What Does Federal Work-Study Offer? Quasi-Experimental Evidence From Administrative Data
November 13, 1:45–3:15 pm PT | Grand Hyatt Seattle, RM Leonesa 3
Presenters
- Veronica Minaya, Senior Research Associate and Program Lead, CCRC
- Adela Soliz, Professor of Higher Education and Public Policy, Peabody College, Vanderbilt University
Aligning Degree Production and In-Demand Middle Skill Occupations: National and Regional Insights
November 13, 1:45–3:15 pm PT | Grand Hyatt Seattle, Room Portland A
The proposed session will report on original research examining the regional alignment between subbaccalaureate degrees conferred and occupational demand amid the evolving landscape of middle-skill jobs. The transition to renewable energy, upgrades to energy infrastructure, and investments in energy efficiency are predicted to create millions of high-quality jobs requiring less than a bachelor’s degree, yet many public officials and employers report that they do not have sufficient numbers of workers trained in these fields in their local communities.
Estimates suggest that as many as 9 million high-quality jobs could be created to implement new energy infrastructure and help communities adapt to and mitigate new climate patterns. Notably, these job estimates will include both entirely new roles (e.g., in wind turbine manufacturing) and existing positions that will evolve to incorporate new skills or will increase in number (e.g., automotive technician and HVAC installer). Middle-skill jobs, typically requiring less than a bachelor’s degree, are predicted to be critical to this transition, particularly in sectors such as electricity, construction, manufacturing, and natural resource management. Many regions are already experiencing significant shortages of workers in these occupations.
Presenters
- Wei Wang, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
- Susan Bickerstaff, Senior Research Associate, CCRC
- Maria Cormier, Senior Research Associate, CCRC
The Storm Before the Calm: The Immediate Post-College Transition and Long-Term Labor Market Outcomes
November 13, 3:30–5:00 pm PT | Hyatt Regency Seattle, RM 706- Pilchuck
Using administrative data on college leavers from a large, urban, public college system linked to quarterly wage data and unemployment claims data, the authors of this paper provide a new window into early labor market “churn” over time and across different types of college leavers. They focus intensively on the first six quarters immediately before and after leaving college, and then examine how this period relates to summary measures of employment and earnings five and ten years later.
Presenters
- Judith Scott-Clayton, Senior Research Scholar, CCRC
Frontier Evidence on How Dual Enrollment Benefits Students and Communities: Evidence from States and National Data
November 14, 8:30 a.m.–10:00 am PT
While prior research has documented the positive effects of dual enrollment (DE) participation on student outcomes, and some studies have examined the impact of more structured modalities, there is a growing need for evidence on the types of courses and content that are most effective at supporting students who need it most, the kinds of high school–college partnerships that yield the strongest student outcomes, and the aggregate nationwide consequences of DE participation for postsecondary enrollment and success among communities.
This panel addresses these gaps in the literature with four papers using data from diverse policy contexts. The papers discussed will include: Dual Enrollment Participation among Career and Technical Students in Delaware; Making Gains in Math, English, and English as a Second Language through Dual Enrollment in California; The Link Between Dual Enrollment Partnership Characteristics and Outcomes; Examining the Expansion of Dual Enrollment and the Benefits for Communities and Institutions
Presenters
- Tatiana Velasco, Senior Research Associate, CCRC
- Lauren Schudde, Associate Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy, The University of Texas at Austin, Research Affiliate, CCRC
Structural Solutions for Student Success: The Impact of Alternative Course Models at Community Colleges
November 14, 1:45–3:15 pm PT | Hyatt Regency Seattle, RM 505-Queets
This panel will consist of researchers seeking to elevate emerging findings and engage in discussions with audience members about course design policy at community colleges. To this end, the session is designed to include a series of short presentations from each panelist, followed by a panel discussion facilitated by the chair. The discussant, Tom Brock is Director of the Community College Research Center at Teachers College, Columbia University and has significant experience in evaluating policies and programs at community colleges. Symposium attendees will be encouraged to interact with panelists by asking questions, discussing points raised, and considering unanswered topics ripe for future research.
