This brief describes work done by RAND Education and Labor and the Center for the Study of Higher and Postsecondary Education at the University of Michigan--Ann Arbor and documented in "Stackable Credential Pipelines and Equity for Low-Income Individuals: Evidence from Colorado and Ohio. Research Report. RR-A2484-1" [ED627835]. The brief…

American University (AU), developed the Teacher Pipeline Program (TPP), where District of Columbia's (DC) high school students can earn college credit in education (i.e., dual enrollment) and a Child Development Associate (CDA) credential. If they become Teaching Fellows, they can apply the college credit to their undergraduate program of study.…

Even in this endemic period, the California Community Colleges continues to make progress toward meeting its Vision for Success goals, established nearly five years ago to set a path to increase certificate and degree attainment, improve transfer and close equity gaps. This report details the goals outlined in the system's Vision for Success and…

The colleges, universities, and postsecondary career-preparation institutions of Indiana, and the Indiana Commission for Higher Education (CHE) value the diversity of our students, their identities, their backgrounds, and their learning experiences. They are committed to helping them succeed and recognize that their success supports educational…

Despite the unprecedented challenges Ohio's education community faced at the end of the 2019-2020 school year, Ohio remains committed to using evidence, data and feedback from the Ohio School Report Cards to guide our continuous improvement journey toward excellence in education. This year, the Ohio School Report Cards will not feature overall…

The past year has been a test like no other for the California Community Colleges' students, faculty and staff, serving up pain and loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic and racial injustice. Yet despite these challenges they continue to show progress toward meeting goals of the system's Vision for Success, which sets a path to increase certificate…

At the conclusion of an academic year upended by pandemic and wrenching racial injustice, the California Community Colleges takes pride in what it has accomplished while committing to action that will result in lasting change. This year the colleges brought the largest higher education system in the country from offering less than a quarter its…

Prior learning refers to the knowledge, competencies, and skills acquired through formal and informal education outside a traditional academic environment or at the initiative of the individual learner. For example, if a current or potential student participated in an employee training program, military service, or took standardized exams such as…

Community colleges have a long history of developing and delivering training that is responsive to the needs of regional employers, both large and small, and providing students with affordable pathways to postsecondary credentials of value. Building high-quality apprenticeship programs requires expertise in both areas. This brief presents an…

As the COVID-19 pandemic ebbs, thousands of New Yorkers are searching for jobs, and employers across the state are struggling to fill empty positions. New York's publicly funded city and state community colleges are uniquely positioned to help bridge this gap, providing more job-focused education for mid-career adults and traditional college-age…

When making study choices, students often find it challenging to identify their interests and strengths. Higher education (HE) systems that do not offer opportunities for reorientation and transfer run the risk of some students never completing their studies. This policy brief examines the different flexible pathways institutions can choose to…

As the largest system of higher education in the nation, the California Community Colleges is uniquely positioned to help residents of all backgrounds improve their social and economic mobility and build a better future for themselves and their families. The 115 colleges serve more than 2.1 million students annually and transfer nearly 80,000 each…

Modern high school career and technical education (CTE) programs are often referred to as "high-quality CTE," and they are designed to help students build career skills and earn credentials through sequenced coursework, postsecondary credit acquisition, and exposure to relevant work-based learning experiences. These kinds of programs,…

Many students -- as well as potential students -- have acquired a great deal of learning through their day-to-day lives outside of academia: knowledge acquired from work experience, on-the-job training, formal corporate training, military training, volunteer work, self-study, and a myriad of other extra-institutional learning opportunities…

This report describes the adult student's experience with prior learning assessment (PLA) using student record data from 72 degree-granting postsecondary institutions in the United States, primarily focusing on the data from 69 of those institutions based on the more detailed data provided by those institutions to the study. Researchers from the…