Postsecondary Credentials Research Articles

Staying on Course: Three-Year Results of the National Guard Youth Challenge Evaluation

High school dropouts face an uphill battle in a labor market that increasingly rewards skills and postsecondary credentials: they are more likely than their peers to need public assistance, be arrested or incarcerated, and less likely to marry. This report presents results from a rigorous evaluation of the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program, an intensive residential program that aims to “reclaim the lives of at-risk youth” who have dropped out. More than 100,000 young people have completed the program since it was launched in the early 1990s. MDRC is conducting the evaluation in collaboration with the MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Transitions to Adulthood. The 17-month ChalleNGe program is divided into three phases: Pre-ChalleNGe, a two-week orientation and assessment period; a 20-week Residential Phase; and a one-year Postresidential Phase featuring a mentoring program. During the first two phases, participants live at the program site, often on a military base. The environment is “quasi-military,” though there are no requirements for military service. The evaluation uses a random assignment design. Because there were more qualified applicants than slots, a lottery-like process was used to decide which applicants were admitted to the program. Those who were admitted (the program group) are being compared over time with those who were not admitted (the control group); any significant differences that emerge between the groups can be attributed to ChalleNGe. About 3,000 young people entered the study in 10 ChalleNGe programs in 2005-2006.

Achieving flexible learning through recognition of prior learning practice: a case‐study lament of the Canadian academy

Although the recognition of learners' experiential learning toward postsecondary credentials holds the promise of increased flexibility and opportunity for many, especially in the current climate of labour shortage, Canadian universities have been slow to adopt recognition of prior learning (RPL) systems. This case study of one Canadian institution showcases its RPL practice against the framework of the challenges that face RPL in traditional academic settings; and presents some of the lessons learned by Canada's foremost open and distance institution's RPL practice.

Assessment, Knowledge, and Customer Service: Contextualizing Faculty Work at For-Profit Colleges and Universities

As the labor market continues to demand more workers with postsecondary credentials, for-profit colleges and universities offer the training, degrees, and credentials that students seek to remain viable in an increasingly competitive job market. This study seeks to provide a new perspective on for-profit institutions by focusing on the roles and responsibilities of their most visible employees—faculty members. The author uses a cultural framework to explore the context in which faculty work takes place and also explores how the intersection between profit generation and educational quality affects faculty work both inside and outside of the classroom.

An Exponential Payoff

FOR MOST of us, graduating from high school is just the first step on the ladder to adulthood. And it is taken for granted. In some families, failure to graduate disrupts these expectations. A child might rebel or have learning problems that delay or even preclude walk across the stage, but for his or her family, such future was never imagined, and the resulting lack of diploma is talked about in hushed tones. The majority of parents assume that their children will complete high school and be certified to compete in the real world. But for other families, as optimistic as they might be when their 5-year-old happily trots through the big school doors to meet that first kindergarten teacher, the tradition of high school graduation is not firm. Perhaps one or both parents dropped out. Maybe Grandpa never finished eighth grade. Uncle Steve quit at 16. Aunt Terry left to take care of nieces and nephews who needed her. Such families don't care any less about their children's future. They simply reflect the conditions and expectations to which they've been exposed. We speak easily of first-generation college students. But it is less common to hear about first-generation high school graduates. Yet each first-generation high school graduate exponentially increases the odds that, for subsequent children, the expectation of graduation will be a lock. But locking in expectations can only happen when far greater numbers of students actually graduate--and do so fully prepared for adulthood. Where is the need the greatest to improve graduation numbers and build family traditions? Census Bureau statistics tell us that number of the states with the highest percentages of non-high school graduates are in the South. Ironically, southern states have often been among the leaders in education reform. In fact, because they have been so aggressive in policy making, it's difficult to single out any state in particular. For example, lawmakers in Florida have enacted an impressive slate of policies directed at improving education in the middle grades and high school. Alabama was the first state to require 4 X 4 curriculum for graduation. Mississippi currently is focusing on reducing its number of dropouts. And South Carolina just completed an in-depth study on better serving at-risk students. NATIONWIDE EFFORTS Nationwide initiatives led by nonprofit organizations such as Jobs for the Future (JFF) are focusing attention on the need to increase the number of low-income and minority young people who graduate from high school, are ready for college, and go on to earn college degree or different postsecondary credential. In October 2007, JFF brought together representatives from 41 states for conference called Double the Numbers 2007. The aim was to ask the nation to take on the urgent challenge of doubling the number of low-income students who earn postsecondary credentials. The conference addressed four strategies for improving high school graduation rates and promoting postsecondary attainment: * creating multiple pathways that enable all students, including struggling students and out-of-school youths, to graduate from high school prepared for college and work; * improving student transitions from high school to college by incorporating college-level learning experiences into the high school years; * improving college completion rates by restructuring developmental course sequences, building more bridges between K-12 and postsecondary education, and upgrading student supports; and * increasing postsecondary success for historically underserved groups through more strategic management of institutional spending and investment in expanded capacity and improved student learning. MAPPING BACKWARD IN KENTUCKY On 27 October 2007, Kentucky's Council on Postsecondary Education detailed how Kentucky plans to increase the number of college graduates to the national average by 2020: Doubling our numbers will benefit all Kentuckians. …

