This chapter summarizes major findings from the national evaluation of TAACCCT pertaining to systems and organizational changes made by community colleges. These results are integrated with other findings presented in this volume to highlight lessons learned about the implementation of TAACCCT and its legacy for long-term changes in the community…

At a time when the nation is focusing so much attention on college completion, what do we know about how students are completing their community college programs? Does the open-access mission of community colleges translate into equitable outcomes? Pathways to Results (PTR) engages practitioners in using data to close equity gaps for student…

This tool is designed to be used by Student Success Center executive directors to gather input and prepare coaches to integrate and enact an equity frame in guided pathways implementation. The tool utilizes the Community College Research Initiative's (CCRI) Coaching for Change framework to apply equity and equity-mindedness (Center for Urban…

In 2012, five foundations launched the Credit When Its Due (CWID) initiative that was "designed to encourage partnerships of community colleges and universities to significantly expand programs that award associate degrees to transfer students when the student completes the requirements for the associate degree while pursuing a bachelor's…

In 2007, the Illinois General Assembly passed Public Act 0950694, "The College and Career Readiness Pilot Act", in an effort to reduce remediation within Illinois' community colleges. An important objective of this legislation was to better prepare students to be successful in transitioning from high school to college. According to the…

This report provides initial results of Illinois' Shifting Gears Initiative that operated between July 1, 2007 and June 30, 2009. This mixed method (qualitative and quantitative) evaluation sought to accomplish three goals: (1) to assess program and student outcomes for two models (adult education and developmental education) for two target groups…

Rising remediation rates among college students are leading to increased time for completion of degree, additional costs for students and colleges, and financial aid being used on courses that do not count towards a degree. In response to these issues, in 2007 the state of Illinois passed the College and Career Readiness Act, Public Act 095-0694,…

This report summarizes major findings and recommendations of the Illinois Career Development Task Force. The first section provides background information on Task Force formation, membership, meetings, and discussion topics. The second section defines career development, based on the consensus-building process employed by the Task Force, and…

The applied baccalaureate degree, which integrates once-terminal applied associate degrees and course work into a four-year degree, is a relatively new phenomenon in higher education. This article presents findings from the first of two phases of research conducted--utilizing Kingdon's (1995) Multiple Streams framework--exploring the status of…

This booklet provides information to multiple stakeholders on the implementation of career clusters in Illinois. The booklet is an extension of the previous edition titled "An Introduction to Illinois CTE Programs of Study" (2008), and provides a resource for partners to understand Illinois' Career Cluster Model as its own adaptation of…

This study examined differences in the awareness, use, and perceived impact of educators, employers, and workforce training providers toward skills standards implementation in the State of Illinois. Group differences were revealed on the use of skills standards, with educators displaying significantly higher levels of use than employers or…

A study of the status of work-based learning in U.S. two-year colleges sought to determine the aggregate depth, scope, and quality of work-based learning. A census design was used to ascertain the scope of work-based learning, through a mailed survey of 1,036 U.S. two-year colleges (nearly 50 percent response rate). Results of the study indicate…

Based on an initial phase of a study conducted in 1993 that surveyed 1,200 two-year colleges to describe the scope and character of work-based learning programs already in existence, phase 2 sought a more in-depth understanding of selected exemplary work-based learning programs. Ten programs in eight two-year colleges were identified for further…

The Teacher Retraining and Directed Exchange (TRADE) project was conducted during the 1984-85 school year at five vocational schools in Ohio. During this period, a total of six teacher-employee exchanges were conducted with large and small businesses and industries. An evaluation of the project showed that, generally, the cost of implementing…

This document is designed to help local practitioners construct new tech prep systems that bridge the federal Tech Prep Education Act with the new School-to-Work Opportunities legislation. Section I provides a historical and philosophical foundation for new systems. It describes the movement's roots, legislation, and local, state, and federal…