Education and Employment Research Center, Rutgers University

Check out our blog post on certifications, sharing lessons from states on their efforts to measure the value of industry certifications for learners. #Strada #certifications #credentialvalue #learneroutcomes

Check out our blog post on certifications, sharing lessons from states on their efforts to measure the value of industry certifications for learners. #Strada #certifications #credentialvalue #learneroutcomes

Inside Higher Ed Editor Doug Lederman interviewed EERC Director Michelle Van Noy on “The Key” to provide expert analysis on how colleges and universities are responding to the growing pressure to prepare learners for work. Listen now wherever you get your podcasts! Listen here: https://bit.ly/3VM7J82

Noncredit programs lead to modest but measurable earnings gains. That’s a key finding of an EERC review of studies assessing recent research on noncredit students’ outcomes in postsecondary education. In Texas, average earnings a year after noncredit entry were about $6,000 higher than before enrollment. A group of studies found that earnings outcomes varied widely by field, gender, and geography. Average wages were 42% higher one year after certification in professional, scientific and technical services and several other fields, discovered one group of researchers; but in education services, retail trade, and accommodation and food services, wages actually dropped. Meanwhile, a national survey found an earnings boost from noncredit credentials in male-dominated fields of almost $20,000 more than credentials in female-dominated fields. Given the clear earnings boost provided by some noncredit credentials and the weak returns on others, the context of local labor markets and demographics clearly matters. Sweeping judgments should be viewed skeptically. The findings also raise broader societal dilemmas, such as how to finance credentials in poorly compensated but socially important fields, such as allied health and early care and education. Read more from the report: https://lnkd.in/ewn_BKhN ECMC Foundation

Few noncredit students transition to credit pathways, and their completion rates lag behind students in credit-bearing programs. That’s a key finding of an EERC review of studies assessing recent research on noncredit students’ outcomes in postsecondary education. In one five-state study, four states moved only 1 in 20 noncredit students into for-credit education within two years of entering community college. California was the only state that saw a significant number of noncredit students simultaneously enrolling in for-credit courses. Another study found completion rates to be substantially lower in noncredit courses compared to comparable for-credit courses. Given the low rates of movement these studies found between noncredit and credit pathways, EERC recommends that policymakers and practitioners consider ways to create articulation agreements, advising capacity, and integrative structures between noncredit and credit programs. Read more from the report: https://lnkd.in/ewn_BKhN ECMC Foundation

EERC’s review of research on noncredit credential quality shows a considerable body of creative, insightful research on student outcomes. But the review also shows how weak and varied the underlying data sources in this field of study are. There is little national data available on noncredit education, leaving a handful of states to collect and analyze their own emerging evidence bases, typically in partnership with outside researchers. We recommend that researchers in the field focus on areas in need of more exploration, such as longitudinal analysis, linkage of state data sets to wage and K-16 data, and consideration of equity implications. In addition, researchers need to learn much more about student goals and strategies, particularly in relation to instructional purpose and links to employers. Labor market outcomes need to be studied at a more granular level, across industries in a single area, across programs focused on particular employer needs, and more. Finally, the U.S. Departments of Education and Labor should take a more proactive role in supporting the inclusion of noncredit education in new and existing data products. Read more from the report: https://lnkd.in/ewn_BKhN ECMC Foundation

As part of the Community College S-STEM Network webinar series, we are excited to have Xueli Wang from the University of Wisconsin join us to talk about her book On My Own facilitated by Maria L. Espino. Please register to join us on June 13th at 2 pm Eastern: https://lnkd.in/etTYH599.

Despite increasing demand for non-degree credentials (NDCs) among students and employers, there remains no widely accepted system for measuring their educational and labor market outcomes. Yet many organizations are working toward building a shared system of NDC quality. In Building a System for Nondegree Credential Quality: A Landscape Scan of National Influences on NDC Quality, EERC researchers Michelle Van Noy, @Monica Reid Kerrigan and Dr. Genevive Bjorn document the efforts of these organizations and identify opportunities to foster the development of the non-degree credential quality ecosystem.    The authors provide a roadmap of the organizations overseeing NDC quality at the national level, including quality-assurance bodies, professional associations, accreditors, state government actors, and others. They find pressing needs to develop consistent definitions and standards across the quality landscape, as well as an emerging set of credentials outside the formal higher education system for which quality assessment is still at a nascent stage. The full report and a summary of the report are available:   https://lnkd.in/dGWZVVyW

More than ever before, policymakers and college leaders are taking a keen interest in noncredit education as a potential game-changer for connecting Americans to the skills and credentials that they need to get ahead. But there’s a problem: Too little is known about noncredit education, particularly the outcomes of students who obtain noncredit or nondegree credentials. Today, Rutgers University's Education and Employment Research Center released a review study addressing that gap. EERC researchers Michelle Van Noy, Sam Scovill, Ph.D., and Nicole Sandelier Boyd analyzed 15 core studies on noncredit student education and employment outcomes. The full report and a summary of findings are available:  https://lnkd.in/ewn_BKhN