Redefining Tradition: Adult Learners and Higher Education

For many, achieving a college degree is a lifelong dream, characterized by opportunity, hope for a bright future, long-term career options, and an overall improved quality of life. Yet, access to American higher continues to be limited by complex structures and systems such as financial barriers, expectation gaps in learning between high schools and colleges, and unclear student pathways among institutions of higher learning. According to recent figures cited in a 2008 report entitled, Adult Learning in Focus: National and State-by-State Data produced by the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL), the U.S. now ranks tenth among the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries in the percentage of young adults (aged 25-34) with a postsecondary credential. This is not because the U.S. has declined, according to the report, but because other nations have caught up with and surpassed the U.S. It is estimated that in order for us to meet the standard of today's leading nations, we need to set a goal of having 55% of the adult workforce earn at least an associate's degree as opposed to 34% which represents our current level. Similarly, in a 2006 U.S. Department of Education report, entitled A Test Of Leadership: Charting the Future of U.S. higher Education, 90% of the fastest-growing jobs in the new knowledge-driven economy will require some postsecondary education (p. 7). The overall benefits to society and the individual are evident in several ways. In 2003, the median salary of an American worker with only a high school diploma was $30,800, compared with $37,600 median for those with an associate's degree and $49,900 median for those with a bachelor's degree (The College Board, 2005). Furthermore, Synder (2005) notes that an individual with a bachelor's degree will earn a lifetime average of $2.1 million which is almost twice as much as a worker with a high school diploma. Long-term earning potential is one direct benefit of a college degree. However, some other benefits might include: greater work productivity, significant contributions to a particular field or professional discipline, increased involvement as a leader at the local community level through volunteer and service activities, and active participation in political and social justice issues. Although it is widely accepted that a college contributes to the overall well-being of individuals, communities, and society at large, we are challenged by the lack of progress in educating more citizens and developing the necessary intellectual capital to sustain and invigorate our workforce. Currently, the nation's labor force includes 54 million adults who lack a college degree, and of those, nearly 34 million have no college experience (Pusser, Benenman, Gansneder, Kohl, Levin, & Milam et al., 2007, p. 4). If the U.S. is to continue to be viewed as a leader in innovation and economic prosperity, we must adapt and respond to the changing demographics of our students and to the needs of employing organizations. It is increasingly evident that meeting the growing demand for more college-educated citizens requires a transformation of state and national policies related to higher education. Adult Learners and the Academy The vast majority of U.S. colleges and universities are offering and developing programs designed to attract adult students to their campuses. Adult programs have the potential to improve local communities and regional economies as well as contribute to the overall global economy. Employers are looking for lifelong learners with the ability to be resilient, think critically, solve problems, communicate effectively, manage technology, and adapt to the changing needs of the workplace. So, where do we stand today with adult students? What are the current issues surrounding programs for adult learners in higher education? How can we foster a transformation in local, state, and national policies to diminish barriers experienced by adults returning to college? …

Mastery and the Fulfillment of Occupational Expectations by Midlife

This paper tests the central tenet of social psychology and the life-course perspective that broader contexts of opportunity and constraint moderate the ability of individuals to act on their plans and ambitions. We use the 1972 National Longitudinal Study to assess the impact of mastery on achieving one's occupational expectations and to determine if the benefits of mastery are contingent on structural contexts. Three types of structural constraints are examined: local employment conditions, marriage and family, and the credentialing of upper-status occupations. In general, mastery is associated with more ambitious and stable expectations over time. Results from discrete-time event history models show that personal mastery is positively associated with achieving one's occupational expectations, and the association is contingent on some, but not all, structural constraints. Marriage increases the effect of mastery on the odds of achieving one's occupational expectations, but having children decreases mastery's effect. Mastery is more beneficial to those pursuing training-intensive occupations, partly due to the acquisition of post-secondary credentials. Lastly, women receive less of a benefit from mastery than men do, likely due to the structural barriers women face in the workplace. Contrary to expectations, poor local employment conditions do not weaken mastery's influence on goal attainment.

