Objective: In the first study of its kind, the impact of excluding noncredit enrollments in calculations of spending in community colleges is explored. Noncredit enrollments are not reported to Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), but expenditures for these efforts are. This study corrects for this omission and provides new…

Head Start comprises a substantial share of the early childhood workforce. Given this, changes in Head Start workforce policies impact the broader early childhood ecosystem--and changes in the larger ecosystem in turn affect Head Start. This paper seeks to inform efforts to strengthen the early childhood workforce by documenting the current state…

Recent media reporting and research suggest that regional comprehensive universities (RCUs) and other postsecondary institutions may play an integral role in the welfare of rural regions, yet empirical research on the regional service of rural postsecondary institutions is limited. The purpose of this study was to examine how a single RCU serves…

Purpose: This study aims to describe the lectores (readers) who read the world news and works of literature to workers in pre-World War II cigar factories in Tampa, Florida, and in New York City. The paper addresses the need for more examination of some neglected aspects of workplace learning by presenting a more critical approach to workplace…

This report shows how state leaders are using technological advances to improve the use of data in five critical areas: (1) Helping economic and workforce developers, businesses, and colleges to reduce the high costs resulting from uninformed education and workforce decisions; (2) Assisting college leaders in making program-related decisions that…

When it comes to the early childhood workforce, American educators and advocates may know what their state's policies are. With their expertise and knowledge, and with support from research and leading organizations, they may be able to define what they want their state's policies to be, particularly for teachers of children from birth through age…

New York's workforce system is a complicated entity that engages nearly a dozen state agencies and myriad funding streams originating at the federal and state levels, and operates on the ground in ten economic development regions, 33 designated workforce investment areas, community-based organizations, labor unions and 62 counties. This report…

Industries in every state are struggling to find qualified applicants for jobs, while job seekers too often find they lack the skills needed to enter or move along a career pathway to a good job. Preparing a workforce that is poised to meet the needs of businesses and ultimately to make the state more economically competitive is a top priority for…

This report examines the structural divide between for-credit and noncredit postsecondary education and the problems it presents for people seeking better jobs with higher pay. It highlights innovative ways that some community colleges are trying to bridge the gap nationally--creating more seamless pathways between credit and noncredit…

Employers interested in working with young people are often concerned about possible barriers that may limit youth's access to workplaces, such as labor laws and liability issues. Employers who eagerly partner with educators to provide guest speakers and company tours might nonetheless be hesitant to invite students into workplaces for experiences…

Discussions of workforce development emphasize stackable training, and assume linear advancement and alignment, through college and career paths. Stackable credentials have become a best practice for community colleges across the United States as they struggle to advance the college completion agenda and ensure that students graduate with the…

This report documents the efforts underway in 12 states and localities to tackle the enduring problem of African American, Native American, and Latino families faring worse than others being served by the child welfare systems. The publication, produced by Center for the Study of Social Policy (CSSP) as part of the work of the Alliance for Racial…

Like many colleges funded by the U.S. Department of Labor's TAACCCT program, the goal of the Northeast Resiliency Consortium (NRC) (a Round Three grantee) was to enhance the capacity of colleges to accelerate learning, ensure that students attain industry-recognized credentials, foster innovative employer partnerships, use new technologies, and…

As New York State transitions from a manufacturing economy to a knowledge economy, few institutions are playing a more important role than the state's 35 community colleges. With more than 328,000 students enrolled statewide, community colleges are boosting New York's economic competitiveness by upgrading the skills of a large chunk of the state's…

It is a truism of American social policy that our nation has great success generating innovative programs that improve outcomes for participants--but that we are far less effective at moving from small, "boutique" programs into broadly applied solutions that improve the prospects of large numbers of individuals. This is certainly true in…