Policy To Performance http://www.policy2performance.org P2P aims to assist states with effective policy development that will support college and career readiness for low-skilled adults and adult learners. Tue, 31 Aug 2010 20:36:52 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 Framing New Terrain: Older Adults and Higher Education http://www.policy2performance.org/framing-new-terrain-older-adults-and-higher-education http://www.policy2performance.org/framing-new-terrain-older-adults-and-higher-education#comments Tue, 31 Aug 2010 20:32:29 +0000 Admin http://www.policy2performance.org/?p=1057 Produced by the American Council on Education (ACE), Framing New Terrain: Older Adults and Higher Education focuses on the needs and challenges facing the ever-increasing number of older adult learners who seek out postsecondary educational opportunities. The report cites statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau indicating that more than 70 million people will be aged 65 and older by 2030. Based on these and other projected demographic changes in the population, Framing New Terrain calls for a reframing of educational policies across various sectors including postsecondary education, workforce development, and community service. To support this argument, the report provides a profile of the country’s older adults aged 55 to 79. Additionally, the authors frame questions and issues around the mission of postsecondary education that community colleges and four-year colleges and universities should consider to better meet the needs of older adult learners. These questions include:

  • What Do We Know About Older Adults?
  • What Brings Older Adults into Higher Education?
  • What Keeps Older Adults Out of Higher Education?
  • What Challenges Face Higher Education?

Framing New Terrain is the first report in “Reinvesting in the Third Age: Older Adults and Higher Education”, ACE’s two-year research project funded by the MetLife Foundation.

]]> http://www.policy2performance.org/framing-new-terrain-older-adults-and-higher-education/feed 0 Policies to Promote Adult Education and Postsecondary Alignment http://www.policy2performance.org/policies-to-promote-adult-education-and-postsecondary-alignment http://www.policy2performance.org/policies-to-promote-adult-education-and-postsecondary-alignment#comments Tue, 31 Aug 2010 20:20:59 +0000 Admin http://www.policy2performance.org/?p=1048 This policy brief outlines approaches to help adults with lower skills and/or limited English proficiency earn postsecondary credentials that open doors to family-supporting jobs. Prepared for the National Commission on Adult Literacy, the report argues that the widespread problem of low-wage work and looming skill shortages are critical reasons for aligning federal and state adult education, job training, and postsecondary education policies. The report also draws attention to the financial, personal, and family challenges that prevent adults from seeking and completing education and training programs.

The brief is divided into three sections. The first section summarizes the research on why adult and postsecondary education should focus more on helping lower-skilled adults earn marketable postsecondary credentials. The second section describes some of the key policy challenges to achieving this goal. The third section discusses current state policy innovations related to these challenges and makes recommendations for state and federal policy changes that could help more lower-skilled adult workers. Recommendations fall into three areas identified as critical to progressing adults to earn marketable postsecondary credentials.

  1. Increase state capacity to track individual outcomes across adult and postsecondary education and training services, over time, and into the labor market; and use this data to set goals for improvement.
  2. Integrate adult education and English language services with postsecondary education and training to increase attainment of credentials leading to family-supporting jobs.
  3. Adapt financial aid policies to the needs of lower-skilled adults, and support their success in adult and postsecondary education and training.
]]> http://www.policy2performance.org/policies-to-promote-adult-education-and-postsecondary-alignment/feed 0 Fueling the Race to Postsecondary Success: A 48-Institution Study of Prior Learning Assessment and Adult Student Outcomes http://www.policy2performance.org/fueling-the-race-to-postsecondary-success-a-48-institution-study-of-prior-learning-assessment-and-adult-student-outcomes-2 http://www.policy2performance.org/fueling-the-race-to-postsecondary-success-a-48-institution-study-of-prior-learning-assessment-and-adult-student-outcomes-2#comments Tue, 31 Aug 2010 19:53:56 +0000 Admin http://www.policy2performance.org/?p=1044 This study focuses on Prior Learning Assessment, or PLA, as an important but often overlooked strategy for helping adults progress towards a degree. PLA is the process by which many colleges evaluate, for academic credit, the college-level knowledge and skills an individual has gained outside of the classroom (or from non-college instructional programs), including employment, military training/service, travel, hobbies, civic activities, and volunteer service. Institutions may use several different PLA methods in order to award credit for prior learning and, in the process, make education more affordable and less time consuming. PLA advocates have long argued that by helping students earn credits faster and at a lower cost, PLA can significantly contribute to students’ ongoing progress – or persistence – towards a degree. However, until recently there had not been a large, multi-institutional study on the topic.