Double the Numbers: Increasing Postsecondary Credentials for Underrepresented Youth (review)

Double the Numbers: Increasing Postsecondary Credentials for Underrepresented Youth (review)

Remembering the ‘Invisible Ones’

IN THE prologue to Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison's narrator wrote that he was invisible simply because people refuse to see me. That was another time and a more personal story. But idea of people who are under your nose yet unseen seemed relevant as I read two documents that draw on same research. They use different language and come to different conclusions. The differences are subtle to be sure, one document tends not to see much, while other sees a lot. The first document is National Assessment of Vocational Education: Final Report to Congress, which was submitted this past summer. The other document is Report of NAVE Independent Advisory Panel. This panel was appointed to guide research for NAVE and to comment on final report. While eminent research groups prepared data for NAVE report, it was actually written by a group in policy office of U.S. secretary of education. The Advisory Panel, which met many times over four years, included employers, secondary and postsecondary educators, union representatives, work force development experts, and researchers. The NAVE report is understandably more wrapped up in data and more focused on past and present conditions for career and technical education (CTE), new moniker for vocational education. The report of Advisory Panel uses same data, often sees more positive trends in those data, and concludes with a strong vision for future of CTE. The NAVE report, on other hand, suggests that a choice needs to be made between mostly fostering academic skills or mostly fostering work force development. Consider data used in both reports. Both agree, for example, that clearest benefits of CTE can be seen in earnings. NAVE calls them and medium-term benefits. The Advisory Panel declares that the most significant effect of secondary school CTE is boost in earnings and wages that get from even a handful of courses. Taking four high school CTE courses for credit increases a student's average annual earnings by $1,200 immediately and by $1,800 seven years later. Sure, these are short- and medium-term benefits, Advisory Panel points out, as NAVE does not, that 37% of country's high school graduates each year go directly to work. Moreover, economic benefit for earning a postsecondary credential is also significant: for females with associate degrees, earnings are 47% higher than for those holding only a high school diploma; for males with associate degrees, earnings are 30% higher than for males who lack degree. The NAVE report almost grudgingly acknowledges that in CTE programs been taking more academic courses, it quickly adds that achievement gaps between CTE and academic remain. The Advisory Panel report says that in CTE been closing gap with academic students and that CTE programs have led way toward increasing number and rigor of academic courses required. The Advisory Panel report also points out that CTE concentrators' scores on National Assessment of Educational Progress increased by nearly a grade-equivalent between 1994 and 1998. The NAVE report says that NAEP assessments show substantial progress, but more work is necessary to raise achievement levels of all students, particularly those in vocational programs. NAVE says little about different approaches to pursued in traditional academic work and in CTE, except in a discussion of teaching approaches. The Advisory Panel report, however, contends that CTE relies on a powerful mode of teaching and learning -- i. …

A Comparison of the Labour Market Outcomes of Postsecondary Graduates of Various Levels and Fields over a Four-Cohort Period

