Since fall 2022, CCRC and the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education (Penn GSE) have partnered with the Virginia Community College System (VCCS) to evaluate and improve Get a Skill, Get a Job, Get Ahead (G3), one of the VCCS’s key workforce development strategies. G3, first implemented in fall 2021, is a last-dollar scholarship targeting low-income students in workforce programs in high-demand fields. The program also provides dedicated advising and other resources to eligible students, aiming to increase enrollment, persistence, completion, and labor market success for low-income adults.
With funding from the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) and Lumina Foundation, the project has generated important insights about the early outcomes and implementation of G3. The research, originally part of the Accelerating Recovery in Community Colleges (ARCC) Network, showed that colleges have increased enrollments in the high-demand fields targeted by G3. A quasi-experimental analysis found that G3 has increased the rate at which students complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and the amount of financial aid they receive. We produced six blogs on early implementation findings and two research briefs: one examining colleges’ G3 recruitment and enrollment practices and another exploring the role of G3 in Virginia’s economic development strategy. We also published a working paper highlighting early findings on enrollment in G3 programs.
Two new strands of research, funded by IES, will continue to provide VCCS and the field with valuable evidence on G3 and short-term credentials.
- G3 Follow-Up. The first strand, which began in August 2026, is assessing G3 participants’ longer-term educational and labor market outcomes and examining the expansion of the G3 program into new training programs, including transfer pathways. We will conduct an extended analysis of the outcomes of students who receive G3 funds and, using student data from fall 2024 through fall 2026, we will also conduct a descriptive analysis of student enrollment and completion of G3-eligible transfer programs and the characteristics of students participating in these pathways. This strand will also include implementation research at a select group of colleges to document recent changes in the G3 program, including expansion of eligibility in July 2024 to include additional short-term programs and transfer degrees.
- Workforce Pell Implementation. The second strand, beginning in January 2027, will use multiple methods to examine the early implementation of Workforce Pell (WFP) in Virginia community colleges. We will produce implementation case studies to capture how institutions implement the federal guidelines and respond to the incentives created by WFP, including through program expansion, resource allocation, and capacity shifts. We will also explore institutional strategies, program structures, and supports that influence student success in these programs and address any implementation challenges. We will collect information on program approval processes, data reporting systems, accountability, institutional capacity and staffing, employer engagement, and student recruitment and outreach.
The continued research will produce timely, actionable evidence for colleges, state systems, and policymakers interested in short-term credentials. Findings from the project will be used to:
- Generate longer-term evidence on the implementation and effects of G3,
- Provide practitioners and policymakers with baseline evidence on Workforce Pell–eligible programs (i.e., identify high-performing and low-performing programs), and
- Support VCCS and colleges with capacity building, program redesign, and alignment with federal aid and labor market demand.
This project is supported by the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, through Grant R305X220024 to Teachers College, Columbia University. Additional funding was provided by Lumina Foundation.