STARS—Skilled Through Alternative Routes

Refers to the practice of hiring individuals with a criminal record (arrest or conviction records). Second chance programs provide employment opportunities to individuals with a criminal record, supporting their reentry into the workforce, upward mobility once employed, and improving equity in employment.

Alternate terms: Second chance hiring, second chance programs

In higher education, refers to the ability of learners to continue their academic journey and remain enrolled in their chosen program during their second year of study. It involves overcoming challenges, maintaining motivation, and staying on track toward completing their degree. Examples of efforts that promote second-year persistence:

Sophomore Success Programs: Some institutions offer support programs (e.g., courses, workshops) to help learners complete the general education core and recognize completion of this learning (some institutions offer a certificate or microcredential for completion of the gen core). Support services often include advising services, peer mentoring, academic workshops, and career exploration activities tailored to the needs of second-year students.
Academic Support Centers: Some institutions provide academic support centers where students can access tutoring, writing assistance, study skills workshops, and other resources to help them succeed academically.

Self-issued credentials refer to self-asserted claims about an individual’s skills, knowledge, and experience which are separate from the verifiable credentials issued by recognized authorities. Such credentials can be aligned with existing standards and include documentation to bolster the credibility of the claim (e.g. a letter from a supervisor, a sample of completed work). In the context of the learn-and-work ecosystem, this term is distinct from the self-issued credentials used for online identity verification and refers instead to demonstrated competencies which lack credentials issued by a third party.

A digital identity model which gives individual users complete control and ownership of their personal data, empowering them to manage their persistent accounts (accounts that continue to exist or exist for a long time) and digital identities across the web without reliance on intermediaries such as educational institutions.

Short-term credential programs typically run from 8-15 weeks at a postsecondary education institution. Short-term credentials may include licenses issued by state or federal governments, certificates awarded by postsecondary institutions, and certifications awarded by industry organizations.

Refers to careers that require experience-based skills and knowledge. They typically rely on on-the-job training programs and apprenticeships to teach entry-level professionals how to succeed in their trade roles. Skilled trades are often broken down into three categories: (1) skilled industrial trades, such as welders and machinists; (2) skilled construction trades, such as plumbers and carpenters; and (3) skilled service trades, such as nurses.

The skilled trades are growing in importance in the learn-and-work ecosystem. This has been fueled by a shortage of jobs in the trades, rising pay, and new technologies. Fields such as plumbing, welding, machine tooling, HVAC, solar, construction, and the electrical occupations are increasingly appealing to the youngest generation of American workers (often called “Gen-Z”), many of whom are deciding to skip a traditional college path after high school graduation in favor of seeking well-paying employment in the trades.

See Topic: Skilled Trades | Learn & Work Ecosystem Library (learnworkecosystemlibrary.com)

Skills define specific learned activities, and they range widely in terms of complexity. Knowing which skills a person possesses helps to determine whether their training and experience has prepared them for a specific type of workplace activity. Competencies identify the observable behaviors that successful performers demonstrate on the job. Those behaviors are the result of various abilities, skills, knowledge, motivations, and traits an employee may possess. Competencies take “skills” and incorporate them into on-the-job behaviors. Those behaviors demonstrate the ability to perform the job requirements competently.

A skill set refers to the various types of abilities and knowledge that allows someone to successfully perform a job or accomplish specific tasks. A person’s skill set may include specific technical skills as well as a variety of general types of skills.

Skills classifications systems identify the combination of skills needed to successfully perform a job or accomplish specific tasks. There are many types of skills classification systems. Most include some variation of skills that are classified as:

Job-specific: skills needed to complete certain tasks within a position.
Soft skills: the behaviors and abilities that allow someone to work successfully with others such as the ability to communicate with others, resolve problems, and share ideas in the workplace.
Hard skills: the technical knowledge and abilities needed to perform specific tasks.

An example is the Australian Skills Classification, led by Jobs & Skills Australia. The Classification explores connections between skills and jobs and is intended to be a “common language” for core skills. The Classification identifies three categories of skills for Australian occupations: (1) 10 core competencies common to all jobs to varying degrees of proficiency; (2) specialist tasks that describe the day-to-day work within an occupation; (3) technology tools – software and hardware that are used in an occupation. The Classification groups similar skills into skills clusters. This enables the Classification to be explored by similar skills as well as occupations.

