Community colleges offer a variety of workforce-oriented programs intended to help students gain skills and knowledge for a specific career or occupation. Among these are short-term credentials, designed to teach students a specific skillset related to an occupation, often in response to local labor market needs. Types of short-term credentials…

Education is considered to be the most effective tool that people can use to lift themselves out of poor socioeconomic backgrounds and lead to professional success, which in turn improves society. Since an education system often supports individuals with a higher socioeconomic status (SES), it may not resolve the issue of socioeconomic background…

This paper estimates the heterogeneous labor market effects of enrolling in higher education short-cycle (SC) programs. Expanding access to these programs might affect the behavior of some students (compliers) in two margins: the expansion margin (students who would not have enrolled in higher education otherwise) and the diversion margin…

Using data from Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges Count, this issue of "Data Notes" investigates the number of attempts it takes students to complete all developmental education courses to which they are referred. Subsequent gateway course completion and overall persistence are also examined. Three-year outcomes were analyzed and…

Until 1975 around half of all graduates from Dutch basic vocational schools finished a 3-year program, the other half finished a 4-year program. In 1975 all 3-year programs were extended to four years. This was accompanied by an increase of the compulsory school leaving age with one year. The authors evaluate the long-term wage effects of this…

This paper summarizes and critiques the literature concerning the development and use of time-compressed, intensive course formats in colleges and universities and suggests directions for future inquiry. The paper begins with a discussion of the origins of intensive courses and their development over time. Briefly reviewed are related educational…