This study responds to a national conversation about the role that Career Technical Education (CTE) might play in meeting workforce demand for soft skills. It is challenging for CTE programs to offer soft skills for several reasons. Both educators and employers tend to associate CTE with hard skills, or technical skills and therefore the programs…

Public community colleges enroll nearly half of all undergraduate students in the United States and many of these students are enrolled in 1- and 2-year Career and Technical Education programs. Employers have indicated that colleges should place more emphasis on reading, writing, and critical thinking skills. Career Technical Education can address…

This annual newsletter contains updates on the latest CCRC research, new publications and details of upcoming presentations at major conferences. The feature article in this issue, "Addressing the Needs of Underprepared Students," by Thomas Bailey, summarizes the discussion found in the paper "Challenge and Opportunity: Rethinking…

This report on the nexus between postsecondary education and workforce development discusses the question of how California's colleges and universities address the state's need for a highly educated and skilled workforce. It includes a detailed review of the systems and their roles, and considers issues regarding how those roles are being carried…

The California Statewide Longitudinal Study provided information on community college students' experiences and needs which is of value for colleges in determining strategies and priorities. While, however, this and similar studies address the needs of the learners and the colleges, the impressions and concerns of one key client, the prospective…

As an extension to the development of the Student Accountability Model (SAM), California's vocational student follow-up system, a procedure for obtaining employer feedback information that could assist with occupational program review and evaluation was designed and tested. The design plan included the development of a consortium of community…

As part of an effort to develop courses and programs that reflect California business and industry's current and future needs, two studies were performed by Solano Community College to examine statewide trends and issues related to office automation and marketing and management. In conducting the study of office automation, 5,000 surveys were…

In 1990, Cuesta College (CC) conducted a needs assessment of local employers to determine the type of work done by their employees, number of employees, hiring plans, the current level of employee training, and training needs. The mailed survey had 266 usable responses for a 40.9% return rate. Study findings included the following: (1) 31% of the…

Research conducted as to the feasibility of establishing Alternate Cooperative Education in 11- or 12-week, quarter-system, 2-year colleges, as well as to provide a replicable model for conducting research as to implementing an ACE program, is described. Cooperative education is defined as an academic program that provides learning for students…

In 1991-92, a project was undertaken at Napa Valley College to update the college's 1990 Comparative Study of Vocational Nursing Curriculum and Employer Requirements, to develop a model articulation program for licensed nurses pursuing associate degrees, and to produce a guide for recruiting and retaining underrepresented groups in vocational…

In order to assess the effectiveness of its Human Services vocational program, Santa Ana College (SAC) conducted a three-part study involving: (1) a survey of the 678 students (including 22 graduates) who had enrolled in a Human Services course from Fall 1976 through Summer 1980; (2) a survey of 178 Human Services agencies in Orange County,…

The research reported in this master's thesis was undertaken to determine whether a need exists for an office occupations curriculum for male students and, if so, to propose such a curriculum. Male students at the College of Alameda, California, were surveyed for expressed interest in office occupational employment, with certain demographic data…