Skills are increasingly viewed as a valuable currency for employers to consider when managing talent. To better understand and leverage talent pools, it is important for employers to identify the skills needed to achieve their organization’s mission, and to identify those skills possessed by their organization’s existing work force.

A skills cloud refers to an inventory or comprehensive overview of the capabilities of a workforce, allowing organizations to understand the skills and competencies which exist among their employees. Skills clouds can be developed from surveys or from analyzing existing data sets. Skills clouds can be useful for workforce planning, talent management, and identifying areas for employee development.

Alternate terms: Skills Registry, Talent Cloud, Competency Cloud, Ability Index

Are a new way of looking at the labor market than occupational classifications or degree qualifications, as described by the National Skills Commission of the Australian Government. Skills clusters contain similar specialist tasks that are broadly transferable (if you can do one task in the cluster, you can likely do the others). Clusters show how skills are related and connected to one another without consideration to occupations they are connected to. Skills cluster approaches offer a new way to explore skills transferability; however, skills clusters are not a measure of overall similarity or direct transferability between occupations that use these skills, nor do they take into account degree qualifications, registration, or licensing that is required to undertake certain tasks.

The skills ecosystem is a term popularized with the advent of skills-based hiring. Skills-based hiring is hiring for skills required for a particular job role. Employers are trying to match their existing employee talent to new job positions and fill them with new employees. In the past, many employers used the college degree as a proxy for the ability to do the job—for perceived skills that have been achieved. Increasingly, the degree is not a very precise way of hiring so the skills ecosystem has been gaining attention as a new currency for hiring.

A structure that allows organizations to develop strategy on how to acquire necessary skills. It provides key sector information, occupations/job roles, and the required existing and emerging skills. The Frameworks are typically co-created by employers, industry associations, educational institutions, unions, and government for use in workforce development. Uses of Skills Frameworks include: (1) creating a common skills language for individuals, employers, and training providers; (2) facilitating the recognition of skills; and (3) supporting the design of training programs for skills and career development.

A centralized and structured compiling of skills data, qualifications, and attributes that helps to create a unified understanding of skills for an organization in areas of employment need, curriculum development, job architecture, or competency grouping. Other names for a skills library include skills inventory, skills taxonomy, skills framework, skills catalog, and skill ontology.

Graphic depiction of the abilities that an individual employee possesses. The mapping process assesses the employee's proficiency with a specific skill, particularly those associated with certain projects, positions and duties. This process is often known as competency mapping, even though the latter term includes more than just skills. A skill is a single capacity to do a task effectively, whereas a competency is a collection of the attitudes, knowledge, skills, and characteristics necessary to complete a task.

Skills profiling is a way to measure an individual’s strengths and is often used to track career progression and communicate the skills an individual possesses to employers. Companies also use profiling tools to identify skills possessed in their teams, how best to build teams based on skills, and how to inform individual employees of areas for professional development (reskilling, upskilling). Skills profiling is commonly used in the career advising field.

Examples of Skills Profile Tests: DISC test; Holland Code (RIASEC) Test; Myers-Briggs Type Indicator^®(MBTI^®) assessment; OECD Skills Profiling Tool; O*NET Interest Profiler; Skills Matcher:

See Topic: Skills Profiling / Skills Profile

A system of classification that categorizes and organizes skills into groups or skill clusters. The process of developing a skills taxonomy involves identifying the skills and competencies required for a particular job position. Skills taxonomies can be used by employers, workforce development organizations, and educational institutions to create a framework for conducting skills gap analyses and prioritizing which gaps to address within companies, industry sectors, and education and training programs.

The process by which an assertion that 'I have a skill' is substantiated. The assertion is typically conducted by qualified 3rd party to create trust that the individual possesses a skill. The process is based on a shared understanding of meaning of a skill, it indicates the level and context of a skill, and can be conducted through various methods.

