Posts Tagged ‘return on investment’

New Research Sheds Light on the Value of Credentials, Dual Credit and Apprenticeships

Thursday, August 23rd, 2018

It is common knowledge that earning a postsecondary credential, particularly in a high-skill, high-wage, in-demand industry, can help learners land good jobs. But how do learners get there? New research sheds light on the different pathways learners take to get to a good job and the economic returns of credential attainment.

$224 million a year. That’s how much more money the most recent cohort of graduates from Tennessee public colleges and universities can expect to make every year compared to non-credential holders. That figure comes from a new report published by the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development in June. The report attributes much of the wage gains to the impact of community and technical colleges across Tennessee.

While a postsecondary credential pays a premium for graduates, many learners work through college. In fact, according to a new brief from the National Center for Education Statistics, 32 percent of students at public 2-year colleges worked full-time while enrolled in the 2011-12 school year. The study also finds that students were more likely to complete a degree if they worked 20 hours or less a week compared to students who worked full time or did not work at all. The study did not say whether or not these students were working in fields related to their program of study, however.

Learners can start working on their postsecondary credential even before they graduate high school. New research from the University of Texas system shows just how much of an impact dual enrollment has for Texas students. According to the study, dual credit students had higher college graduation rates and higher GPAs than their peers. And students who entered the University of Texas system with credits from both Advanced Placement and dual credit classes were five times as likely as their peers to graduate in four years.

Yet learners often do not complete their credential at their initial institution. According to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, 38 percent – or 1,069,243 students – in the fall 2011 cohort transferred within six years. The study also revealed this startling statistic: only 5.6 percent of transfers from two-year colleges leave with a certificate or associate degree.

Postsecondary credentials reinforce the technical and academic skills learners will exercise in their future careers. But employers often look for candidates with a more rounded skill set that can only be learned through experience. A new survey from Bloomberg Next finds that 43 percent of employers say new recruits lack the soft skills to be effective, skills like teamwork, critical thinking and adaptability.

One way to build these skills is through work-based learning experiences like internships and apprenticeships. Adults in the U.S. are increasingly recognizing the value of apprenticeships. The American Staffing Association reports that 94 percent of Americans say that apprenticeships are helpful in leading to a new career and 62 percent even think apprenticeships make people more employable than going to college.

At any rate, learners have multiple pathways to lifelong career success – be it through an apprenticeship, a two-year college or a four-year university – and should be empowered to choose the path that is right for them.

Austin Estes, Senior Policy Associate

By admin in Research
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Fall Meeting: Using Data to Drive Decisions

Monday, October 31st, 2011

At the NASDCTEc fall meeting last week, Career Technical Education (CTE) leaders from across the nation addressed many issues, including how data should be used to drive decision making in CTE. A panel of experts addressed relevant topics to CTE, such as diversifying the uses of CAR data, the return on investment of CTE, and how Career Clusters are addressing labor market demands.

Data Diversification in CTE

Matt Hastings from the Nebraska Department of Education described the role of subpopulations in the Perkins accountability data framework and the challenges with solely relying on subpopulation analyses.

Perkins accountability focuses on small groups of students so policymakers can see the return on investment (ROI) of Perkins dollars through CTE accountability measures. The system becomes a challenge, however, because CTE accountability takes on multiple roles; the success or failure of CTE programs is judged based on these accountability measures, while policymakers rely on these measures for ROI information to drive program and policy decisions.

Return on Investment in CTE

Pradeep Kotamraju of the National Research Center for Career and Technical Education (NRCCTE) described the overarching concern around CTE for policymakers and stakeholders as: is federal, state, and local investment in CTE paying off?

This presentation overviewed approaches and factors to consider when calculating ROI, and steps necessary to calculate ROI in CTE.

Career Clusters: Forecasting High School through College Jobs – 2008-2018

Nicole Smith from Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce shared highlights from the Center’s latest report, which forecasts job opportunities by Career Cluster. Among other key findings, Smith shared that:

This report will be released on November 14, 2011.

Kara Herbertson, Education Policy Analyst

By admin in Uncategorized
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NASDCTEc Webinar Today on “Investment in CTE” – Register Now!

Tuesday, September 27th, 2011

Please join us this afternoon, Tuesday, September 27th from 2:00 to 2:45 pm ET, for a webinar: “Investment in CTE Investment in CTE: Linkages to Greater Earnings, Higher Employability, and Positive Benefit-Cost Ratio.” The webinar will accompany the release of our final vision issue brief of the same title.

Register for today’s webinar here.

NASDCTEc’s Education Policy Analyst, Kara Herbertson, will frame the conversation by highlighting state and organization examples that aim to show the value of CTE and education to the community and the economy.

