Transcript Document

Ford Foundation
Community College Bridges to
Opportunity
David Prince
Sr. Research Manager,
Washington State Board for Community
and Technical Colleges
Research Project


Create a better understanding of low-income
students
Identify the state-level policy implications
Study Approach
Follow cohort of working age adults, new to college
for 5 years after start:
 Identify those likely to be low-income
 Measure success for educational attainment,
employment, earnings and access to further
education and training
 Work backwards from success to identify
roadblocks and pathways- examine issues
raised by task group last spring and others that
emerge
Society’s economic health is directly related to the
economic attainment of its members. How are we doing?
State Population Survey 2002
Earnings
PHd
Voc
Cert
AA
Deg
BA
Deg
MA
Deg
Prof
Deg
HS
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
< 9th
Grade
$80,000
$60,000
$40,000
$20,000
$0
Unemployment
More than 1/3 of the working age population = adults (25-49 yrs) with
high school education or less, and younger adults (18-24).

Both have lower socio-economic status and higher unemployment.

Both have lower levels of education and training.
Educational attainment and economic attainment
continue to be closely linked.
Economic attainment: 1 year of college level credit + a
credential is the tipping point for students struggling to find
career pathways.
Highest value-added for work success  1 year + credential gives future earnings bump:
 = $6,600 more per year for ESL students
 = $9,200 more per year for an ABE student
 = $4,900 and $2,700 more per year (respectively) for
workforce students entering with a GED or HSD only
 Jobs that need 1 year college level credit +credential are
among those in greatest demand.
This is the key for most to go beyond poverty wages …
to make a lasting difference in their futures …
It is the niche the 2 yr college system has claimed.
Up and down the Educational Pipeline,
the 2-yr system is hemorrhaging working
age adults with high school education or
less, or ESL
Entering Classes:
Almost 1/3 of every new entering
class is made up of prime working
age (25-49) - with HSDs or less or
non-English speaking.


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9 out of 10 ABE/ESL = modest skills gains,
at best earn a GED … but go no further
2 out of 3 workforce and transfer students
who enter with GED - leave with less
(many, a lot less) than 1 year of college
and no credential
6 out of 10 who enter with high school
diploma – also leave with less (some, a lot
less) than 1 year of college and no
credential.
One group of students is poised to benefit
now … but services to them are full of
holes
70% of ABE and ESL students who make the transition to
college level work have HSDs/GEDs in hand.
Now eligible for developmental education and financial
aid.
2 to 3 times more likely to complete credentials
and increase their educational attainment (vs
similar unaided and unsupported students).
BUT ….
at best, only 1/3 receive these services (ESL less than ABE).

Coulda: Dev Ed and Basic Skills could have identified full need
for applied learning AND filled counseling and other gaps that
affect access to aid.
Another far larger group of students,
seemingly equally prepared to benefit,
never go beyond basic skills.


Nearly 6 out of 10 ABE students with HSDs/GEDs go no
further.
8 out of 10 ESL students with HSDs/GEDs go no further.


Latino/Hispanic ESL students with HSDs are half as likely as
other students to transition beyond basic skills.
Males who earn a GED (particularly Latino/Hispanics) are
less likely than women to go further in their education.

Because they earn relatively more than women, men also
forgo more wages when they attend.
Shoulda: Programs should have designed and marketed
services with these factors in mind.
Many jump start training, but their
opportunities are cut short before real
gains are made.
Short, 1st step training focused exclusively on getting a job,
with less attention to educational attainment results in lower
future earnings when students don’t return – and they often
don’t

Customized job training plan only:


