As colleges confront challenging circumstances, the prospect of small, private college closures remains pertinent. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand the lived experiences of displaced employees due to college closure. For this study, Schlossberg's (1981) transition theory was used as a foundational lens. Although there…

This article reports on four synthesis findings from the Credentials to Careers (C2C) initiative -- a consortium of seven community colleges working to create and implement innovative programs to train or retrain unemployed and displaced workers for STEM, advanced manufacturing and health-care-related careers. These are 1) collaborating with…

This brief underlines the contribution higher education makes to tackling entrenched global challenges and realising all of the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) -- through research, teaching, and community engagement. Higher education-led partnerships should be recognised as an effective model that adds value to the…

Displaced workers suffer large and persistent earnings losses. These losses can be mitigated by returning to school, yet the extent to which such workers enroll in post-secondary education in response to displacement is poorly understood. Using employer-employee-student matched administrative data from Ohio, we provide the first direct evidence of…

This article studies a sample of displaced workers during the deep 1990s recession in Sweden and estimates the effect of secondary-level adult education on tertiary-level educational attainment. Plant closures and mass layoffs are used to identify job separations unrelated to individual productivity. Results indicate a large positive effect of…

Individuals in the United States can pursue a variety of different types of postsecondary education credentials. This Perspective describes four common types: degrees, certificates, industry certifications and licenses, and apprenticeships. Bachelor's degrees are the most commonly awarded postsecondary credential in the United States…

Friday May 8, 2020 saw the release of the most disastrous monthly jobs report in American economic history. In this piece, the authors try to examine three issues for higher education institutions and students in New England. First, what is the magnitude of job losses in New England compared with the rest of the nation. Second, how have the…

The concept of a 'displaced academic', which previously appeared in the analysis of the WWII-related forced migration from the Nazi-occupied Europe, has resurfaced in Ukraine's higher education after Russia's annexation of Crimea and invasion of the Donbas in 2014. We re-examine the relevance and interpretations of this concept in embattled…

Since the late years of the Eisenhower Administration, when alarms were first raised about the impact of what was then called cybernation there have been cycles of interest in the role of training policy for addressing perceived national challenges. During the War on Poverty youth unemployment and juvenile delinquency motivated initiatives…

Rural areas depend upon community colleges to train people for the fields that match their regions' current and growing needs. To do so, these colleges must keep abreast of the employment trends in their area, be aware of where jobs have been lost and where they are being gained and determine how to recruit students who might be reluctant to be…

Higher education systems equip individuals with the tools they need to succeed in the labor market with higher-paying jobs that lead to improved living standards and more secure and fulfilling lives. Higher education was critical in the recovery from the last recession, and during the COVID-19 crisis, higher education has acted as a protective…

Deciding which field to study is one of the most consequential decisions college students make, but most research on the topic focuses on students attending four-year colleges. To understand how students attending community colleges make field of study decisions, I link administrative educational records of recent high school graduates with local…

COVID-19 has accelerated changes that were already underway in the American economy, such as the increasing displacement of workers by automation, the exponential evolution of industries due to technical advancements (the Fourth Industrial Revolution), and a widening skills gap and attainment deficit in the American workforce. As a result, adult…

COVID-19 has left tens of millions of Americans out of work or uncertain about the future of their current jobs, and thousands of firms urgently reassessing their own viability and path forward. Even before the pandemic led to the highest national unemployment rate since the Great Depression, American businesses and workers were anxious about how…

This final brief in the series focuses on policy options that can foster more innovation and address challenges in career education (CE) program development. It is based on earlier research for a series of reports called "Career Opportunities," aimed at identifying ways that state and system policy can best support the CE mission of the…