As the cost of traditional degrees increases, educators are turning to low-cost, short-term microcredentials as an alternative. Not all species of microcredential are equally variable. Nanodegrees, MicroMasters, and certificates usually require several months of coursework in a career-focused area like accounting, project management, artificial…

In 2023, the California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office launched Vision 2030. This bold plan provides a foundation for transformational change to ensure institutions work for students and provide equitable access to future learners through college. By working collaboratively as a system to advance the Vision 2030 priorities, colleges are…

This research abstract presents the rhizomatic research of an experimental wondering and wandering with a Deleuzian-Guattarian mindset. The purpose of the study is to de-re-territorialize "affective" adults who have been "dropping out" and "dropping back in" to high school. Adults who are "dropping out" and…

The educational attainment literature has brought back interest in early American primary schools, and much current research views those schools as superior to their European peers in the education offered to youth. Its emphasis, though, on using school enrollment as the prime indicator of attainment conflicts with the revisionist view of a…

Studies have consistently shown that postsecondary education positively affects earnings; however, outcomes vary greatly depending on the degree type and the student's gender and race/ethnicity. This is the first of three research briefs examining differences in lifetime earnings in Kentucky across six levels of educational attainment, from a high…

This Data Point uses data from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09), a national study of more than 23,000 ninth-graders in 2009. Students answered surveys between 2009 and 2016. This Data Point investigates whether high school students met with counselors about college and if meetings varied by parental education. It also describes…

The benefits of a postsecondary credential are well-documented. Postsecondary education not only benefits the individual receiving an education, but also the community in which they live. College graduates tend to have more job opportunities and be employed in industries and roles that are less-impacted when the economy slows. This means college…

This paper estimates returns to education during a period of sharp wage cuts in Greece, considering both the endogenous nature of education and women's self-selection. Findings suggest that dramatic wage declines were followed by sharp decreases in returns to education, while the documented convergence of returns between genders is an added…

Education and income are strong predictors of health and longevity. In the last 20 years many efforts have been made to understand if these relationships are causal and what the possible role of policy should be as a result. The evidence from various studies is ambiguous: the effects of education and income policies on health are heterogeneous and…

Career Technical Education (CTE)--a structured series of courses that provides high school students technical and vocational skills, paving the way to postsecondary education and careers--is key to aligning secondary education with both labor market needs and college opportunities. CTE provides high school students with the chance to engage in…

Since the 1947 Truman Commission's recommendation to establish local colleges in communities, the multiple mission community colleges have provided access and affordable education for millions. In the early years of the new millennium, community colleges garnered increased attention as engines of credential completion as the need for a college…

The involvement of people with lived experience in the design, implementation and evaluation of services has grown significantly in recent years. In parallel, the evidence base for best practice in peer research, as this approach is described, is also expanding. Sharing two practice examples, the authors reflect on key learning emerging from their…

Earnings comparisons between full-time male and female workers consistently show that women earn less over a lifetime than their male counterparts. In 2019, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that women made $.82 for every $1.00 earned by men. This research brief examines the disparities in median lifetime earnings of Kentuckians based on educational…

This brief shares learnings from the community of Learn and Earn to Achieve Potential (LEAP) organizations and partners as they continue to deepen their practices to enhance the positive impact and durability of programming while also scaling to reach greater numbers of young people in similar situations. After a brief description of the national…

For the U.S. to regain the top ranking in the world for college degree attainment, Latinos will need to earn 6.2 million degrees by 2030. To reach the degree attainment goal by 2030, the U.S. can: close the degree completion gap by accelerating Latino completion while increasing for all students and scale up programs and initiatives that work for…