A Blueprint for Equity-Driven Community College Leadership


Book Description

Expert advice and effective strategies for community college leaders who endeavor to embed equity and social justice in institutional policies, practices, and structures




The Fast Track to New Skills


Book Description

Higher education in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) has expanded dramatically in the new millennium, yet enrollment in short-cycle programs (SCPs) is still relatively low. Shorter and more practical than bachelor’s programs, SCPs can form skilled human capital fast. The economic crisis created by the COVID-19 pandemic has accentuated underlying trends, such as automation, the use of electronic platforms, and the need for lifelong learning. Addressing these demands requires the urgent upskilling and reskilling of the population—a task for which SCPs are uniquely suited. The Fast Track to New Skills: Short-Cycle Higher Education Programs in Latin America and the Caribbean explores the labor market out¬comes and returns of SCPs, examines their providers, and identifies the practices adopted by the best programs. Relying on unique data that includes a novel survey of SCP directors in five LAC countries, it finds that while SCPs generate, on average, good labor market out¬comes, they vary greatly in quality. SCP providers respond quickly and flexibly to local economy needs; and specific practices related to faculty, job search assistance, and interaction with prospective em¬ployers are distinctive of the best programs. Drawing on these findings, The Fast Track to New Skills discusses how to create an environment where good programs are offered and students have the interest and means to attend them. It draws attention to a higher education sector that has been typically overlooked, both in research and policy. The Fast Track to New Skills will be of interest to policy makers, researchers, and the public at large.




La vía rápida hacia nuevas competencias


Book Description

La educación superior en América Latina y el Caribe (ALC) ha experimentado un extraordinario crecimiento con la llegada del nuevo milenio, pero la matrícula en programas de ciclo corto (PCC) sigue siendo relativamente baja. Los PCC —más cortos y prácticos que los programas universitarios— pueden generar capital humano calificado en poco tiempo. La crisis económica provocada por la pandemia del Covid-19 ha acentuado tendencias latentes como la automatización, el uso de plataformas electrónicas y la necesidad del aprendizaje a lo largo de la vida. Para hacer frente a estas demandas, se hace indispensable la formación complementaria y readaptación profesional de la población —una tarea particularmente adecuada para los PCC. La vía rápida hacia nuevas competencias: programas cortos de educación superior en América Latina y el Caribe explora los resultados del mercado laboral y los retornos de los PCC, estudia quiénes son sus proveedores e identifica las prácticas adoptadas por los mejores programas. Este volumen, fundamentado en datos exclusivos que incluyen una novedosa encuesta a directores de PCC en cinco países de ALC, concluye que, si bien los PCC generan, en promedio, buenos resultados en el mercado laboral, su calidad varía en gran medida. Los proveedores de PCC se adaptan con rapidez y flexibilidad a las necesidades de la economía local, y las prácticas específicas relacionadas con el personal docente, el apoyo a la búsqueda de empleo y la interacción con los posibles empleadores constituyen características inherentes a los mejores programas. La vía rápida hacia nuevas competencias se sirve de estas conclusiones para analizar cómo crear un entorno en el que se ofrezcan buenos programas y los estudiantes dispongan del interés y los medios para cursarlos. Además, hace hincapié en un sector de la educación superior que habitualmente ha pasado desapercibido, tanto en el ámbito de la investigación como de la política. La vía rápida hacia nuevas competencias despertará el interés de las autoridades responsables del diseño de las políticas, el personal investigador y el público en general.




Ensuring Success for Students Who Transfer


Book Description

Transfer students face a unique set of challenges when trying to get acclimated to their new environment. In the current transfer literature, there is an absence of career development in all its forms including career resources, career advising, career coaching/counseling, professional readiness, and job search strategizing. Ensuring Success for Students Who Transfer: The Importance of Career and Professional Development works to fill this void. This publication presents anecdotal and data-driven evidence of career development and professional readiness being infused at various universities to offset the imperceptible career voice in current transfer literature.




Bridges, Pathways and Transitions


Book Description

Bridges, Pathways and Transitions: International Innovations in Widening Participation shows that widening participation initiatives and policies have had a profound impact on improving access to higher education to historically marginalized groups of students from diverse socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds. The research presented provides a source of inspiration to students who are navigating disadvantage to succeed in higher education against the odds. There are stories of success in difficult circumstances, revealing the resilience and determination of individuals and collectives to fight for a place in higher education to improve chances for securing social mobility for next generations. The book also reveals that more work and policy interventions are needed to further equalize the playing field between social groups. Governments need to address the entrenched structural inequalities, particularly the effects of poverty, that prevent more academically able disadvantaged students from participating in higher education on the basis of the circumstances of their birth. Across the globe, social reproduction is far more likely than social mobility because of policies and practices that continue to protect the privilege of those in the middle and top of social structures. With the gap between rich and poor widening at a rate previously unseen, we need radical policies to equalize the playing field in fundamental ways. - Focuses on collaborations with schools, families, and communities - Highlights tools and methods to aid in the creation of pathways, bridging initiatives into higher education - Includes case studies that show how students are supported during the transition into high education systems




Preparing Today's Students for Tomorrow's Jobs in Metropolitan America


Book Description

Written by researchers in education and urban policy, this volume offers useful insights into how to provide urban workers with the educational qualifications they need for real world jobs.




