Governors plays a central role in ensuring that public educational institutions provide students with the knowledge and abilities required for a successful life and career. The systemic use of data from education and labor markets informs governors and other policymakers of the effectiveness and efficiency of their existing postsecondary systems…

We develop and empirically implement a model of university student retention using opportunity cost, financial aid, academic and social integration, and students' background explanatory variables. For one year, we tracked students from Weber State University (WSU) and Oregon State University (OSU) to learn whether they remained enrolled for 0, 1,…

This report, part of a 3-year follow-along study of 422 Oregon and Nevada students with disabilities who are transitioning from school to adult life, examines experiences of students who had worked on a job while still in school, methods of finding jobs, hours worked, and wages earned. Implications for policy development are outlined. (JDD)

A survey elicited workers' opinions in five areas: (1) essential skills, attitudes, and behaviors needed on the job by entry-level workers; (2) the purposes, content, and delivery of training needed and desired by workers; (3) productivity; (4) workplace environment; and (5) employee benefits. Information was gathered through written surveys of…

This analysis addresses the role of car usage in employment outcomes such as employment status, average weekly wages, and weeks worked per year. It postulates that car ownership is an important employment tool for adults of low educational attainment in Portland, even in the context of other factors such as social networks/resources (social…

The Smaller Communities Services Program, as noted, is a means of expanding the services of the Oregon Department of Employment to rural and low-income areas in the state. This report is a summary of program findings in rural Jefferson County, Oregon, and is the result of field work performed over a 4-month period by a mobile team composed of 2…

A study reviewed the efforts of six states (California, Florida, Minnesota, Oregon, Texas, and Washington) to create new policies and strategies to support low-income individuals as they work. The study found the following: (1) working steadily initially after leaving welfare is linked to being employed in later years but is not linked to higher…