Occupational Students in Postsecondary Education
AN ANALYSIS OF CHARACTERISTICS AND OUTCOMES
In 2000, the Community College Research Center received a contract from the U.S. Department of Education to study postsecondary occupational education students and to assess factors affecting their success in college and their post-educational earnings. This two-year study was commissioned as part of the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act of 1998 (Perkins III), which called for a national assessment of vocational education.
Although the recent national assessment was built on earlier national assessments, it took place during a period of particularly significant change in postsecondary and work-related education. Increasing skill requirements, changing educational technology, the growth of a private postsecondary sector, and the spread of non-credit industry certification have created great uncertainties, challenges, and opportunities for postsecondary occupational educators. Concurrently, there has been a proliferation of different enrollment patterns, or pathways, to educational attainment, the effects of which have yet to be fully determined. These transformations in postsecondary education made this project extremely important and the analysis particularly challenging.
The project used several national educational survey datasets to describe the characteristics of students in occupational education in community colleges, relative to their peers in academic programs and in comparison to students in baccalaureate programs. We also evaluated the educational and economic outcomes of such students to determine individual characteristics and patterns of educational enrollment that affected those outcomes. These factors include those that affect the likelihood of graduation as well as the change in earnings resulting from degree completion or enrollment without a degree. The main purposes of the study were to tell a comprehensive story of: (1) who participates in postsecondary occupational education (including their demographic characteristics, their educational background, and their goals); (2) what are the enrollment pathways these students travel to attain their education, and; (3) the extent to which the characteristics and pathways of the students affect educational and subsequent economic success. In this manner, the research project strove to develop a comprehensive, definitive assessment of contemporary postsecondary occupational education.
Professor Thomas Bailey directed the research, which was carried out by Gregory Kienzl and Timothy Leinbach, CCRC Research Associates, and Mariana Alfonso, CCRC Senior Research Assistant, with assistance from other CCRC research staff. Thomas Bailey and Gregory Kienzl prepared a report entitled, What Can We Learn About Postsecondary Vocational Education From Existing Data, which summarizes the pertinent issues motivating this study. This report was presented at the Independent Advisory Panel Meeting of the National Assessment of Vocational Education in May 1999, and is available online at the CCRC website (see link below).
Findings from this study were delivered to the Department of Education in spring of 2003 for inclusion in their report on the current state of vocational education in the United States. The CCRC reports and other documents based on this research will be available on the CCRC website once the Department of Education makes their report public.
Project Staff:
Thomas Bailey, George and Abby O'Neill Professor of Economics and Education & Director, Institute on Education and the Economy -- Teachers College, Columbia University
Gregory S. Kienzl, Research Affiliate -- Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP)
D. Timothy Leinbach, Former Research Associate for Community College Data and Analysis
-- Teachers College, Columbia University
Mariana Alfonso, Junior Professional/Research Economist -- Research Department, Inter-American Development Bank
|
| The Educational Outcomes of Occupational Sub-Baccalaureate Students: Evidence from the 1990s. Journal Article by: Mariana Alfonso, Thomas Bailey & Marc Scott — 4/1/2005Over the last 15 years, the “vocationalization” of the community college has been one of the most controversial trends in higher education. However, little is known about how the educational experiences of occupational students compare to those of academic students. This journal article discusses findings from longitudinal research. View AbstractThe Effects of Institutional Factors on the Success of Community College Students Brief by: Thomas Bailey, Juan Carlos Calcagno, Davis Jenkins, Gregory S. Kienzl & D. Timothy Leinbach — 2/1/2005CCRC Brief No. 24 summarizes a study on minority degree attainment at community colleges, which used institution-level data to analyze the effect of community college characteristics on student performance. View Abstract | Download the PDFWho Benefits from Postsecondary Occupational Education? Findings from the 1980s and 1990s.Brief by: Thomas Bailey, Gregory S. Kienzl & David Marcotte — 8/3/2004CCRC Brief No. 23 investigates the economic benefits of a community college education.
