This paper draws upon questionnaire data from 126 mature, female alumni students and interviews with a subset of 20 participants who completed education foundation degrees in three English universities in the South West. Three illustrative cases from interviews are chosen representing three models of progression: 'success', 'version of success',…

Associate degrees and credentials in Information Technology (IT) have the potential to open up high-wage and high-opportunity labor market opportunities for learners. Yet structural barriers in access to and completion of these degrees and credentials continue to make it difficult for Black learners and workers to access and thrive in these…

Community college completion rates are low, especially among low-income students. The existing policy and research attention has primarily focused on academic and financial challenges, but there is ample reason to think that non-academic obstacles might be key drivers of dropout rates for low-income students. This study focuses on the role of…

Diversifying the STEM workforce is a national priority, yet white males continue to dominate the ranks of professional scientists and engineers in the United States. This is partly due to disparities in academic success for women and minoritized students in prerequisite introductory STEM courses, leading to higher attrition from B.S. degree…

This document is the appendices for "Transitioning to College and Work Part III: Labor Market Analysis in Houston and Texas." The report examined: (1) Supply and demand for labor in the Houston area and Texas, including an examination of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board's (THECB) "60×30TX" strategic plan; (2)…

The gender wage gap, the disparity in pay between men and women, has narrowed to 81 cents in 2016 from 57 cents on the dollar in 1975. Nevertheless, the gap persists. Over the course of a career, the gender wage gap results in women earning $1 million less than men do. To close this gap, women have relied primarily on the advantages conferred by…

The science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) workforce, and therefore STEM education, has become increasingly central to the U.S. economic growth and competitiveness over the past five decades. Nationally, the number of STEM workforce positions and the number of STEM postsecondary graduates have increased over time, but there is…

Community colleges are an important part of the higher education landscape in the United States, but completion rates are extremely low, especially among low-income students. Much of the existing policy and research attention to this issue has focused on addressing academic and financial challenges. However, there is ample reason to think that…

This study provides one of the first estimates of the returns to different types of community college credentials--short-term certificates, long-term certificates, and associate degrees--across different fields of study. We exploit a rich data set that includes matched, longitudinal college transcripts and Unemployment Insurance records for…

This inquiry is an exploration of the educational trajectories of African American women community college students. We compare the persistence of African American women to African American men and to all women college students using the 1996/2001 Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Survey and the 1993/2003 Baccalaureate and Beyond…

During the 2014 White House Science Fair, President Barack Obama used a sports metaphor to explain why we must address the shortage of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), particularly in the engineering and computing fields: "Half our team, we're not even putting on the field. We've got to change those…

During the 2014 White House Science Fair, President Barack Obama used a sports metaphor to explain why we must address the shortage of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), particularly in the engineering and computing fields: "Half our team, we're not even putting on the field. We've got to change those…

This study provides one of the first estimates of the returns to different types of community college credentials--short-term certificates, long-term certificates, and associate degrees--across different fields of study. We exploit a rich dataset that includes matched, longitudinal college transcripts and Unemployment Insurance records for…

Community colleges open the door to opportunity for millions of Americans who want to pursue higher education and secure their economic futures. As an organization founded on the basic principle of making college accessible to women, the American Association of University Women (AAUW) has been a leading voice for women in education and the…

"Research Messages 2013" provides a summary of the research published in 2013 by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) in the following broad categories: (1) skills and productivity: from VET qualifications to higher-level qualifications and issues affecting the workforce; (2) social inclusion and participation in…