Increasingly, people are looking for education and training options that are more affordable, flexible, can quickly open doors to good jobs, and--ideally--pave the way for further educational attainment. Businesses also want to hire workers with the skills needed for jobs in growing industries. Non-degree credentials (NDCs) can often meet these…

The purpose of this retrospective study was to develop an understanding of how one group of adults who graduated from a Virginia regional alternative program made sense of their experience in an alternative education setting. Specifically, this study sought to determine if adult participants, several years later, perceived participation in the…

Surveyed Virginia's colleges (N=23) to ascertain how financial resources, administrative support, and community interest might influence development of programs for older learners. Results indicated that general demand and administrative support were most positively related to growth while inadequate financial resources and cost to participants…

This report presents four presentations made at a workshop which was held in Richmond, Virginia, to assist teacher educators to better prepare vocational teachers for competency-based instruction. The first presentation, "The Promise of Competency-Based Vocational Education," summarizes the contemporary curricular movement toward…