Skills-based hiring focuses on skills, not degrees. Skills-based hiring emphasizes practical, working knowledge; it prioritizes what an applicant can do, rather than the education they have. To succeed at a job, an employee needs the skills to perform their role and duties; this is the foundation of skills-based hiring. The prevailing hiring mode is for companies to prioritize degrees and academic achievements over practical skills in looking at job applicants’ qualifications. The recent global pandemic has forced companies to re-evaluate their hiring methods and shift to skills-based hiring.

See: Skills-first hiring

Incremental credentials, frequently known as microcredentials, are an evolving concept in postsecondary education and training. Less comprehensive than a degree, they represent the attainment of a specific competency or set of skills. The case for skills-based incremental credentialing posits four key uses: (1) retention (helps promote persistence and completion among current students); (2) recruitment (smaller, standalone credentials are more attractive to adult learners, a large and growing market); (3) equity (helps students whose life circumstances and finances force delays to see if they're accumulating more than debt); (4) workforce development (partners with businesses to help employees upskill, reskill, and adapt to a dynamic economy.

As the workplace changes, some private and public sector employers are turning to skills-based promotion. A skills- or merit-based promotion is based on an analysis of the employee's performance. Skills-based promotion systems take into account ability, behaviors, experience, strengths, and technical skills. These systems are a strategy to keep high-achieving, high-quality employees engaged and motivated. This approach contrasts with traditional tenure-based systems that promote or reward workers based on seniority and service within the organization.

Refers to employer hiring that puts skills at the forefront of hiring strategies. Individuals seeking employment are recognized for their skills and capabilities, and these are aligned with the roles requiring specific skills and competencies needed to perform these roles well.

Skills-first hiring does not exclude traditional hiring systems that focus on college degrees and other credentials; rather, this newer evolving approach enables employers to widen opportunities to hiring a more diverse workforce, specifically to expand the talent pool, democratize access to jobs, and make the labor market and workforce more resilient.

LinkedIn has studied the benefits of skills-first hiring and reports in Skills-First: Reimagining the Labor Market and Breaking Down Barriers (2023) that this approach can:

Add up to 20 times more eligible workers to employer talent pools.
On average, globally increase the talent pool of workers without bachelor’s degrees by 9% more than for workers with degrees.
Increase the proportion of women in the talent pool 24% more than it would for men in jobs where women are underrepresented.
Increase the talent pool for Gen X workers by 8.5 times, 9 times for Millennial workers, and 10.3 times for Gen Z workers.

Refers to visual and mathematical analyses that display how people interact, exchange information, learn, and influence each other. SNAs are often used in regional industry ecosystem maps to depict networks of companies, higher education institutions, and other organizations working to coordinate information sharing, seek collaborative opportunities, and maximize and expand the workforce in various industry sectors (e.g., the automotive sector).

Refer to day-to-day work within an occupation. Specialist tasks are useful for differentiating occupations. They can be transferable across occupations and industry sectors, but they are not viewed as universal.

Stacking credentials is part of a sequence of credentials that can be accumulated over time to build up an individual’s qualifications and help them to move along a career pathway or up a career ladder to different and potentially higher-paying jobs. Stackable credentials can be viewed as building blocks where each short-term credential that a person earns builds into a higher-level credential. There are 4 types of stackable credentials: (1) Traditional or progressive stackable credentials follow a linear path where a student earns a short-term credential (e.g., certificate) and continues their education by pursuing a higher-level credential (e.g., associate’s and/or bachelor’s degree). (2) Supplemental or value-add stackable credentials do not follow a linear path, but still allow a student to enter and exit the higher education system as needed. A ‘supplemental’ stackable credential is when an individual may have already earned a bachelor’s degree, then attends a bootcamp to learn additional skills to supplement their degree. (3) Independent stackable credential is when an individual accumulates multiple credentials but does not pursue a degree. In this case, an individual’s certifications build on one another and the individual acquires skills that craft a path forward in their career, but they do not ‘ladder’ into a singular degree pathway. (4) Work-based learning, apprenticeships, and employer-sponsored training combine on-the-job training with formal educational instruction. For example, stacked apprenticeships are shorter-term programs where individuals pursue a series of related apprenticeships to build on their skill set. An individual participating in an industrial manufacturing technician apprenticeship program could learn how to operate production equipment, and then pursue additional manufacturing opportunities to learn more related skills.