Building America's Skilled Technical Workforce


Book Description

Skilled technical occupationsâ€"defined as occupations that require a high level of knowledge in a technical domain but do not require a bachelor's degree for entryâ€"are a key component of the U.S. economy. In response to globalization and advances in science and technology, American firms are demanding workers with greater proficiency in literacy and numeracy, as well as strong interpersonal, technical, and problem-solving skills. However, employer surveys and industry and government reports have raised concerns that the nation may not have an adequate supply of skilled technical workers to achieve its competitiveness and economic growth objectives. In response to the broader need for policy information and advice, Building America's Skilled Technical Workforce examines the coverage, effectiveness, flexibility, and coordination of the policies and various programs that prepare Americans for skilled technical jobs. This report provides action-oriented recommendations for improving the American system of technical education, training, and certification.




Investing in the Health and Well-Being of Young Adults


Book Description

Young adulthood - ages approximately 18 to 26 - is a critical period of development with long-lasting implications for a person's economic security, health and well-being. Young adults are key contributors to the nation's workforce and military services and, since many are parents, to the healthy development of the next generation. Although 'millennials' have received attention in the popular media in recent years, young adults are too rarely treated as a distinct population in policy, programs, and research. Instead, they are often grouped with adolescents or, more often, with all adults. Currently, the nation is experiencing economic restructuring, widening inequality, a rapidly rising ratio of older adults, and an increasingly diverse population. The possible transformative effects of these features make focus on young adults especially important. A systematic approach to understanding and responding to the unique circumstances and needs of today's young adults can help to pave the way to a more productive and equitable tomorrow for young adults in particular and our society at large. Investing in The Health and Well-Being of Young Adults describes what is meant by the term young adulthood, who young adults are, what they are doing, and what they need. This study recommends actions that nonprofit programs and federal, state, and local agencies can take to help young adults make a successful transition from adolescence to adulthood. According to this report, young adults should be considered as a separate group from adolescents and older adults. Investing in The Health and Well-Being of Young Adults makes the case that increased efforts to improve high school and college graduate rates and education and workforce development systems that are more closely tied to high-demand economic sectors will help this age group achieve greater opportunity and success. The report also discusses the health status of young adults and makes recommendations to develop evidence-based practices for young adults for medical and behavioral health, including preventions. What happens during the young adult years has profound implications for the rest of the life course, and the stability and progress of society at large depends on how any cohort of young adults fares as a whole. Investing in The Health and Well-Being of Young Adults will provide a roadmap to improving outcomes for this age group as they transition from adolescence to adulthood.




The Routledge Handbook of the Economics of Education


Book Description

The economics of education is a burgeoning area of study, employing increasingly sophisticated analytical tools to answer questions with high societal impact. Thus, the aim of this handbook is to provide readers with an up-to-date overview of the current state of the field of the economics of education and its main areas of research. This comprehensive handbook provides an authoritative overview of key theoretical and policy areas, covering topics like econometric methods for education economics, returns to education, competition in education provision, education and economic growth, and education and inequality. It reviews the current state of research from early childhood through postgraduate education as well as adult education and life-long learning. Offering a truly international perspective, the handbook benefits from a global group of contributors and attention to both developed and developing country contexts. The Routledge Handbook of the Economics of Education will be a valuable resource for advanced students, researchers, and policymakers across economics, education, and public policy.




Understanding the Working College Student


Book Description

How appropriate for today and for the future are the policies and practices of higher education that largely assume a norm of traditional-age students with minimal on-campus, or no, work commitments?Despite the fact that work is a fundamental part of life for nearly half of all undergraduate students – with a substantial number of “traditional” dependent undergraduates in employment, and working independent undergraduates averaging 34.5 hours per week – little attention has been given to how working influences the integration and engagement experiences of students who work, especially those who work full-time, or how the benefits and costs of working differ between traditional age-students and adult students.The high, and increasing, prevalence and intensity of working among both dependent and independent students raises a number of important questions for public policymakers, college administrators, faculty, academic advisors, student services and financial aid staff, and institutional and educational researchers, including: Why do so many college students work so many hours? What are the characteristics of undergraduates who work? What are the implications of working for students’ educational experiences and outcomes? And, how can public and institutional policymakers promote the educational success of undergraduate students who work? This book offers the most complete and comprehensive conceptualization of the “working college student” available. It provides a multi-faceted picture of the characteristics, experiences, and challenges of working college students and a more complete understanding of the heterogeneity underlying the label “undergraduates who work” and the implications of working for undergraduate students’ educational experiences and outcomes. The volume stresses the importance of recognizing the value and contribution of adult learners to higher education, and takes issue with the appropriateness of the term “non-traditional” itself, both because of the prevalence of this group, and because it allows higher education institutions to avoid considering changes that will meet the needs of this population, including changes in course offerings, course scheduling, financial aid, and pedagogy.