Skip to content
  • Research
  • About Us
  • News
  • Community College FAQs
  • Blog
  • Pandemic Recovery

Focus Areas

  • Dual Enrollment
  • Developmental Education
  • Guided Pathways
  • Advising & Student Supports
  • Teaching & Learning
  • Transfer
  • College to Career
Menu
  • Dual Enrollment
  • Developmental Education
  • Guided Pathways
  • Advising & Student Supports
  • Teaching & Learning
  • Transfer
  • College to Career

Publications Library

CCRC’s complete collection of publications

Presentations

Webinars and conference presentations with CCRC researchers

Guided Pathways Workshops

Materials from our do-it-yourself workshop series

Policy Resources

Our collection of federal policy briefs and fact sheets

  • CCRC Staff
  • Research Affiliates
  • Advisory Board
  • Employment
  • Biennial Report
  • Contact
Menu
  • CCRC Staff
  • Research Affiliates
  • Advisory Board
  • Employment
  • Biennial Report
  • Contact
  • CCRC in the News
  • Opinion
  • Press Releases
Menu
  • CCRC in the News
  • Opinion
  • Press Releases
  • Overview
  • Important Dates
  • FAQs
  • Overview
  • Important Dates
  • FAQs
  • Overview
  • Important Dates
  • FAQs

KCTCS Enhancing Programs for IT Certification (EPIC)

By Katherine L. Hughes, Clive Belfield, Florence Xiaotao Ran & Davis Jenkins
As technology and the labor market continue to evolve, community colleges face the crucial challenge of preparing students for contemporary high-skill, high-wage jobs. In an effort to spur the development of new programs that effectively train students for today’s dynamic workforce, the U.S. Department of Labor gave a consortium of six Kentucky community colleges a four-year, $10 million grant in October 2014. The grant money supported Enhancing Programs for IT Certification (EPIC), an online, competency-based curriculum that expands access to computer and medical information technology credentialing programs. This report describes researchers’ qualitative analysis of EPIC and evaluates the program’s implementation and outcomes. The authors found that the program was implemented mostly as planned; by the end of the grant period, it had produced more courses and credentials than initially proposed. The report also recounts challenges researchers faced in evaluating the impact of EPIC on students, due in part to the small sample of students who took at least two program courses and the short time span of this work. Regarding course grades, the authors found that while EPIC students did not underperform in comparison to their peers, they were unable to draw any strong conclusions from their analyses. The report concludes with suggestions for the field of online competency-based education and posits questions for future research.
Download report
September 2018
  • Enhancing Programs for IT Certification (EPIC)

Related Publications

April 2013

What We Know About Online Course Outcomes

Additional Resources

For more policy briefs and fact sheets, visit CCRC’s Policy Resources page.

  • Our Research
  • About Us
  • News
  • Community College FAQs
  • Blog
  • Pandemic Recovery
  • Our Research
  • About Us
  • News
  • Community College FAQs
  • Blog
  • Pandemic Recovery

Community College Research Center, Teachers College, Columbia University
Box 174 | 525 West 120th Street, New York, NY 10027

  • 212.678.3091
  • ccrc@columbia.edu

© 2025. All rights reserved.

Facebook-f Twitter Linkedin Youtube Instagram
Join our mailing list
  • Our Research
    • Focus Areas
    • Publications Library
    • Presentations
    • Guided Pathways Workshops
    • Policy Resources
  • About Us
    • CCRC Staff
    • Research Affiliates
    • Advisory Board
    • Employment
    • Biennial Report
    • Contact
  • News
  • Community College FAQs
  • Blog
  • Pandemic Recovery
  • Our Research
    • Focus Areas
    • Publications Library
    • Presentations
    • Guided Pathways Workshops
    • Policy Resources
  • About Us
    • CCRC Staff
    • Research Affiliates
    • Advisory Board
    • Employment
    • Biennial Report
    • Contact
  • News
  • Community College FAQs
  • Blog
  • Pandemic Recovery