We are pleased to have Kevin Hollenbeck, Vice President and Senior Economist at the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, join us for this discussion on return on investment (ROI) and CTE.

Click here to view our new issue brief on this topic.

For more information, please contact Kara Herbertson at kherbertson@careertech.org.

By admin in Publications, Webinars
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New Paper Cites Strong Return on Investment for Adult Ed and Training

Monday, June 27th, 2011

In these tough economic times, how can the Career Technical Education (CTE) community band together to show the value of CTE to individuals and society? Stakeholders in education and many other fields struggle to receive support through dwindling federal or state funds because they often lack the resources or sufficient data to provide strong evidence of program efficacy.

Widely used to evaluate cost-effectiveness, return on investment (ROI) studies in education specifically aim to evaluate the connection between spending and educational outcomes. Strategies that show more efficient overall use of funds demonstrate a higher rate of return on investment.

A new policy paper from the McGraw-Hill Research Foundation, an organization that advances 21st Century global education and knowledge, provides several examples of ROI studies that show a positive economic impact for adult education and training. The authors describe how increasing investments in adult education would actually save the government money by reducing societal healthcare, public assistance and incarceration costs in addition to providing direct economic benefits for individuals and society.

Read more about states and organizations that have made efforts to quantify the ROI of adult education in the full report.

By admin in Research, Resources
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New Report and State Profiles Show Economic Benefit of Cutting Dropout Rates

Friday, March 25th, 2011

The Alliance for Excellent Education released a report and individual state profiles this week that show how cutting the high school dropout rate can have a positive impact on the economy. Education and the Economy: Boosting the Nation’s Economy by Improving High School Graduation Rates found that if the high school graduation rate were cut in half, these 650,000 “new graduates” would benefit the economy in some of the following ways:

The dollar amounts included in the report represent the economic returns from cutting the dropout rate for only one high school class. The Alliance points out that increasing the graduation rates for future classes would create cumulative benefits that would be exponentially greater.  Later this spring, the Alliance will release similar projections for metropolitan areas.

“Decisions on how to close budget gaps and build a strong economy must begin with ensuring better educational outcomes for the nation’s students,” said Alliance president Bob Wise. “There’s been a lot of talk about how budget deficits threaten our children’s future, but the best way to cut budget deficits is to cut dropout rates.”

You can access information about the economic benefits of cutting the graduation rate in your state here.

By admin in Public Policy
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New Framework for Conducting CTE Return on Investment Analysis

Thursday, March 24th, 2011

Many states produce impressive statistics regarding career technical education (CTE) student performance, including high rates of technical skill attainment and high language arts and mathematics performance levels. Still, states and districts often fail to provide evidence of CTE’s return on investment (ROI) for communities and the economy. A recently released framework provides guidance for CTE evaluators seeking to show the positive impact of CTE programs on the economy.

In the study, Conducting Return on Investment Analyses for Secondary and Postsecondary CTE: A Framework, the National Research Center for Career and Technical Education (NRCCTE) finds that secondary CTE students receive positive returns at very little or no cost for secondary CTE. The study also reveals that postsecondary CTE participants yield short-term and long-term positive returns on investment.

Further ROI analysis of CTE programs is necessary to demonstrate the effectiveness and necessity of CTE within communities and across the nation. According to Deputy Director Pradeep Kotamraju, the NRCCTE recognizes the difficulty of conducting CTE ROI analyses and hopes to provide rigorous analysis alternatives for CTE stakeholders.

By admin in Research
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Return on Investment Advocacy Tool

Wednesday, January 27th, 2010

State and federal policymakers are making tough decisions on where to direct scarce funding, but outcomes of some studies suggest that CTE is a wise choice if they are seeking a positive return on investment.

Check out our latest leave behind about the return on investment in CTE that we will use to inform legislators and their staff on the Hill about financial benefits to the government, the individual, and the economy.  You can access a copy of it here.  This leave behind highlights return on investment studies conducted in the three states — Oklahoma,  Tennessee, and Washington.

Please feel free to use this document to inform policymakers and legislators in your state about the benefits of CTE!

By admin in Advance CTE Resources, Publications
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State Return on Investment Strategies Webinar

Wednesday, January 20th, 2010

Return on investment data is one of the most important factors that Congress and the Administration will look at to determine levels of funding for federal programs, like Perkins. On January 14, we hosted a webinar, State Return on Investment Strategies, that looked at the work being done in Oklahoma, Washington and Tennessee to collect data on the return on investment in CTE for the state and individuals. The presenters talked about how states are collecting return on investment data, what some of the results have been, and how this data is being used.

Presenters included:

If you missed it, don’t worry!  You can download an archived version of the webinar here.

By admin in Advance CTE Resources
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