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News

Eight Strategies to Strengthen the Value of

Community College Credentials

For over 20 years, community colleges across the U.S. have been working to increase graduation rates. Considering both progress made and challenges remaining, the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program (Aspen) and the Community College Research Center (CCRC) have embarked on a new reform effort called Unlocking Opportunity. Working with 10 community colleges to start, we have three main objectives: (1) Increase the number of students enrolled in and graduating from “high-value programs” that lead directly towell-paid jobs or to transfer and bachelor’s attainment in students’ field of interest, (2) decrease the number of students in “lower opportunity pathways” that are unlikely to prepare them for good jobs or bachelor’s degrees (and beyond), and (3) ensure that reforms reach all students, including students of color and those from low-income families.

https://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/easyblog/2024-11-20-21-12-17.html                                              

Evidence-Based Adult Education System

(E-BAES) Return-on-Investment Pilot

From June 2023 through April 2024, World Education led acommunity-engaged research initiative on behalf of the Adult Literacy and Learning Impact Network (ALL IN). This opportunity funded short-term research projects to unearth instructional and programmatic innovation, make visible teacher knowledge, and offer insights aligned to the National Action Plan for Adult Literacy’s goals of access, quality, and/or uptake of adult learning opportunities. This blog is one of five reports from the funded research teams of this initiative.

1. What goals do adult learners report, via the ALS, for participating in AFE programs and what outcomes from learning/ work/ community/ family/ personal domains do they report?

   
   

2. After reviewing ALS findings, what do AFE practitioners understand as learners’ reasons and outcomes from their own professional experiences with learners?

   
   

3. What recommendations do adult learners and AFE practitioners have on the highest priority topic(s) for ROI study in AFE and how do practitioners recommend determining potential costs of ROI?

   
   

4. Based on pilot feedback, what primary areas should be tracked in an ROI study?

   
   

https://worlded.org/evidence-based-adult-education-system-e-baes-return-on-investment-pilot/

Apprenticeships are a trending alternative to college —but there's a hitch

There are currently 680,288 Americans in apprenticeships, according to the U.S. Department of Labor — up 89 percent since 2014, the earliest year for which the figure is available. But that's not even half of 1 percent of the U.S. workforce. By comparison, there are more than 18 million Americans in college.

The Labor Department proposed updates to the regulations aimed at strengthening worker protections, among other changes. Critics complained this would only make things worse, and the proposal was quietly withdrawn last month. The suggested rules filled hundreds of pages, threatening "to overwhelm the system and introduce confusion and unintended consequences," according to the nonprofit Jobs for the Future." Employers find the existing apprenticeship system to be confusing and cumbersome already."

There are also calls for more support for government subsidies for apprenticeships. Many states already offer employers tax credits for apprenticeships, from $1,000 per year per apprentice in South Carolina up to $7,500 in Connecticut.

Until more employers’ bridge that gap, says Specht at Jobs for the Future, "it doesn't personally make sense to me to create a groundswell for opportunities that don't exist."

https://www.npr.org/2024/12/17/nx-s1-5223668/apprenticeships-are-a-trending-alternative-to-college-but-theres-a-hitch

Opportunities

K12 Pathway Coordinator - Siskiyou

Scott Valley Unified will be the employer of record, this position will serve in a remote capacity serving all K-12 LEAs in Siskiyou County including College of the Siskiyous. This allows you to live and work from anywhere within Siskiyou County. Candidates should be flexible, adaptable, organized, self-motivated and work independently in an effective manner.

Job Posting : https://www.edjoin.org/Home/JobPosting/2022242

NFN COE Research Analyst

Title: Research Analyst (Limited Term)        

Campus: Ethan Way (Los Rios CCD)

Close Date: 01/01/25 11:59 PM Pacific Time

Job Posting Link:https://www.schooljobs.com/careers/losriosccd/jobs/4758970/research-analyst-limited-term