This qualitative study explored the experiences of vocational rehabilitation counselors (VRC) serving racially diverse clients and how VRCs are trained and educated to work with racially diverse clients. VRCs are typically employed by federally funded state or federal rehabilitation agencies. In their role, they aim to provide individualized tools…

Guided pathways is arguably the most widespread whole-college community college reform movement in decades. In this report, the authors present findings from a study on the scale of adoption of guided pathways practices across community and technical colleges in three states--Ohio, Tennessee, and Washington--where there are state-level efforts to…

Virginia Gordon contributed considerable and comprehensive work in the field of academic advising, including writings on topics ranging from the history of academic advising to her groundbreaking research on the undecided student population. Her model for training and developing new academic advisors stood out as exemplary. This article focuses on…

To remain competitive in the labor market, many middle-aged and older adults need to upgrade existing or learn new skills through occupational training and education. Furthermore, as compared with the past, employers now are more willing to hire older workers after completing a credential due to a low unemployment rate. Moreover, employers often…

Providing career preparation for our students continues to be a focus for faculty, departments, and institutions. Professional development is most effective when accessible to students in a number of ways. This article presents how career preparation can be incorporated in advising, through programming and assessment in a career center, and in the…

To remain competitive in the labor market, many middle-aged and older adults need to upgrade existing or learn new skills through occupational training and education. Furthermore, as compared with the past, employers now are more willing to hire older workers after completing a credential due to a low unemployment rate. Moreover, employers often…

Most individuals in the field of academic advising know Virginia Gordon through the dedicated and transformative work she did for NACADA. Less well known is the equally creative and transformative work she engaged in for most of her professional life at Ohio State University. This article addresses how her ideas and convictions about academic…

This paper is the first to investigate the costs of institution-wide reforms at community colleges. Drawing on data from 12 community colleges implementing comprehensive guided pathways reforms, I use the ingredients method to analyze the resources required to implement such reforms and examine their feasibility and affordability, as well as their…

This report was commissioned by Mid-America Regional Council and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation to gain an understanding of the current state of Career and Technical Education (CTE) in nine counties of the Kansas City region: Missouri counties of Cass, Clay, Jackson, Platte, and Ray; and Kansas counties of Johnson, Leavenworth, Miami, and…

Federal education benefits for veterans represent a substantial investment--$18 billion since 2009 under the Post-9/11 GI Bill--in the development of a skilled American workforce. Unfortunately, this investment does not always pay off because many veterans encounter serious obstacles as they attempt to navigate the higher education system and the…

This brief begins with a discussion of the composition of state leadership teams and organizing structures for supporting a Pathways to Prosperity Network initiative, and then describes effective strategies currently at play in the network states for jumpstarting work in the regions. It goes on to review state policies that support 9-14…

The author discusses the lives of Helen Bradford Thompson Woolley and M. Edith Campbell, who together shaped the legacy of the Vocational Bureau of Cincinnati. Using scientific research in controlled experimental settings allowed Woolley and Campbell to legitimize their social and vocational reform agendas and influence powerful government,…

In the knowledge economy, the journey of education to develop a flexible, knowledgeable, and skilled workforce should begin in pre-school and continue until at least an associate degree--the equivalent of a high school diploma a generation ago--is achieved. A high school diploma is not sufficient to compete in a global economy. The number of…

This study examines the recent employment history and needs of 110 women held in 2 urban county jails in Ohio. Those who had worked recently were more likely to have a high school education, to have a skill, to have a driver's license with access to a car, and to have dependents. Women who had worked recently were less likely to have a drug or…

Discusses a job fair held by Collegiate Employ-Net, a consortium of colleges and universities in Ohio and Michigan. Explains the benefits of 15 institutions of higher education working together, as well as the weaknesses of the collaboration. The consortium holds an annual job fair and has expanded its services to include additional methods of…