Decision makers and strategy leaders in states often lack the information they need to make decisions that will support learners' success. Many lack information on what data their states already collect and publicize, and many are unsure of what data might tell a more meaningful story about student success. Responding to this need, researchers and…

Despite the growing popularity of WBL, the community college and workforce development fields need greater transparency and clarity on the design of these programs to broaden workforce pathways, ensure the transferability of exemplary program models, and support the advancement of equitable outcomes for all students, especially learners from…

A student-alumni mentor program that combines aspects of academic and workplace mentoring was developed and implemented in a school of social work. Foundation-year MSW students (mentees) were matched with school of social work alumni (mentors) in a formal mentoring program. This program was developed to address the needs of MSW students, alumni,…

As the skills and competencies needed by Information Systems (IS) undergraduates continues to grow, various IS professional societies have developed recommendations which are updated on a periodic basis. These recommendations known as 'model curricula' are a guide for faculty and institutions to consider when developing or evaluating the…

This program profile describes a restructure of the PhD exam intended to enhance graduate-level instruction and advisement within the Rhetoric and Composition program at Georgia State University. We explain how a mix of institutional constraints and mentorship opportunities drove revisions to our doctoral exams and processes of doctoral…

Purpose: Students experience a range of benefits by participating in work-based learning (WBL) including increased employability skills, career development learning and enhanced industry networks. However, some approaches to WBL are not easily accessed by all students, with placement-based models placing demands on students to attend a physical…

The social attractiveness and prestige of the teaching profession over the past twenty years have reached an extremely low level, despite the fact that the teaching profession is declared by the state as one of the most respected, honorable and responsible professions. The presented contradiction determined the purpose of the research: to develop…

Community colleges in the United States, which serve a disproportionate number of students from low-income backgrounds, can provide a valuable pathway toward well-paying careers. However, graduation rates at community colleges are very low--among first-time, full-time, degree-seeking students who enter public two-year schools, only 29 percent…

Purpose: The purpose of this research is to investigate sustainable strategies for skills development that is specific to the youth of South Africa. International and South African data are statistically analysed and quantified to provide inputs for the systems dynamics (SD)-based predictive skills model. The skills model simulates the impact of…

Definitions of disability are changing, shifting from a narrow medical diagnosis to a biopsychosocial model of disability, where disability is conceptualised as a series of relational conditions that can potentially disadvantage individuals within environments. Implications of this new understanding of disability will have significant effects in…

Intermediaries play a complex and critical role in the growing work-based learning ecosystem, but little is known about the funding models that support them or how their funding approaches might vary depending on the programs they lead, where they sit within an ecosystem, or the nature of their relationships with other partners. To begin building…

Over the past three decades, transition practices research has demonstrated that post-school outcomes of students with disabilities improve when educators, families, students, and community members and organizations work together to implement a broad perspective of transition planning, more appropriately referred to as transition-focused…

Background: The current global cohort of youth has been called "a generation at-risk", marked by a dramatic rise in youth who are not in employment, education or training programmes. In 2010, youth were three times as likely as adults to be unemployed, with youth unemployment worsening in 2012 and 2013. Accordingly, there is an urgent…

Challenges to developing staff quality include limited staff hours and lack of funding for training. However, even organizations that have enough time and money still may not develop their people effectively. Traditionally, organizations send staff to trainings without offering follow-up support to enable them to apply the learning (Hirsh, 2009;…

Traditional liberal arts colleges employ a variety of initiatives to connect students to work opportunities--internship programs, co-ops, and work study, to name a few. These initiatives often provide students with some additional income or expose them to a potential career, but they do not necessarily go so far as to fully integrate employment…