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The learn-and-work ecosystem encompasses a diverse set of stakeholders, including education and other service providers, employers, and learners. Federal, state, local, and institutional policy affect virtually all program design decisions—and ultimately, learner outcomes—across these systems.
The following examples illustrate the diversity of research in the policy and practice arena in five key areas—workforce education, competency-based education, career navigation, performance and accountability, and student transfer.
Workforce Education
Implementation, Outcomes, and Impact Synthesis Report Round 4 TAACCCT Third-Party Evaluations—This is the national evaluation of the Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training act (TAACCCT). The TAACCCT grant program was a $1.9 billion initiative, with a total of 256 grants awarded in multiple rounds from 2011 - 2018. Grants went to eligible institutions of higher education (mainly community colleges) to build their capacity to provide workforce education and training programs.
The evaluation, funded by the U.S. Department of Labor, was conducted by Abt Associates and the Urban Institute. It consisted of four components: (1) implementation study that focused on grantees’ experiences in implementing key components of TAACCT (new and enhanced programs of study, support services, curriculum development, participant assessments and career guidance, and partnership development); (2) outcomes study; (3) synthesis of grantee third-party evaluation findings; and (4) employer perspectives study. There also were a number of syntheses and special focus reports. (See list of reports here).
Key observations:
Competency-Based Education
National Research Collaborative on Competency-Based Education and Learning (CBE), hosted by the American Institutes for Research (AIR), produced a series of “explainers” of existing research on CBE. The series identified three areas especially useful for practitioners, program leaders, and researchers—those already working in CBE and those interested in pursuing work:
In addition, the series summarizes resources available for advancing research in CBE and supporting quality research-based efforts to implement or improve CBE programs.
Career Navigation
2020 Career Navigation Technology A Technology Market Poised for Innovation and Impact by Jobs for the Future’s JFF Labs Impact Accelerator. The authors reviewed more than 1,000 companies and organizations in the recruiting, employment, and career planning sectors to study the career navigation technology market, identifying innovations, trends, and areas of opportunity.
Key observations:
Performance / Accountability
The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) of 2014 includes various accountability measures relevant to the learn-and-work ecosystem. WIOA Section 122 requires states to establish and maintain an Eligible Training Provider List (ETPL) — a list of training providers who are eligible to receive Individual Training Accounts (ITAs) through WIOA Title I-B funds. It also requires providers to collect and publish performance and cost information. Local Workforce Boards are responsible for developing and maintaining a local eligible training provider within state guidelines.
Under WIOA, training must be directly linked to an in-demand industry sector or occupation in the local area or the planning region, or in another area to which an adult or dislocated worker receiving such services is willing to relocate. This quality assurance provision requires ongoing data collection and analysis to determine initial and continued eligibility of training providers. State examples include: Alabama, California and Illinois.
WIOA also establishes performance measures for six core programs authorized under the Act:
These performance measures relate to employment and earnings outcomes, effectiveness in serving employers, credential attainment and skills gains for participants in training (excluding on-the-job training or OJT, and customized training). The federal government provides guidance and tools on measuring credential attainment and skills gains.
In Expanding Opportunities: Defining Quality Non-Degree Credentials for States, the National Skills Coalition offers a definition of quality non-degree credentials, as well as criteria that states can adopt for their own quality assurance systems related to non-degree credentials. These criteria, developed in consultation with 12 states, are:
To adopt these criteria, states and local areas must analyze labor market data on supply and demand, as well as data on program design and outcomes from disparate sources.
Student Transfer
Previous research by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center established that the frequency, timing, and direction of student transfer among institutions vary greatly with factors such as starting institution type/sector and enrollment intensity (Hossler et al., 2012; Shapiro et al., 2015). Transfer and Mobility: A National View of Student Movement in Postsecondary Institutions disaggregates transfer patterns by race and ethnicity. The 2011 study found that two-year institutions served almost 1.5 million students representing more than half of the entire fall 2011 cohort and all transfers. However, many two-year students who transfer from community colleges do so without a degree. Only 5.6% of this cohort transferred after receiving a credential from their starting institution, either a certificate or an associate degree. The vast majority transferred without a degree.
Other findings:
https://www.air.org/sites/default/files/Research-Explainers-What-Are-We-Learning-About-Postsecondary-CBE-September-2020.pdf
https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/OASP/evaluation/pdf/ETA_TAACCCT_Round4_Synthesis-Report_December2020.pdf
https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/skills-training-grants/community-colleges
https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/skills-training-grants/community-colleges/evaluation#:~:text=Evaluations%20The%20TAACCCT%20program%20had%20a%20strong%20focus,mission%20to%20help%20the%20nation%27s%20employers%20and%20workers.
https://jfforg-prod-new.s3.amazonaws.com/media/documents/Market-Scan-Career-Navigation-Technology-040921.1.pdf
https://www.air.org/sites/default/files/Research-Explainers-What-Are-We-Learning-About-Postsecondary-CBE-September-2020.pdf
https://edd.ca.gov/en/jobs_and_training/Workforce_Innovation_and_Opportunity_Act/
https://performancereporting.workforcegps.org/resources/2018/07/30/12/57/Measurable-Skill-Gains-E-Learning-Module
https://nationalskillscoalition.org/resource/publications/expanding-opportunities-defining-quality-non-degree-credentials-for-states/
https://nscresearchcenter.org/signaturereport15/?hilite=NAM+and+IRS
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