With funding from the Lumina Foundation, the Council for Adult & Experiential Learning commissioned a study on PLA and adult student outcomes. Fueling the Race presents findings based on the records of 62,475 students at 48 colleges and universities in the U.S. and Canada. Study findings reveal that PLA students had better academic outcomes, particularly in terms of graduation rates and persistence, than other adult students. Many PLA students also shortened the time required to earn a degree, depending on the number of PLA credits earned.

]]> http://www.policy2performance.org/fueling-the-race-to-postsecondary-success-a-48-institution-study-of-prior-learning-assessment-and-adult-student-outcomes-2/feed 0 The Career Pathways How-To Guide http://www.policy2performance.org/the-career-pathways-how-to-guide http://www.policy2performance.org/the-career-pathways-how-to-guide#comments Tue, 31 Aug 2010 16:27:51 +0000 Admin http://www.policy2performance.org/?p=1038 Released by the Workforce Strategy Center (WSC), this report is the second in the “Pathways to Competitiveness” series. It sets out a step-by-step protocol for building career pathways at the local level and discusses how state-level officials can support these efforts. The report provides readers with a description of career pathways, breaks down the process of building career pathways partnerships as well as examines the roles that state leaders and agencies can play in cultivating partnerships. The report concludes with a look at lessons learned from the experiences of states and local agencies developing career pathways.

WSC developed a five-stage process for building career pathways which include the following stages: Gap Analysis, Career Pathways Planning, Implementation, Continuous Improvement and Expansion. In this report, detailed guidelines are provided for each stage and examples from actual partnerships are described. Additionally, the report looks at how states can promote progress of career pathways by setting forth a guiding vision, engaging and supporting local actors, breaking down silos within and between state agencies to encourage local cooperation, reallocating funding to support career pathways, and establishing a performance measurement system that fosters continuous improvement. Experiences from Arkansas, California, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Ohio, Oregon, and Washington are drawn upon to exhibit how states can effectively support the development of career pathways and provide lessons learned to others.

The guide is designed for a wide audience to include professionals in community colleges and workforce, social service, and economic development agencies who are looking to render their institutions more responsive to the needs of the individuals, employers and communities they serve. It is also intended for state agencies seeking to invest their public resources in career pathways. The guide has been classified in the P2P Resource Center as both a publication and a tool since it provides step-by-step guidance and case studies for states to utilize.

The final report in this series, Working Together: Aligning State Systems and Policies for Individual and Regional Prosperity, also accessible through the P2P Resource Center, focuses on issues relevant to state policymakers. The report defines the challenges facing policymakers and provides concrete ways that policymakers can align state policies and resources to support worker advancement.

]]> http://www.policy2performance.org/the-career-pathways-how-to-guide/feed 0 New Publication Released! http://www.policy2performance.org/new-publication-released http://www.policy2performance.org/new-publication-released#comments Fri, 30 Jul 2010 21:27:43 +0000 Admin http://www.policy2performance.org/?p=1032 Shared Goals, Common Ground: State and Local Coordination and Planning to Strengthen Adult Basic Education Services (AECAP Final Report)

 AECAP tested processes for state and local planning and interagency coordination as a way of facilitating the expansion and quality of adult education and workforce services in six states (Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Missouri, and Washington). This final report describes the planning processes and technical assistance activities that were conducted during the project. Participating state adult education staff and their partners worked together to support 12 local pilot sites in their development of service models in the areas identified by the state. Click here to read more.

