Historical and legislative evolutions of education policy have repurposed federally funded adult education programs in the United States. The 2014 passage of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) has considerable repercussions for everyone involved in the field because it controls the funding, assessment, and structure of these…

The Wyoming Community College Commission's internal strategic plan for the five-year period spanning 2016 through 2020 is taking a new streamlined approach to conveying future goals. Specific agency sections' mission statements, responsibilities, and accomplishments will be relayed in the agency's annual report. For the time span of 2016 through…

The Maine Community College System (MCCS or "System") is comprised of seven colleges, nine campuses, and six off-campus centers that are located within 25 miles of over 90% of Maine's population. The colleges offer one-year certificate and two-year associate degree programs that are designed to lead to direct employment or transfer to a…

The relationship between the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) and the recognition of Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) occurs at the federal level. HACU's origins and the legislative history of the HSI designation in federal law are explored. The demographic growth and corresponding importance of Hispanics in the…

The Adult Education and Economic Growth Act (AEEGA) was introduced in the House of Representatives in June 2011 by Rep. Ruben Hinojosa (TX-15) and in February 2012 in the Senate by Sen. Jim Webb (VA). The Act (H.R. 2226 and S. 2117) would amend the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) to encourage the use and availability of career pathways for…

The Adult Education and Economic Growth Act (AEEGA) was introduced in the House of Representatives in June 2011 by Rep. Ruben Hinojosa (TX-15). The bill (H.R. 2226) would amend the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) to encourage the use and availability of career pathways for low-skilled adults, strengthen the focus of adult education on postsecondary…

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) "Engineering Solutions to the National Crisis in Literacy": Alliance Brief Calls for Alignment Between…

What are employer needs for staff trained in the natural sciences at the master's degree level? How do master's level professionals in the natural sciences contribute in the workplace? How do master's programs meet or support educational and career goals? "Science Professionals: Master's Education for a Competitive World" examines the answers to…

In North Carolina, work force development education (WDE) begins in grade 6 with exploratory courses and leads to specialized classroom instruction in grades 11 and 12. Since 1992-1993, North Carolina's WDE programs have been evaluated with respect to eight long-range performance standards. Only in the case of standard 1 (all students will have…

Prepared to serve as a resource manual for educators as well as informative reading for the general public, this first yearbook explores a wide range of views, topics, and trends of current importance in the field of vocational education. The authors were particularly concerned with the philosophy of vocational education as expressed in the…

The national policies on preparing youth for the work force in the United States and Finland were compared through a retrospective review of past policy decisions. Qualitative data were gathered by analyzing key policy documents and by conducting focus group interviews with reform stakeholders within three Finnish experimental school divisions and…

Keeping the existing information technology (IT) workforce viable and rapidly increasing the number of these workers presents a United States public policy workforce development (WD) challenge at all government levels. Public policy human capital investments have been undertaken to address the IT workforce supply and demand mismatch. States seem…

This congressional report contains testimony given in relation to the passage of the Vocational and Adult Education Consolidation Act (S. 2325). (The Vocational and Adult Education Consolidation Act is legislation designed to consolidate existing federal vocational and adult education programs, to simplify requirements for states and other…

The Workforce Investment Act represents a total customer-driven overhaul of the U.S. job training system that will help employers obtain needed workers and empower job seekers to obtain the training needed for the jobs they want. The Department of Labor will implement the Workforce Investment Act in cooperation with the Department of Education.…

This congressional hearing contains testimony given in Montpelier, Vermont, at the first of a series of nationwide hearings on vocational education. Focus of this particular hearing is on the specific needs of Vermont as a rural northeastern state to train a workforce that is talented enough to help retrain existing businesses and industry and…