Consist of free-standing body of knowledge with organized, graded higher education courses, and are often offered in an interdisciplinary manner. Generally, learners are certificate-seeking students although some may choose to apply to be degree-seeking learners and enroll subsequently into academic degree programs.

Refers to an assessment administered and scored in a standard manner. All test takers answer the same questions, or selection of questions that come from a common bank of questions, in a consistent manner. Tests are administered and scored following predetermined guidelines to ensure uniformity across test takers. Tests are commonly administered to large populations and often graded by machines or blind reviewers to minimize subjectivity.

There are many uses for standardized testing, such as entry to any branch of the U.S. military; the knowledge portion of states’ driver’s license examinations; professional certifications; psychological testing; language proficiency; graduate and professional school readiness; undergraduate education readiness; secondary schools; IQ tests; and Achievement tests.

In elementary level education, standardized testing has been part of American education since the mid-1800s. Use increased after the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) in 2002, which mandated annual testing for K-12 students in all 50 states. In K-12 education, tests are also used to determine readiness for kindergarten, identifying students who need special-education services or specialized academic supports, placing students in different academic programs or course levels, and awarding high school diplomas.

International-comparison tests are administered periodically to representative samples of K-12 students in a number of countries, including the U.S. to compare educational performance by countries. Key tests include the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), and the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS).

Results from standardized tests in education are used in many ways, such as (1) holding schools and educators accountable for educational results and student performance; (2) evaluating whether students have learned what they are expected to learn (meeting state learning standards); (3) identifying gaps in student learning and academic among various student groups, including students of color, students who are not proficient in English, students from low-income households, and students with physical or learning disabilities; and (4) determining if educational policies (investments) are working as intended.

opportunity@work defines STARS as individuals who may not have a four-year college degree but possess the skills for higher-wage work. They are typically at least 25 years old, active in the workforce, and have a high school diploma but not a bachelor’s degree. They have developed valuable skills on the job, through military service, in community college, or through other alternative routes. Research has found that millions of STARs have demonstrated skills for roles with salaries at least 50% higher than their current job. There are estimated to be more than 70 million workers in this category, and they constitute a major, large, and overlooked talent pool.

Refers to the processes when states provide significant funding directly to students through state financial aid programs. These programs are often separate line items from appropriations and they result in a significant source of revenue for state institutions. Additionally, some states provide funding for promise programs, vouchers, differential funding, and public-private partnerships.

Refers to the process in which a state funds for variation in inputs across higher education institutions and enrollment changes annually. States calculate appropriations using a formula that accounts for specific inputs (e.g., number and characteristics of students enrolled, the level or field of study). States often codify allocation formulas through legislation, so legislators and governing boards have fewer opportunities to intervene.

Refers to the process in which States set the level of appropriations in a given year and increase or decrease the amount by a fixed percentage annually. Appropriation levels are not calibrated to achieve specified outcomes, nor to incentivize the efficient use of institutional resources or reward specific performance indicators. Many states combine incremental funding with performance-based funding to enable attention to outcomes-based funding.

State-level data infrastructures in the U.S. that securely bring together specific data on early childhood, K-12, postsecondary education, and the workforce. Data from these sectors enable leaders, practitioners, and community members to better understand the progress, predictors, and performance of learners throughout their educational and employment pathways.

Refers to state funding appropriations based on the outcomes of the higher education institution (e.g., number of degrees conferred). PBG accounts for a small portion of state appropriations (usually less than 25% of state funding). PDF is often paired with either formula or incremental funding (the formula or incremental approach provides a base level of funding and PBF provides variable funding that is based on performance).

Governance structures established in most states in the U.S. to develop and implement postsecondary education policy so that it aligns with state and federal statutes; administer academic, financial aid, and workforce programs to include the review and approval of academic programs and research centers; commission and conduct research and analysis and complete data reports; and set tuition rates, administer funding formulas, and allocate funds. Governors often appoint their Chief Operating Officers (CEOs).

