, Engineering and…

Postsecondary education yields myriad benefits, including increased earnings potential, higher lifetime wages, and access to quality jobs. But postsecondary degrees are not all equal in the benefits they bring to students, and women tend to obtain degrees in fields with lower earnings. Women with associate degrees earn approximately 75 percent of…