]]> http://www.policy2performance.org/new-publication-released/feed 0 Fueling the Race to Postsecondary Success: A 48-Institution Study of Prior Learning Assessment and Adult Student Outcomes http://www.policy2performance.org/fueling-the-race-to-postsecondary-success-a-48-institution-study-of-prior-learning-assessment-and-adult-student-outcomes http://www.policy2performance.org/fueling-the-race-to-postsecondary-success-a-48-institution-study-of-prior-learning-assessment-and-adult-student-outcomes#comments Fri, 30 Jul 2010 21:14:10 +0000 Admin http://www.policy2performance.org/?p=1027 This study focuses on Prior Learning Assessment, or PLA, as an important, but often overlooked strategy for helping adults progress towards a degree. PLA is the process by which many colleges evaluate, for academic credit, the college-level knowledge and skills an individual has gained outside of the classroom (or from non-college instructional programs), including employment, military training/service, travel, hobbies, civic activities, and volunteer service. Institutions may use several different PLA methods in order to award credit for prior learning and, in the process, may make education more affordable and take less time. PLA advocates have long argued that by helping students earn credits faster and at a lower cost, PLA can significantly contribute to students’ ongoing progress – or persistence – towards a degree. However, until recently there had not been a large, multi-institutional study on the topic.

With funding from the Lumina Foundation, the Council for Adult & Experiential Learning commissioned a study on PLA and adult student outcomes. Fueling the Race presents findings based on the records of 62,475 students at 48 colleges and universities in the U.S. and Canada. Study findings reveal that PLA students had better academic outcomes, particularly in terms of graduation rates and persistence, than other adult students. Many PLA students also shortened the time required to earn a degree, depending on the number of PLA credits earned.

]]> http://www.policy2performance.org/fueling-the-race-to-postsecondary-success-a-48-institution-study-of-prior-learning-assessment-and-adult-student-outcomes/feed 0 Complete to Compete http://www.policy2performance.org/complete-to-compete http://www.policy2performance.org/complete-to-compete#comments Fri, 30 Jul 2010 17:07:21 +0000 Admin http://www.policy2performance.org/?p=1018 Complete to Compete is an initiative launched by West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin III in his role as chair of the National Governors Association. The initiative focuses on increasing the number of students in the United States who complete college degrees and certificates and improving the productivity of the country’s higher education institutions. While a number of states are already taking steps to boost college completion, Complete to Compete emphasizes the critical role that increased gubernatorial leadership and participation play in achieving meaningful progress.

The initiative aims to:

  • Raise national awareness about the need to increase college completion.
  • Create a set of common higher education completion and productivity measures that governors can use to monitor state progress.
  • Develop a series of best practices and a list of policy actions governors can take to achieve increased college completion;
  • Provide support to states to design policies and programs that increase college completion and improve higher education productivity and serve as models for other states around the country; and
  • Hold a learning institute for governors’ senior advisors in education, workforce and economic development focusing on successful state strategies to graduate more students and meet workforce demands.
]]> http://www.policy2performance.org/complete-to-compete/feed 0 Shared Goals, Common Ground: State and Local Coordination and Planning to Strengthen Adult Basic Education Services (AECAP Final Report) http://www.policy2performance.org/shared-goals-common-ground-state-and-local-coordination-and-planning-to-strengthen-adult-basic-education-services-aecap-final-report http://www.policy2performance.org/shared-goals-common-ground-state-and-local-coordination-and-planning-to-strengthen-adult-basic-education-services-aecap-final-report#comments Tue, 13 Jul 2010 18:07:43 +0000 Admin http://www.policy2performance.org/?p=997 This document is the final report from the Adult Basic Education State Delivery System Strategic Planning and Service Provision Demonstration Project, also known as the Adult Education Coordination and Planning (AECAP) project. AECAP tested processes for state and local planning and interagency coordination as a way of facilitating the expansion and quality of adult education and workforce services in six states (Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Missouri, and Washington). This final report describes the planning processes and technical assistance activities that were conducted during the project.

