Immigrants are more likely to arrive in the United States with lower levels of education, resulting in lower-status jobs, leading to lower incomes and less accumulation of wealth. However, a segment of the immigrant population enters the United States with the expectation of contributing immediately and directly to the country's economic…

There has been growing national political interest in promoting community college education as a way of improving economic opportunities for disadvantages members of local workforces. Recent work mainly focuses on human capital gains, but few studies have investigated how community college credentials can affect the level of job prestige…

Over its 100-year plus history the community college has struggled to make clear its mission. As a comprehensive community college its mission has bounced around to focus on liberal arts, developmental, workforce, community, and general education. In today's increasingly competitive society with shifting values and changes in power it is likely…

This study explored the impact of a seven-college consortium called "Credentials to Careers" (C2C), which was created to foster innovative programs to retrain unemployed and displaced workers for STEM, advanced manufacturing and health-care-related careers, on students' self-efficacy. Using the Generalized Self-Efficacy Scale, we…

One component of postsecondary education needed for economic recovery and development relates to blue-collar industries, jobs requiring some postsecondary training but less than a four-year degree. The U.S. Department of Labor Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) program provides funding for community…

This article examines the current literature and state legislation of statewide "free tuition" promise programs. The purpose of this paper was to analyze state free community college programs, legislation, scholarly literature, and state websites to understand program structures, funding sources, and student-eligibility requirements. The…

This article summarizes the work of the Midwestern Higher Education Compact (MHEC) in assisting community colleges through cost savings programs, collaborative programmatic initiatives, and research to inform policy and improve practice--including recent efforts to develop valid and reliable methods of measuring the effectiveness and efficiency of…

Discussions of workforce development emphasize stackable training, and assume linear advancement and alignment, through college and career paths. Stackable credentials have become a best practice for community colleges across the United States as they struggle to advance the college completion agenda and ensure that students graduate with the…

New America is a nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy institute that invests in new thinkers and ideas to address the next generation of challenges facing the United States. Because community college students tend to be underserved by our current higher education structure, much of our research and subsequent policy analysis and recommendations…

We address the emphasis of the California Community College system upon credentials in their effort to document student outcomes. Statewide curricular awards (associate degrees and certificates) were collected over a four-year period. Data were organized descriptively and analyzed in order to identify long term trends. These curricular trends are…