Students who complete a plan (but attain less than 1 year of
college credit) earn $3,900 less per year than those who have
credential + 1 year of college level credit … $8,300 less per
year if they started from basic skills.
These tend to be more uncertain of their long-term goals (and
act accordingly).
Woulda: The system would have avoided dead-end starts and
false promises by ensuring that low-skilled students had both
short- and long-term strategies for real attainment.
To stop the hemorrhaging of students from our programs,
meet student and employer needs, and improve the
economic climate of society, 2 yr colleges need to re-think
and re-design services for low-skilled working adults.
Every step – especially the 1st
step – must be additive to the
final goal of substantial
attainment.
Students need to see people
ahead of them take the next step,
and experience success!
Design career pathways that are easy to use, provide
meaningful mileposts, and real destinations.
Professional
development, B.A.
Degree, etc.
OJT, AA,
Apprenticeship
1 Yr Credit +
Credential
Tech Prep –
Bridge Training
Vocational
ABE/ESL
Workplace
Readiness
Technical
Professional
Skilled
Technician
Entry level Technician
Entry Level –
Skilled Labor
Semi-skilled
Labor
Unskilled
Labor
Build the pathways for commuters. Run it on their
schedules, accommodate lots of on and off traffic,
facilitate good connections to long-term destinations.
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Provide a full map clearly in view for
stops that really exist.
Provide guidance and support so
people don’t get lost.
Anticipate different types of traffic Who is already waiting at the 2nd stop;
how many from the first stop will go to
the 2nd?
Measure success in terms of a
transport - lots of riders, lots of trips, all
stops meaningful, many short trips but
always set up to go further and faster.
Findings and Implications
for System Discussion
Educational attainment for the least educated adults in
society is an important (and often neglected) health
indicator for our economy.
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Pipeline hemorrhaging working age adults with high school
education or less and ESL across the missions.
The broader need for applied learning spans (and may go
beyond) the more parochial missions of basic skills and
developmental education.
1+ Yrs of college level credit + credential sets a meaningful goal
to design and market plans for all.
Operationally, system should resemble a mass transit.
There are groups poised to benefit, but more than 1st platform
needs to be there.
Data sources and Examples

College and student level
demographics, course enrollment and
transcripts, degrees

Employment records
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Welfare Records
Educational Attainment 5 Years After Start
Detail-by Functioning Educational Level at Start
Start
After
ESL
N=12,519
<HS
N=14,973
GED
N=3,037
HS
N=10,464
HS+
N=3,068
Other
N=2,739
GED/HS
1%
9%
<10 Cr
7%
16%
28%
17%
18%
23%
10-44 Cr
2%
7%
28%
31%
35%
28%
45+ Cr
1%
1%
2%
2%
1%
2%
13%
3%
7%
15%
3%
8%
11%
3%
6%
8%
5%
11%
1%
86%
1%
61%
10%
12%
17%
9%
18%
9%
9%
16%
(earned & left)
Plan
Certificate
Degree
Non-Cr
Educational Attainment 5 Years After Start
Detail-by Race/Ethnicity
5 Years Post
Bl/Afr Am As/Pac
N=3,102 N=3,611
Lat/His
N=9,410
Na Am
N=1,180
Wh
N=23,696
GED/HS
2%
1%
2%
5%
4%
<10 Cr
18%
13%
8%
21%
17%
10-44 Cr
19%
10%
5%
15%
20%
45+ Cr
7%
6%
1%
6%
8%
Plan
2%
1%
1%
1%
2%
Certificate
5%
5%
1%
4%
6%
Degree
5%
6%
2%
5%
10%
Non-Cr
41%
58%
80%
43%
33%
(earned & left)
4 groups that comprise working age adults with
high school/GED or <HS or ESL to start
ESL (n=919) and Basic Skills students who have or earn
high school diploma/GED (n=2,863) and subsequently
move on to college level academic and workforce
preparation
ESL (n=3,861)and Basic Skills students who have or
earn high school diploma/GED(n=3,608), but don’t move
on to college
ESL (n=376) and Basic Skills students who enroll in
college level classes with less than high school/GED
(n=1,299)
st
Other (not in basic skills)1 time students attending with
high school/GED who leave college early (n=13,000)

Income Profile for Working Age Adults 1st Time
Students Starting at ESL, GED/High School or
Less
Low wage
earner
(n=24,000)
Recent or
current
welfare
recipient
(n= 43,600)
Resides in
community
proportionately
lower income
(N=46,790)
ESL start
87%
16%
78%
< HS start
82%
29%
66%
GED
78%
29%
60%
HS
73%
14%
57%