Abstract: The evolving economy is widely believed to affect the labour market outcomes of highly educated workers. However, there are conflicting arguments regarding the needs of the new economy, and there is little evidence available in the research literature to determine whether the labour market outcomes of various postsecondary graduates have changed among graduates of recent cohorts. Drawing on the 1982, 1986, 1990, and 1995 National Graduates Surveys, this paper builds on previous research by comparing the earnings and employment outcomes of graduates of various levels of postsecondary schooling (i.e. trades, college, and university) and fields of study over a 13-year period. The analyses suggest that the labour market experiences of postsecondary graduates of the various programs have remained relatively stable over the period investigated. Introduction More than a decade ago, it was argued that if Canada is to remain competitive and benefit from the current microelectronics and information technology revolution, it must provide a closer integration of skill development, on one hand, and skill utilization, on the (Lowe and Krahn, 1989: 187). This assertion may be even more important now, as we continue to move through the early stages of the economy. Characterized by globalization and the production of knowledge, particularly in areas related to information technology, the evolving knowledge-based economy is believed to require skills that previously did not exist. The changing skill requirements of employers have likely had a profound effect on the transition from school-to-work for graduates with postsecondary credentials (Economic Council of Canada. 1987). However, there is little evidence available to assess whether the relative employment outcomes of graduates with different types of postsecondary credentials have changed over the last few decades, particularly when controlling for a variety of sociodemographic characteristics that might play an important role in the relationship. Drawing on a series of large cross-sectional Canadian datasets, the purpose of this paper is to build on previous research by comparing the employment outcomes of graduates of four cohorts who were surveyed two years after graduation. By pooling recent waves of the National Graduates Surveys (NGS), this study is able to assess changes in the earnings and employment status of graduates of various levels of postsecondary schooling and fields of study, while, at the same time, controlling for other possible sociodemographic factors. Review of the Literature The North American economy has undergone some remarkable changes during the second half of the twentieth-century. It has been marked by two primary epochs, characterized as the transition from the industrial (Fordist) era to the post-industrial era (Esping-Andersen, 1993). Fordism is considered as the form of capitalism constructed after 1945 in all of the advanced capitalist countries (Jenson, 1989: 70). It entailed a form of manufacturing involving standardized mass production oriented toward greater consumption, where organizational structures are considered to be rigid and hierarchical in order to distinguish between management and workers (see Piore and Sabel, 1984). However, beginning in the 1970's, investigators argued that the economy had transformed as a result of advancements in technology, whereby manufacturing jobs largely disappeared, creating a new economic form of structural organization (see Bell, 1973). This new post-industrial economy has been characterized by a type of productive activity round in knowledge sectors, which include research and development, as well as computer and technology areas (See Bell, 1973). (1 2) It is also marked by the emergence and expansion of a new professional class of experts, researchers, scientists and technicians. This new professional class of white-collar workers largely replaced the preexisting labour-management arrangement. …

“Recycling”: The Economic Implications of Obtaining Additional Post‐secondary Credentials at Lower or Equivalent Levels*

Cet article explore les revenus des diplômés des collèges communautaires et des programmes universitaires de premier cycle. Le premier but de cette étude est de déterminer si les programmes des collèges communautaires en formation technique et appliquée procurent à leurs finissants de meilleurs revenus que ceux des arts libéraux, soi‐disant « plus mous ». Le second but est d'examiner les répercussions économiques de L'obtention d'un nouveau titre scolaire de niveau postsecondaire qui n'a pas été conçu dans le but d'être une continuation du premier titre, une pratique connue sous le nom de « recyclage ». Des comparaisons par champ d'étude sont aussi étudiées.This paper explores the earnings of graduates of community college and university undergraduate programs of different fields of study. There are two goals of this study. The first goal is to determine whether technical and applied community college programs provide their graduates with better earnings outcomes than do the so‐called “softer” liberal arts programs. The second goal is to examine the economic implications of obtaining an additional post‐secondary credential that is not designed to be a continuation of the first credential, a practice known as “recycling.” Comparisons by field of study are also investigated.

The Human Capital Effect of General Education Development Certificates on Low Income Women

This study examines the impacts of the General Equivalency Diploma (GED) certificate and other secondary and post-secondary credentials on labor market outcomes for women. It uses data from the NLSY Mother and Children file and the Washington State Family Income Study (FIS). Correcting for sample selection and endogeneity bias of welfare recipiency, we find that one cannot distinguish between secondary dropouts, GED recipients, and secondary graduates in hours of work. Results on hourly wage rates are mixed. For the FIS sample, GED recipients, secondary graduates, and secondary dropouts earn the same wage. For the NLSY, GED recipients fare better than dropouts, but worse than secondary graduates. Job experience explains the wage gap between GED recipients and graduates, but its explanatory power is dominated by controlling for years of education or AFQT. Differences in years of education and AFQT scores are responsible for the observed wage differences among GED recipients, secondary graduates, and secondary dropouts.

Schooling, Vocational Training and Unemployment: The Case of Canadian Aboriginals

Individual microdata from the 1986 Census are used to examine the impact of various levels and types of education and training on the unemployment probability of Aboriginals. Separate estimates are provided for male and female as well as on-reserve and off-reserve Aboriginals. Three primary conclusions emerge. First, the largest gains in reducing the risk of unemployment of Aboriginals can be achieved through raising elementary and secondary school completion rates. Second, the attainment of post-secondary vocational education or skill training credentials does not appear to have any significant effect on the unemployment of Aboriginal men, when compared to the possession of only a high school diploma. In contrast, Aboriginal women seem to substantially benefit from post-secondary schooling, no matter whether it is of a vocational or academic orientation. Third, the relatively high welfare dependency of Aboriginals exerts a powerful negative effect on the labor market outcomes of both Aboriginal men and women.