State Systems of Higher Education occur in states which centralize governance under boards that oversee multiple institutions within the stat). Functions include managing campus systems and individual institutions; and making decisions related to funding, policies, and overall coordination. Coordinating Boards serve as a liaison between state government and the governing boards of individual higher education institutions. Functions include fostering collaboration and alignment among individual institutions.

Refers to a learner temporarily withdrawing from enrollment at a college or university, or choosing not to re-enroll in an ongoing degree program, often to pursue another activity or due to competing obligations. Stop-out is distinct from the concept of drop-out, because the pursuit of education is delayed rather than abandoned.

Stranded credits refer to academic college credit that students have earned but cannot access because their former higher education institution is holding their transcript as collateral for an unpaid balance to the institution. The unpaid balance, often referred to as student debt, can refer to unpaid tuition, unpaid room and board, unpaid parking tickets, and library fees. The outstanding debt often incurs interest, increasing the amount owed by a student over time if unresolved. Students who leave their higher education institution without graduating but owing the institution money are often unaware of the hold on their transcript. They may encounter the hold years later when they request an official transcript for a job, or the debt comes up on a credit report. Holds on transcripts may also result in lost credits for students trying to re-enroll at a different institution. Students cannot access the credits earned at the prior institution until the debt is paid off. Some students then start over, and their prior credits are lost. Policies on transcript holds have been found to disproportionately affect students of color and those from low socio-economic backgrounds.

Structured data is organized and easily searchable, making it suitable for analysis and decision-making. Structured data typically has a pre-defined data model or fixed schema, such as structured rows and columns that can be sorted. Examples: Excel files; SQL databases; Web form results; Search Engine Optimization (SEO) tags; product directories; reservation systems.

Unstructured Data does not have a pre-defined data model or fixed schema, making it more difficult to organize and process using traditional data management tools. Examples: PDF; Word files; printed/scanned documents; Image, video, audio.

In K-12 education, refers to any time a student changes schools for reasons other than grade promotion, to include students changing schools during a school year voluntarily (to participate in a new program) or involuntary (being expelled or escaping from bullying). Student mobility is often related to residential mobility, when a family becomes homeless or moves due to changes in a parent’s job.

Alternative Terms

Churn
Transience

Many high school graduates are admitted to college and indicate intention to matriculate in the fall term, but do not show up on campus—this is known as “summer melt.” One approach to addressing summer melt and boosting matriculation are summer bridge programs offered by higher education institutions. These programs vary among institutions but typically offer the opportunity for learners to enhance their academic skills, foster a sense of belonging among peers (social networking), and navigate the array of resources on campus—before the start of the academic year. The aim of bridge programs is to improve learners’ access and success.

The National Science Foundation’s Systems Research Networks and Smart and Connected Communities Programs are part of NSF's portfolio of investments in interdisciplinary research that advance fundamental knowledge about urban, rural, and other communities and systems.

SRS Programs define sustainable regional systems as connected urban and rural systems, including all systems in between, designed with the goal of measurably advancing the equitable well-being of people and the planet. Regions are defined as networks of urban, rural, and all systems in between, that make up a dynamic, symbiotic system with complex social and physical interactions. Urban systems are geographical areas with a high concentration of human activity and interactions, embedded within multi-scale interdependent social, engineered, and natural systems. Rural systems are any settlements with population, housing, economic activity, or areas not in an urban geographical area.

S&CC Program defines a smart and connected community as a community that synergistically integrates intelligent technologies with the natural and built environments, including infrastructure, to improve the social, economic, and environmental well-being of those who live, work, or travel within it. Communities are defined as having geographically-delineated boundaries – such as towns, cities, counties, neighborhoods, community districts, rural areas, and tribal regions – consisting of various populations, with the structure and ability to engage in meaningful ways with proposed research activities.

Refers to a concept promulgated by the National Association of Higher Education Systems (NASH), on behalf of its network of 51 higher education systems working collaboratively to address critical issues in higher education. The concept is founded in the recognition that systems working together are greater than the sum of their parts. The core of their commitment is to leverage their power to convene and facilitate, along with their governing and policy-making authority, to build collaborations to support students and campuses—rather than trying to mediate competitive actions.

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