Publications

Based on fieldwork in two distinct labor markets, this paper compares how associate and bachelor's degrees are perceived by employers seeking to hire IT technicians.

This National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) working paper examines working patterns among traditional-age college students from 1970–2009, considers several explanations for the long-term trend of rising employment, and examines whether the upward trend is likely to resume when economic conditions improve.

This paper uses administrative data from Washington State to compare the outcomes of young career-technical students across both technical colleges and comprehensive community colleges

The I-BEST program at Washington State's community and technical colleges integrates basic skills education with vocational training and has increased completion rates for participating students.

This article reviews the existing literature on the economic and other benefits of attending community college and considers the methodological challenges associated with calculating earnings gains from attending a community college.

Using data on students in Washington State who pursued IT coursework at community colleges and then entered the labor market, this paper presents findings on the employment outcomes of IT students by the type of preparation they completed, and on the types of employers that hired these students.

CCRC examined educational and labor market outcomes of participants in I-BEST, which aims to help adult basic skills students succeed in postsecondary occupational education and training.

This brief describes how state workforce agencies can link education and workforce data to monitor how well their education and workforce development investments are meeting labor market needs.

Prepared for a Human Resources Development Group Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), this paper discusses a range of issues relevant to the community college mission of helping prepare a skilled workforce for jobs offering reasonable wages.

This paper makes the case for the training hour as the basic unit of measurement for noncredit workforce education programs and proposes a taxonomy of community college noncredit activities.

Drawing on a national review of state policies and case studies of 20 community colleges, this article examines trends in noncredit courses connected with workforce instruction and contract training.

This article elaborates on the increased importance of community colleges in training, retraining, and providing higher education in the recent economic downturn.

This paper presents findings from a study on the outcomes of students participating in Washington State's I-BEST program, which combines basic skills instruction with career-technical instruction.

This report provides detailed findings on state policies and community college practice from CCRC's study of community college noncredit workforce education.

This guide offers strategies for providing adults with education and training to help them access opportunities for social mobility and secure jobs that pay wages sufficient to support a family.

In this paper, the author argues for a new paradigm in federal workforce education policy, one that privileges capacity-building over compliance.

This paper presents a typology of the institutional partnerships in which community colleges engage so that policymakers can develop fiscal and regulatory policy to support such activities.

This guide aims to help community colleges and state agencies analyze the labor market outcomes of their programs and identify opportunities for improving students' employment outcomes.

This essay describes the characteristics of community college students and discusses the role of the community college in increasing access to higher education by traditionally underserved students.

This paper analyzes how effective ATE regional centers, which work with community colleges and businesses in a single region to improve technical education, have been in meeting their goals.