Building Pathways to Success for Low-Skill Adult Students: Lessons for Community College Policy and Practice from a Longitudinal Student Tracking Study.
Summary
This study conducted by the staff of the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC), with assistance from the Community College Research Center, seeks to fill information gaps about older community college students. To conduct the study, researchers used student record information from the SBCTC system to examine the educational experience and attainment, employment rates, and earnings of a sample of adult students, ages 25 and older, five years after first enrolling. The study finds evidence that attending college for at least one year and earning a credential boosts earnings for adults with a high school diploma or less who enter postsecondary education via a community college. Neither adult basic skills education by itself nor a limited number of college-level courses were found to provide much benefit for employment or earnings. The findings from this study suggest that community and technical colleges in Washington should make taking at least one year of college-level courses and earning a credential a minimum goal for low-skill adults served, as well as rethink/redesign programs and serves to support these students. The study provides a detailed profile of low-skill adult students, who makeup approximately one-third of students served throughout Washington’s community and technical college system. The study also identifies critical points where adult students drop out or fail to advance to the next level. The goal of the study is to generate ideas and discussion among educators throughout the Washington state system on how to better serve low-skill adult students and facilitate their achievement.
Citation
Prince, D., & Jenkins, D. (2005). Building Pathways to Success for Low-Skill Adult Students: Lessons for Community College Policy and Practice from a Statewide Longitudinal Tracking Study. Community College Research Center.
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