Employability: Short-Cycle Higher Education in the U.S. and the Labor Market

Snejana Slantcheva-DurstAsst. Prof. of Higher EducationDepartment of Educational Foundations and LeadershipUniversity of ToledoToledo, OH

China SymposiumJune 15, 2011

Ningbo, China

The Judith HerbCollege of Education

• Short-cycle higher education in the U.S. finds itself mostly in institutions called community colleges

The U.S. Community College

Well-developed network: 1,202 institutions•Open-access •A campus within driving range of 90% of the population•Largest deliverer of courses in rural America•Largest provider of customized training

The Community College Network

Enrollment Capacity: 11.6 million students (46% of all undergrads)

6.6 million students for-credit5 million students non-credit

CertificatesAssociate of Arts/SciencesAssociate of Applied Arts/SciencesBachelorMaster and Doctor

CertificatesAssociate of Arts/SciencesAssociate of Applied Arts/Sciences

Bachelor of Applied Arts/Sciences

Workforce training

2-year

4-year

Community collegesDirect from high school

High school drop-outs

Returning adults

Displaced workers

The Central Role of the Community College

•the severe economic crisis and the erosion of the manufacturing base;

•the increasing need for a college degree in today’s knowledge-based societies.

The critical role of the community colleges in America as institutions that “are instrumental in maintaining the country’s economic edge” (President Obama, 2010) – preparing the human capital of today and tomorrow

Unprecedented Focus on Community Colleges in Result of

•Occupations requiring a postsecondary degree will account for nearly half of all new jobs, and 1/3rd of all job openings between 2010 and 2018 (BLS, 2010)

The Value of a Post-Secondary Credential

A. CARNEVALE et al. (June 2010)Georgetown University Center on

Education and the Workforce

A college degree = pathway to the middle class or better

Postsecondary education gives larger accumulated earnings over time

Formal education

Workplace training

Workplace technology

+By 2018, th

e economy will create 46.8 millio

n

openings: 63% will r

equire college education

The two-pronged role of the community college in:

Helping build learning pathways into and through postsecondary education (the process)

Helping impart knowledge, skills and abilities for existing and future jobs/careers (the content)

In a nutshell…

1

2

K-16 Trad. Students:Tech Prep,Dual Enrollment,Virtual School,Bridge Programs,CLEP, Gateway

CertificatesAssociate of Arts/SciencesAssociate of Applied Arts/Sciences

CertificatesAssociate of Arts/SciencesAssociate of Applied Arts/SciencesBachelor

Bachelor of Applied Arts/Sciences

4-year institutions

2-year institutionsCommunity

colleges

Adult Learners:GED, ABLE, Career Pathways, Stackable Certificates, College Prep

Returning Workforce

Remedial Education:60% of entering freshmen in community colleges29% in public 4-year

Workforce training

41% attrition rates from 1st to 2nd year34% persistence-to-degree (ACT, 2007)

Non-credit basedtraining

Learning Pathways into and through Higher Education1

community college

college/university

college/university

community college

Transfers for AA/ASArticulation agreements

University systems

Some transfers for AAS/AAA

(BAS degrees)

Occupational transfers on program basis

Students starting at cc – less likely to

attain a BA

Loss of directionNon-credit training still rarely linked to for-credit training

Learning Pathways into and through Higher Education1

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities for Existing and New Jobs

• In the regional economy and society – credit programs

(occupational education)

1. Close involvement of business and community in program development, review and support in addition to regional and professional accreditation

2. Emphasis on work-based learning that supports learning skills in the context in which they will be used (Bailey, et al., 2004).

- Internships and co-ops- Tech-prep- Apprenticeships

2 – For Credit

A network – of 23 consortia with thousands of partners, supporting more than 750 student programs in high schools and colleges throughout Ohio.

Internships: A structured, supervised professional experience that carries academic credit (ex: clinical education)

Tech Prep: integrate academic and CTE courses in high school, and continuing at a community or technical college

Registered apprenticeships since 1007 in industry areas of critical interest to South Carolina:•Number of apprentices increased more than 2 times in the last 3 years.•Number of apprenticeship programs increased almost 2 times.

Apprenticeships: employer-sponsored programs that combine on-the-job training with coursework

2 – For Credit

3. Creating new associate programs that cater to emerging careers

Green partnerships between industry and community colleges – programs in environmental management, green labs

The Milwaukee Area Technical College and Johnson Controls 2,500-panel solar educational laboratory where students can learn to become photovoltaic installers and designers.

2 – For Credit

4. Emphasis on STEM-related programs

14% of all undergraduates enrolled in a STEM field:

- 5% - computer/information sciences

- 4% - engineering/engineering technologies

- 3% - biological/agricultural sciences

- less than 1% - physical sciences and math

Of them:

- 18.3% - working towards a certificate

- 43.5% - towards an associate degree- 38.2% - towards a bachelor’s degree (National Postsecondary

Student Aid Study 2004)

6 years later:

37% completed a degree/certificate

55% left

2 – For Credit

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities for Existing and New Jobs

• In the regional economy and society – non-credit programs (workforce training)

Contract or customized training (workforce training) for:

-new workforce entrants (both recent high school grads and drop-outs)

-temporarily dislocated workers

-current employed workers -long-term unemployed workers (Katsinas, 2009)

2 – Not For Credit

Workforce training programs increasingly:

- Recognize a need in the community

- Focus on high-demand, high-tech disciplines

- Are based on strong partnerships

- Have flexible course offerings

- Are based on a technology center which integrates the vocational curricula with the needs of the private sector

- Provide academic scholarships directly from local businesses to students

- Are tied to career pathways

2 – Not For Credit

Center for Manufacturing Excellence (CME) –a collaborative venture betweenCarl Sandburg College in Illinoisand Maytag-Galesburg Refrigeration.

The CME houses: state-of-the-art manufacturing equipment customized training facilities state-of-the-art industrial diagnostic equipment Sandberg CC’s manufacturing certificate /degree programs CME was established in 1998 to address the Illinois region's anticipated labor shortage and Maytag's need for employees with advanced technology skills.

NSCC, Archbold, OhioCustom Training Solutions

• Currently deliver training in 32 states within the US, Canada, Mexico and approximately 20 other countries.

• Last year CTS trained over 5000 employees at 175 companies within the US and beyond.

• CTS pushes a private sector look and brand, in order to compete with private training firms.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities for Existing and New Jobs

In the regional economy and society:

- inherent tensions between occupationally-based training and academic coursework in applied credit-bearing programs

More students are looking for “upward mobility, not just skills” (Zinser, 2006)

- workforce training program designs that are specifically job-oriented – less on skills for retraining

In the global economy and society:

- teaching global awareness across-the-curriculum

2 – Not For Credit

Snejana Slantcheva-Durst, Asst. Prof.Judith Herb College of EducationUniversity of ToledoToledo, Ohio, 43606, USAsnejana.slantchevadurst@utoledo.edu

Thank you!

The Judith HerbCollege of Education