The federal government and private foundations for education have established postsecondary credential completion as a national imperative. Washington State's Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training (I-BEST) model was developed to increase the rate at which basic skills students advance to and succeed in college-level occupational programs,…

This bibliography summarizes recent research on the structure and effectiveness of workforce development programs. While the term "workforce development" can mean many things, this document focuses on programs to help low-skill, low-wage and displaced workers increase their employment and earnings, as well as labor market trends that…

In January 2010, the General Assembly passed the Complete College Tennessee Act (CCTA), a comprehensive reform agenda seeking to transform public higher education through changes in academic, fiscal, and administrative policies at the state and institutional levels. While the higher education landscape has been shaped by the CCTA, it is also…

Student success is at the heart of both institutional effectiveness and the community college mission, yet measuring such success at community colleges is problematic. This article highlights three efforts to grapple with this problem--a multistate work group of system- and state-level policymakers to create an improved set of student success…

In January 2010, the General Assembly passed the Complete College Tennessee Act (CCTA), a comprehensive reform agenda that seeks to transform public higher education through changes in academic, fiscal and administrative policies at the state and institutional level. While the higher education landscape has been shaped by the CCTA, higher…

In January 2010, the General Assembly passed the Complete College Tennessee Act (CCTA), a comprehensive reform agenda seeking to transform public higher education through changes in academic, fiscal, and administrative policies at the state and institutional levels. While the higher education landscape has been shaped by the CCTA, it is also…

The Geospatial Applications Program at the Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC), located five miles west of downtown Baltimore, Maryland, provides comprehensive instruction in geographic information systems (GIS), remote sensing and global positioning systems (GPS). Geospatial techniques, which include computer-based mapping and remote…

Educational, industry, and state leaders worked together to design a program to meet the training needs of Nebraska's fast-growing ethanol industry. The statewide initiative, guided by Northeast Community College and funded through the President's Community-Based Job Training Grants program, is developing dual-credit, short-term training that…

In 2007, Michigan undertook a bold mission: to retrain tens of thousands of adults to qualify for jobs in emerging and expanding sectors of the economy. The state's proposal to jobless, dislocated, and low-income residents was simple but appealing: enroll in up to two years of postsecondary education, and Michigan would cover up to $5,000 in…

This practice brief profiles three programs, two statewide and one local, that provide work opportunities to Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients who are participating in vocational education programs. The authors selected programs that combine vocational education and paid work because this strategy reinforces the emphasis of…

In 2009, the National Center for Postsecondary Research (NCPR) launched an evaluation of eight developmental summer bridge programs in Texas to assess whether these programs reduce the need for developmental coursework and improve student outcomes in college. The evaluation uses an experimental design to measure the effects of these programs on…

Postsecondary noncredit education has become an increasingly popular option for community college students in recent years. At many two-year institutions, noncredit education enrolls more students than do credit programs. This article presents an excerpt from a recent report published by the Community College Research Center, part of the Teachers…

Without appropriate education, American workers are hampered in their ability to have the requisite technical skills needed to participate fully and effectively in the modern workforce. Higher education as a system must develop programs and infrastructures that ensure adult learners receive postsecondary education, including at the baccalaureate…

This article describes how Texas' Closing the Gaps initiative pays close attention to the demographics of its growing minority communities. West Texas A&M administrators created the University Success Academy (USA) in 2004, which was largely funded through the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board's First Generation College Student (FGCS)…

In the absence of continuous legislative and institutional intervention, the demand for services provided by vocational and registered nurses in California over the next ten years will greatly outpace the supply of nurses anticipated to flow from postsecondary degree programs. Nursing education and supply issues can be better understood and…