Presenters
- Elise Swanson, Associate Director of Research, Harvard Graduate School of Education
- Thomas Brock, Director, CCRC
- Lindsay Daugherty, Senior Policy Researcher, RAND Corporation
- Rachel Worsham, Senior Research Manager, Harvard Graduate School of Education
- Federick Ngo, Associate Professor, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
- Michal Kurlaender, Professor of Education Policy, University of California, Davis
- Julia A. Turner, PhD Candidate, Northwestern University
- Amber Lubera, Belk Center Data and Analytics Administrator, North Carolina State University
Co-Developing an Evidence-Based Instructional Model to Improve Outcomes in Postsecondary Online STEM Courses
November 14, 5:00–6:30 pm PT | Hyatt Regency Seattle, RM 710 Regency Ballroom
This poster session presents a paper which describes a partnership approach to designing and testing a set of course-based interventions to promote the self-directed learning skills of students enrolled in online STEM courses. Researchers at the Postsecondary Teaching with Technology Collaborative partnered with faculty and administrators at four community colleges and one HBCU to co-develop a set of instructional strategies for online teaching designed to create a learning environment that fosters a set of academic behaviors and mindsets associated with postsecondary success.
Presenters
- Susan Bickerstaff, Senior Research Associate, CCRC
Abortion Bans and Student Decisions: Is College Enrollment Affected by the Dobbs Supreme Court Ruling?
November 14, 5:00–6:30 pm PT | Hyatt Regency Seattle, RM 710 Regency Ballroom
This poster session investigates if abortion bans affect state-level college enrollment. Specifically, using a custom dataset of aggregated enrollments from the National Student Clearinghouse, the presenter investigates if there are changes in total enrollment and enrollment demographics for first-year undergraduate and graduate cohorts at colleges in states with abortion bans (ban states) versus states with access to abortion (access states).
Presenters
- Tia Monahan, Senior Research Assistant and PEAR Fellow, CCRC
The Making of a Public Sector Worker: Causal Effects of Temporary Work Assignments to Poor Areas
November 14, 5:00–6:30 pm PT | Hyatt Regency Seattle, RM 710 Regency Ballroom
This poster session examines whether temporary exposure to disadvantaged populations can affect labor market outcomes for health professionals, offering new evidence on the endogenous evolution of preferences and the design of public sector assignment policies.
Presenters
- Mariel Bedoya-Guevara, Senior Research Assistant, CCRC
Formula Changes and College Enrollment: A Simulated Instrument Analysis of Pell Grants
November 15, 1:45–3:15 pm PT | Grand Hyatt Seattle, RM Discovery B
This presentation uses data from the US Department of Education on the universe of 11 million FAFSA filers between Award Years 2008 and 2023 to estimate the effect of Pell Grant formula generosity for income groups throughout the population of federal aid recipients, taking advantage of differential year-to-year changes in generosity across income groups. Access to the full aided student population allows the presenter to take advantage of quirks in formula changes to answer the following research question for the full aided student population: How does access to additional Pell grant dollars affect (1) borrowing and (2) re-enrollment for at least 90 days, at least half time in any college in the next year?
Presenters
- CJ Libassi, Senior Research Assistant and PEAR Fellow, CCRC
Occupational Segregation and the Wage Gap Between Men and Women
November 15, 10:15–11:45 am PT | Hyatt Regency Seattle, RM 706-Pilchuck
This panel will consist of researchers seeking to elevate emerging findings and engage in discussions with audience members about course design policy at community colleges. To this end, the session is designed to include a series of short presentations from each panelist, followed by a panel discussion facilitated by the chair. The discussant, Tom Brock is Director of the Community College Research Center at Teachers College, Columbia University and has significant experience in evaluating policies and programs at community colleges. Symposium attendees will be encouraged to interact with panelists by asking questions, discussing points raised, and considering unanswered topics ripe for future research.
Presenters
- Daniel Sparks, University of Arkansas
- Veronica Minaya, Senior Research Associate and Program Lead, CCRC
Brad Hershbein, Senior Economist and Deputy Director of Research, Upjohn Institute for Employment Research
- Samantha Batel Kane, Postdoctoral Research Associate, Brown University
Aspirations Interrupted: Understanding Why Community College Students Leave During the First Year
November 15, 3:30–5:00 pm PT | Hyatt Regency Seattle, RM 504-Foss
Despite entering with high aspirations, nearly half of community college students leave before the start of their second year. To better understand how students’ college experiences may impact their decision to stay enrolled or leave and what colleges could do to increase persistence, this study examines students’ reports of why they leave during this critical period. The presenters examine multiple dimensions of the student experience to compare students who remained enrolled in their institution with those who left before the start of their second year. These include social and academic engagement, as well as the prevalence of academic, financial, and external factors that contribute to different persistence outcomes.
Presenters
- Rachel Baker, Associate Professor, University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education
- Hana Lahr, Assistant Director of Research and Director of Applied Learning, CCRC
- Veronica Minaya, Senior Research Associate and Program Lead, CCRC
- Estefanie Aguilar Padilla, Doctoral Candidate, University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education