View Abstract | Download the PDFEducational Outcomes of Postsecondary Occupational Students Brief by: Thomas Bailey, Mariana Alfonso, Marc Scott & D. Timothy Leinbach — 8/2/2004CCRC Brief No. 22 discusses a research study that was conducted to determine the rates of degree completion of community college occupational
students compared with other types of
postsecondary students.View Abstract | Download the PDFEducational Outcomes of Occupational Postsecondary StudentsPaper by: Thomas Bailey, Mariana Alfonso, Marc Scott & D. Timothy Leinbach — 8/1/2004This report, published by the U.S. Department of Education as part of the National Assessment of Vocational Education (NAVE), examines whether postsecondary occupational students, particularly at the sub-baccalaureate level, are more likely than other types of postsecondary students to achieve their educational goals. View AbstractThe Return to a Sub-Baccalaureate Education: The Effects of Schooling, Credentials, and Program of Study on Economic OutcomesPaper by: Thomas Bailey, Gregory S. Kienzl & David Marcotte — 8/1/2004This report estimates the returns to a sub-baccalaureate education, in response to the debate centered on whether vocational education restricts access to a four-year college.View AbstractThe Characteristics of Occupational Students in Postsecondary EducationBrief by: Thomas Bailey, D. Timothy Leinbach, Marc Scott & D. Timothy Leinbach — 8/1/2004CCRC Brief No. 21 presents a profile of the enrollment, demographic, and educational characteristics, and the educational goals, of community college students in occupational programs.View Abstract | Download the PDFThe Characteristics of Occupational Sub-Baccalaureate Students Entering the New MillenniumPaper by: Thomas Bailey, D. Timothy Leinbach, Marc Scott, Mariana Alfonso, Gregory S. Kienzl, Benjamin Kennedy & David Marcotte — 3/1/2003This is the first of three reports submitted as part of the National Assessment of Vocational Education (NAVE), called for by the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Act of 1998.View Abstract | Download the PDFLearning and Earning in the Middle, Part I: National Studies of Pre-Baccalaureate EducationJournal Article by: W. Norton Grubb — 1/1/2002This article reviews the available evidence on the economic benefits of postsecondary education below the level of the baccalaureate degree, concentrating on the effects of community colleges.View AbstractLearning and Earning in the Middle, Part II: State and Local Studies of Pre-Baccalaureate EducationJournal Article by: W. Norton Grubb — 1/1/2002This article reviews evidence on the economic benefits of postsecondary education below the baccalaureate degree, based on results using state Unemployment Insurance wage record data.View AbstractThe Economic Benefits of Pre-Baccalaureate Education: Results from State and Local StudiesBrief by: W. Norton Grubb — 7/1/1999CCRC Brief No. 3 discusses findings from five states that are in the lead in using Unemployment Insurance (UI) data.View Abstract | Download the PDFThe Economic Benefits of Sub-Baccalaureate Education: Results from National StudiesBrief by: W. Norton Grubb — 6/1/1999CCRC Brief No. 2 focuses on the economic benefits of sub-baccalaureate education. View Abstract | Download the PDFWhat Can We Learn about Postsecondary Vocational Education from Existing Data?Paper by: Thomas Bailey & Gregory S. Kienzl — 5/1/1999This paper outlines an agenda for research on postsecondary vocational education that can
be carried out with existing data.View Abstract | Download the PDFLearning and Earning in the Middle: The Economic Benefits of Sub-Baccalaureate EducationPaper by: W. Norton Grubb — 4/1/1999This report reviews the available evidence on the economic benefits of postsecondary education below the level of the baccalaureate degree.View Abstract | Download the PDFWorkforce, Economic, and Community Development: The Changing Landscape of the Entrepreneurial Community CollegePaper by: W. Norton Grubb, Norena Badway, D Bell, Debra Bragg & M. Russman — 6/1/1997This paper discusses the rise of the entrepreneurial college and tensions within the comprehensive community college. View Abstract | Download the PDF |
| | | Found: 15 Displaying: 1 to 15 | | | |
| | | | Found: 4 Displaying: 1 to 4 | | | |
|
|