The state adult education staff and their partners worked together to support 12 local pilot sites in their development of service models in the areas identified by the state. Nine of the 12 local pilot sites in the AECAP project involved state staff working with their partners to develop coordinated service models, which included the following: Cross-referral of clients between ABE programs and One-Stop Centers (three sites); Targeted instructional services for specific ABE populations (three sites); and Provision of integrated ABE/ESL and occupational courses as a pathway to employment or postsecondary technical training (three sites).

The AECAP project provided a number of lessons about processes for implementing a national demonstration project in adult basic education that involves state and local sites. Lessons in the following areas are outlined in the report: the application process, selection of local pilot sites, utilizing a project model and a planning phase, orienting new/replacement staff during the project, and providing technical assistance.

To view the AECAP Guide for State Leaders, click here.

]]> http://www.policy2performance.org/shared-goals-common-ground-state-and-local-coordination-and-planning-to-strengthen-adult-basic-education-services-aecap-final-report/feed 0 The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Vocational and Adult Education releases NEW publication! http://www.policy2performance.org/the-u-s-department-of-educations-office-of-vocational-and-adult-education-releases-new-publication http://www.policy2performance.org/the-u-s-department-of-educations-office-of-vocational-and-adult-education-releases-new-publication#comments Thu, 01 Jul 2010 16:38:39 +0000 Admin http://www.policy2performance.org/?p=992 Between 2008-2009, the 5 sites funded under the Adult Basic Education Career Connections (ABECC) initiative developed and implemented work plans focused on improving adults’ basic skills to prepare them to enter career pathways. To help other ABE programs undertake similar work, this manual provides an overview of career pathways and describes approaches used by the ABECC sites to align basic skills training and partnership efforts with local career pathways.

]]> http://www.policy2performance.org/the-u-s-department-of-educations-office-of-vocational-and-adult-education-releases-new-publication/feed 0 Funding Career Pathways and Career Pathway Bridges ~ A Federal Policy Toolkit for States http://www.policy2performance.org/funding-career-pathways-and-career-pathway-bridges-a-federal-policy-toolkit-for-states http://www.policy2performance.org/funding-career-pathways-and-career-pathway-bridges-a-federal-policy-toolkit-for-states#comments Fri, 11 Jun 2010 20:49:59 +0000 Admin http://www.policy2performance.org/?p=980 Produced by the CLASP Center on Postsecondary and Economic Success, this toolkit outlines an approach to create a more educated workforce that involves career pathways and career pathway bridge models. As described in the toolkit, career pathways weave together adult education, training, and college programs to help students advance to successively higher levels of education and employment in a given industry or occupational sector. Career pathway bridge programs combine basic academic and English language content with postsecondary occupational content to help students earn credentials that are valued by employers in various industries.

The toolkit is geared toward state-level interagency teams that are actively discussing resources and policies that can support career pathways and bridge programs and that are engaging in discussions about resources and policies across workforce development, adult education, postsecondary education, and support service programs. The toolkit aims to assist states in understanding components and tasks involved in creating, implementing, and sustaining career pathways/bridge programs. It will also help states identify how federal resources can support these components and tasks. Finally, the toolkit can assist states in pinpointing state policy changes or other state actions needed to best utilize federal funding opportunities for pathways.

The toolkit is divided into two main sections: (1) a funding options worksheet and (2) federal program summaries. In addition to outlining the core components of both models, the toolkit also describes steps that states can take to identify how federal programs can support their career pathway and career pathway bridge efforts.

Contributing writers for this toolkit include Allegra Baider, Vickie Choitz, Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield, Marcie W.M. Foster, Linda Harris, Elizabeth Lower-Basch, Neil Ridley, and Julie Strawn. The toolkit was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Joyce Foundation.

]]> http://www.policy2performance.org/funding-career-pathways-and-career-pathway-bridges-a-federal-policy-toolkit-for-states/feed 0