Posts Tagged ‘degree attainment’

New Report Examines Nondegree Credentials and Their Value

Tuesday, October 10th, 2017

The National Center for Education Statistics recently released a new report summarizing the results from the 2016 Adult Training and Education Survey, which gathered nationally representative data on U.S. adults’ training and education.

Overall, 27 percent of adults aged 16-65 have a nondegree credential, with 21 percent having an occupational certification or license and 8 percent having a postsecondary certificate. Among those who have an occupational certification or license, 67 percent prepared for their most important certification or license by taking classes from a college, technical school or trade school. Additionally, 21 percent of adults have completed an apprenticeship or internship, with 14 percent doing so as part of an educational program after high school.

According to the NCES’ blog post on the survey, “the data show that nondegree credentialing and work experience programs are particularly common in the healthcare field. In fact, health care was the most common field in which both certifications and licenses were held and the most common field for which adults had completed a work experience program.

The ATES also found that adults perceive nondegree credentials to be useful for many labor market outcomes. For example, 82 percent of adults who have a certification or license reported that it was very useful for ‘getting a job’, 81 percent reported that it was very useful for ‘keeping you marketable to employers or clients’, and 66 percent reported it that was very useful for ‘improving your work skills.’”

University Innovation Alliance Expected to Exceed Public Attainment Goals

A recent article highlights the successes of the University Innovation Alliance (UIA), a group of 11 research universities who banded together to implement strategies that would help more low-income students complete postsecondary programs. Over the past three years, the universities have increased the number of low-income graduates at their institutions by 24.7 percent, and they are on track to surpass their initial goal of increasing the number of low-income graduates by 34,000 students.

Among other strategies, the universities encouraged students to take a minimum of 15 credits per semester to increase their likelihood of completion and shared data analyses and studies with each other to help problem-solve. Their approach has had noticeable effects, even over a short time period. A comparative study recently revealed that 31 percent of the UIA undergraduate students receive Pell Grants compared to 15 percent of undergraduates at Ivy League institutions and at 50 other selective liberal arts colleges. This information is significant in that these 11 research universities are serving vastly more low-income students than many universities, and they are actively committed to helping those students succeed.

Odds and Ends

The Bureau of Labor Statistics recently released a report showing the current and projected entry-level degree requirements for various employment sectors. Interestingly, 6.5 percent of entry-level employment in 2016 was in occupations that typically require postsecondary education for entry. From May 2007 to May 2016, the share of U.S. employment in occupations typically requiring a high school diploma or equivalent for entry fell by nearly 2.6 percentage points, from over 38.3 percent to slightly less than 35.8 percent. Over the same period, the share of employment in occupations typically requiring postsecondary education for entry rose by 2.3 percentage points, from 34.2 to 36.5 percent.

Gallup and the Strada Education Network released a report diving into how individuals choose their field of study, based on a survey of 22,000 adults. Respondents were asked from where they received advice about their major, with responses falling into four main groups: formal, informal social network, informal school-based and informal work-based. Somewhat surprisingly, the survey found that the majority of adults used their informal social networks for advice, rather than the more formal (and likely more helpful and informed) channels available to them.

More great news has emerged for the Tennessee Promise program, as results on student outcomes continue to come in. Fifty-six percent of Tennessee Promise students who entered college in 2015, the program’s first year, had graduated, transferred to a four-year university or remained in school two years later. Only 39 percent of recent high school graduates outside of Tennessee Promise had done the same — a difference of 17 percentage points. While officials agree there is still more work to do, they are encouraged by these results.

Ashleigh McFadden, State Policy Manager

By admin in Research
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ED Seeks Student Input on Improving Education

Thursday, February 16th, 2012

On February 1, the Department of Education launched the National Education Startup Challenge, asking students to develop innovative, real world solutions to improve education. Students from across the country are invited to submit a business plan and a video pitch for a for-profit or non-profit startup that includes an innovative strategy, product or service designed to address one of these four topics:

Students in grade 6 through postsecondary, as well as out-of-school youth, are eligible to participate. The deadline for submissions is May 1, 2012.

For more information visit the National Education Startup Challenge Web site.

