TICAS' 2025 Federal Policy Agenda advises members of the 119th Congress on how to strengthen the nation's higher education system to ensure a college degree is both accessible and affordable. Our higher education system faces extensive challenges, but a postsecondary credential remains the most reliable path to economic mobility, and the economy…

Non-exempt staff make up 28% of the higher education workforce. Examples of non-exempt staff in higher ed include electricians, police officers, photographers, custodians, office assistants, and food service workers. There is a dearth of reporting that characterizes the non-exempt higher ed workforce beyond those parameters that are used to…

It is critical that K-12 and higher education rise to meet employer needs by providing more skills-based, workforce-relevant learning opportunities to students throughout the state of Tennessee. It will take close collaboration with the community and industry for the Tennessee State Board of Education to accomplish its mission of preparing every…

In recent years, there has been a change in the objectives of Higher Education (HE): the inclusion of employability. The successful inclusion of employability as a goal of HE requires a change to the sector's teaching, learning and assessment (TLA) methods, which ought to be part of an HEI's strategy. In particular, there needs to be an emphasis…

Companies are facing a persistent and growing skills gap, which has been exacerbated by the tight labor market. Employers use industry certifications, college degrees, boot camps, and badges to measure job skills, but until recently it was impossible to compare certifications or degree attainment. This paper describes credential transparency and…

COVID-19, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Climate Change, have disrupted work education, rendering sustainability of careers and livelihoods a concern. This paper outlines a collaborative response to that challenge, offering opportunities for sustainable livelihoods in a work education cloud collaboration, Project SLiC (Sustainable Livelihoods…

The Chancellor of the Oklahoma state system of higher education has focused on two overarching objectives: expanding workforce development efforts and creating paths to a better life for Oklahomans. Oklahoma public institutions and elected officials are partners in developing an educated, engaged workforce prepared to meet the state's current and…

As state political leaders look toward a postpandemic era, they are being presented with complex economic and workforce development challenges that will require intensive, intentional collaboration between business, higher education, and state government. Workforce participation rates remain far below prepandemic levels, businesses continue to…

This annual report contains the following sections: (1) Role of the State Regents; (2) Higher Education Update; (3) State System Fast Facts; (4) Affordability; (5) Key Initiatives; (6) Enrollment; (7) Outcomes; (8) Workforce Development; and (9) Institutional Highlights. The strength of Oklahoma's public higher education system shows in enrollment…

At a time when Americans are divided, patriotism is declining, and liberal democratic norms are threatened, working Americans, more than college-educated Americans, take appropriate pride in the special contributions of their country. The extreme right and left have for too long engaged in a seesaw of bad policies that foster illiberalism.…

Postsecondary education and training have become essential to economic mobility, and equitable access to postsecondary education and training is critical to building an inclusive economy. Part of building inclusivity is increasing the number of and diversity of working people earning these quality credentials in workforce education and training…

College-educated immigrants in the United States are more likely to have advanced degrees and to major in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields than their U.S.-born peers with college degrees. But their educational levels have not always translated into occupational gains: They are more likely than U.S.-born workers to be…

The urgent need to build a strong pipeline of career-ready high school graduates is growing rapidly, just as more parents, students, and employers are questioning the diminishing value of traditional higher education. Increasingly, employers in high-demand and high-growth industries are placing greater value on job-ready skills than on traditional…

The literature on the diversification of the higher education workforce has tended to focus on broad brush changes to patterns of employment and working conditions. What has been less remarked is ways in which individuals are negotiating the structures and stretching the parameters within which they work, including experience outside higher…

As the U.S Hispanic population has increasingly grown throughout the years, the growing population has indicated that there will be change in the makeup of the cultural fabric of the country. The Hispanic population growth has led to the increase in numbers of English Learner (EL) students in both private and public schools in the U.S. which has…