This mix methods study was completed at a medium sized, rural, public two-year community college located in a southeastern state. The purpose of the research was to determine whether the administration of a workforce development program by a community college leads to better student success. Specifically, the community college wanted to analyze…

Community colleges have a long history of developing and delivering training that is responsive to the needs of regional employers, both large and small, and providing students with affordable pathways to postsecondary credentials of value. Building high-quality apprenticeship programs requires expertise in both areas. This brief presents an…

Millions of working Californians are unable to fulfill their families' basic needs. Automation is likely to eliminate many of their jobs by 2022, and higher-paying jobs that require specialized skills, while plentiful, are beyond their reach. Therefore, there's an urgent need to redesign the state's education and training systems to help people…

Adults who are out of work typically have low levels of education and limited work experience. In response, there has been an increased interest among leaders from the higher education and business communities to expand "earn and learn" opportunities that connect people to both postsecondary education and a career. Apprenticeships are a…

As the COVID-19 pandemic ebbs, thousands of New Yorkers are searching for jobs, and employers across the state are struggling to fill empty positions. New York's publicly funded city and state community colleges are uniquely positioned to help bridge this gap, providing more job-focused education for mid-career adults and traditional college-age…

The "Annual Partnership Report" catalogs partnerships that Wyoming community colleges established and maintained for each fiscal year. This partnership report fulfills statutory reporting requirement W.S. 21-18-202(e)(iv) which mandates the development of annual reports to the legislature on the outcomes of partnerships between colleges…

The Pathways for Academic Career and Employment (PACE) program is established to provide funding to community colleges for the development of programs that will lead to gainful, quality, in-state employment for members of target populations by providing them with both effective academic and employment training to ensure gainful employment and…

"Reskilling for the Pandemic Recession and Recovery" focuses on the U.S. economic downturn since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has had a disproportionate impact on Black and Hispanic individuals, women, and people without a postsecondary degree. Considering these challenges, the brief details policy proposals for…

In March, the world changed. COVID-19 hit the nation, impacting the health, economic security, and way of life of many Americans. Education also was severely disrupted. College students across the country went home and transitioned to remote learning. Meanwhile, institutions of higher education went through their own period of adjustment,…

Community college students often hold knowledge from various professional and academic experiences. A challenge for these students, and for their institutions and employers, is how to formally bridge these competencies to support students' efforts to reach their academic and career goals. This issue brief looks at the practice of awarding credit…

Community colleges are attempting to bridge America's widening blue-collar skills gap through workforce development programs promising living-wage jobs that don't require four years of college. While trade, construction and manufacturing companies are starving for talented workers, these fields also suffer from an image problem, one fueled by…

Many community colleges consider non-academic supports as a way to improve student retention and achievement. Past studies on the effects of coaching, mentoring, advising, and other non-academic supports yielded evidence for the effectiveness of these interventions to promote student outcomes. In addition, some suggested that the effects were…

The announcement that Taiwanese manufacturing giant Foxconn will bring 13,000 jobs to Wisconsin and partner with Gateway Technical College is great news for the state's community and technical colleges and their students, but it's not particularly surprising. The state's two-year colleges have been notching all sorts of workforce development…

This document records testimony from a hearing before the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development that was held to discuss expanding options for employers and workers through earn-and-learn opportunities. This hearing is part of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce's ongoing efforts to strengthen the nation's…

Our Community College Advanced Manufacturing Career Pathways initiative work outlines valuable guidance on employer engagement. Building Sustainable Partnerships with Business and Industry challenges college leaders to re-think the roles industry plays in shaping workforce programs and re-design how the college engages with industry to develop…