 Nancy Conneely, Public Policy Manager

By admin in News
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Leaders Focus on Closing the Skills Gap and Increasing Innovation

Monday, November 14th, 2011

Leaders concerned with America’s growing skills gap met last week in Washington to focus on solutions to this national problem.

The Atlantic, a literary and political magazine, hosted the event to brainstorm how America can regain its competitiveness in the global economy. U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison kicked off the event by stressing the importance of teaching science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields as early as middle school. She also expressed her support for Career Technical Education (CTE) and emphasized the need for technical jobs and training to fulfill the country’s “responsibility to show that some of the best jobs in the world [require] technical degrees.”

A panel featuring higher education, government, and manufacturing experts described their various initiatives aimed at closing this gap.  Jay Timmons, President and CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) described current progress as slow, but he also stated that the nation is set to make great strides in the long-term.  From a higher education perspective, Bob Templin, President of Northern Virginia Community College, agreed that a larger number of high school graduates are not ready for postsecondary training. However, he also noted that secondary and postsecondary schools and business and industry are actively teaming together to create solutions.

View the entire event and additional resources here.

Kara Herbertson, Education Policy Analyst

By admin in News
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Degree and Certificate Attainment Linked to Strong Employment Outcomes, Report Says

Friday, November 12th, 2010

Students with both an associate degree and a certificate in information technology (IT) had the strongest employment outcomes in terms of likelihood of employment, hours worked, and earnings, according to a recent Community College Research Center (CCRC) issue brief that examined Washington state students.

The Employment Outcomes of Community College Information Technology Students explored the role of community colleges in educating IT workers and examined two key issues:  students’ employment outcomes by the type of community college IT preparation they complete, and the type of employers that tend to hire community college IT students. CCRC assessed data on students who were enrolled in an IT program at any Washington State community and technical college during the 2000-01 academic year and who completed their program or left college by the spring of the 2004-05 academic year.

The students who followed in likelihood of employment, hours worked, and earnings were those with an IT associate degree, and then followed by students with an IT certificate. Students who earned no credential but focused their studies in IT had the weakest employment outcomes, according to the brief.

By admin in Publications
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New IES data highlights CTE student postsecondary trends, degree attainment

Friday, October 16th, 2009

New data provided by the Institute of Education Sciences highlights the proportions of CTE concentrators who enrolled in postsecondary institutions, how long it took them to enroll, and the types of degrees or certificates they earned between 1992 and 2000.

A recent update to the IES Web site presents data relative to the conversations being had in the political and educational arenas regarding students’ postsecondary goals and successes. As presented by IES, the figures speak to the following primary questions:

What percentage of CTE concentrators enrolled in college? How soon after high school graduation did they enroll, and what types of postsecondary institutions did they enter?
•By 2000, the majority of CTE concentrators from the class of 1992 had enrolled in postsecondary education (65 percent of the total group of CTE concentrators, 59 percent of the CTE only subgroup, and 82 percent of the dual CTE and college preparatory subgroup).
•About three-quarters of all CTE concentrators who enrolled in a postsecondary institution did so within 7 months of their high school graduation
•More than half (56 percent) of all CTE concentrators began their postsecondary education at a community college, while 37 percent began at a 4-year institution, and 7 percent at another type of institution.

What proportion of CTE concentrators who enrolled in a postsecondary institution earned a postsecondary certificate or degree?
•Among the total group of CTE concentrators from the class of 1992 who enrolled in a postsecondary institution, about half earned a postsecondary certificate or degree by 2000, while about one-quarter (26 percent) earned a bachelor’s or higher degree.
•A higher proportion of college preparatory only students earned a postsecondary certificate or degree than both the total group of CTE concentrators and the subgroup of dual CTE and college preparatory concentrators.
•Comparing the total group of CTE concentrators with general education students, there was no detectable difference in the proportion who earned a postsecondary certificate or degree, but CTE concentrators were more likely to have earned an associate’s degree as their highest degree, and less likely to have earned a bachelor’s or advanced degree by 2000.
•About 6 percent of the total group of CTE concentrators had not earned a postsecondary certificate or degree by 2000 but were still enrolled in postsecondary education, while 43 percent had not earned a postsecondary credential and were not enrolled.

Visit the IES Web site for more information.

By admin in Research
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