Each state participates in the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), which prescribes certain types of activities and organizational structures for states to direct federal investments in workforce development. Participation in WIOA requires a state to create a workforce investment board with duties such as developing, implementing and…

While financial aid programs exist to support enrollment in specific career fields in many states, Education Commission of the States examined only those programs that appeared in state statute and used explicit language that signaled an intent to support workforce development in high-demand fields via postsecondary credential attainment.…

A career pathway system is made up of multiple programs that span educational institutions, workforce entities and support service partners. These systems are oriented around a shared understanding of the needs of industries. Career pathway systems are one of many policy models states use to help connect education and workforce in the K-12,…

Employee empowerment yields positive outcomes for employees, managers, and organizations. Yet, too many employees feel disempowered at work, and managers, while wanting to empower employees, often do not know how. Contributing to this state of affairs is the lack of published, high-fidelity exercises explicitly designed to instruct students on how…

Part of Austin Independent School District (AISD)'s ongoing commitment to employees' well-being and retention includes understanding employees' feelings toward their work environment. AISD's customer experience department, CARES (customer focused, action oriented, responsive, empathetic, and service driven), worked with AISD's Department of…

Learning is central to a fair and prosperous society. The links between learning throughout life and national prosperity, business success, societal cohesion, and individual opportunity and life chances are clear and well established. Learning helps you earn more, live healthier and play a fuller role in society. It is equally well established…

All students deserve to attend programs and institutions that meet high quality standards. But different program goals, investments of time, and eligibility criteria make it difficult to set specific standards that will apply equally well to all types of programs and institutions. This report sets out principles for developing an accountability…

This report urges states to participate in the State Wage Interchange System (SWIS), as it can aide states in satisfying Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) reporting requirements, and help states better understand whether former participants in workforce training and education programs are finding good jobs. SWIS is a data sharing…

This paper is designed to contribute to the discussion on how to conceptualise and study contextual influence in local school development. We propose a theoretical framework and an empirical illustration to supplement former research on rural school research. Focusing on what the school perceives as important in its community may explain why…

The information technology (IT) workforce serves many vital functions in higher education, supporting campus computing needs ranging from advanced research and business and administrative operations to student learning and technology needs. As IT becomes an increasingly important part of the success of higher education, it is equally important to…

Due to the effects of globalisation and rapid technological development, traditional linear life course patterns of the past are gradually disappearing, and this affects education and learning systems as well as labour markets. Individuals are forced to develop lifestyles and survival strategies to manage job insecurity and make their skills and…

Much of the current skepticism about the financial payoff of higher education emerges from recent media focus on young college graduates struggling to enter a weak labor market. This brief highlights some of the complexities underlying discussions of the return to the investment in postsecondary education and describes some of the variation in…

Many states now possess the data and statistical methods that can produce teacher value-added scores and link them to preparation programs. It is important to understand the limitations of these measures and the inferences that they do and do not support. These limitations fall into three categories. First, value-added measures (VAM) provide…

This policy brief presents some basic facts about the retention of recent college graduates and changes in retention over time, updating an earlier report on this topic. It shows, for example, how New England compares with other Census divisions, what factors affect its ability to retain graduates, and the reasons why recent college graduates…

In a 2010 address to the College Board, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan laid out a vision for high school that advances the Obama administration's goal of the U.S. once again leading the world in educational attainment. There is no grade in which the magnitude and complexity of this shift becomes clearer than in senior year. Historically,…