How Community Colleges Can Lead Our Economic Recovery May 26, 2021 By Andrew Pelesh Read Time Strada Article Connections to Ca... Navigating Education Advising Employers On Purpose ... Community colleges — often viewed as the postsecondary system’s workhorses of economic growth and mobility — have seen their enrollments dip by over 10 percent during the months of the pandemic. But new, hyperlocal demand-mapping research shows that across the country, millions of adults, themselves dealing with the pandemic’s ramifications on their careers, have strong intentions to enroll in community college or technical school over the next two years. The task now for education leaders and local and state policymakers is clear: How can they convert this overwhelming intent into real enrollment? A team of Strada Education Network researchers led by Director of Research Melissa Leavitt examine the issue in a new study, “Powering Purpose,” which builds a case for the urgent need to invest now in community colleges. Myriad reasons likely contributed to the community college enrollment decline, from layoffs to conflicting demands on adults who worked overtime as parents, homeschool teachers, or as their children’s remote learning tech support while schools were shuttered. The emotional and logistical barriers of not only going back to education as a working adult, but doing so during a pandemic, may also be leading to hesitancy. Data shows that self-doubt is among the biggest hurdles standing between adults and pursuing additional education. That barrier, along with the isolation of the pandemic, navigating remote learning, and missing face-to-face interactions with teachers may have led many to write off school for the time being. Investing now in community colleges and technical schools offers one of our best chances at making the recovery from the pandemic an equitable one. Half of all black and Latino postsecondary education students are served by community colleges, and the average students’ age is 28. At the same time, the enrollment declines have been particularly pronounced among students of color and older students. This is risky for our society and economy. We already know individuals who don’t complete a college degree are more vulnerable to economic displacement. And while the displacement caused by the pandemic might be a once-in-a-generation event, researchers believe rapid advances in technology will bring only more displacement. Individuals who can’t find their way back to postsecondary education now may be left out of high-growth industries, such as cybersecurity and health care, leaving them more vulnerable in the long run. In “Powering Purpose,” Strada researchers honed in on several promising ways to mobilize the strong intent to enroll and do so in a way that supports learners from diverse backgrounds. Their insights include: Guidance and coaching are essential to addressing the challenges many adult learners experience with self-doubt and a lack of access to clear information. Large numbers of adults who intend to enroll in community college or technical school will be the first in their families to pursue postsecondary education, and many are experiencing fear that they won’t be successful in education or confusion about critical aspects of the educational journey. The ability for many adults to persist in their postsecondary education programs depends on access to basic needs like food, transportation, and housing. Nearly one-third of the 20.5 million adults who expressed intention to enroll earn less than $24,000 annually. In order to succeed as students, individuals with low incomes must have a way to access life’s necessities. Adult learners need to be able to earn while learning and providing for their families. More than half of those who intend to enroll are already working full-time and have children. Our education system will need to find a way for them to continue to support their careers and families by providing opportunities like paid internships or apprenticeships and childcare access. Implementing supports through a lens of racial and social equity is crucial to supporting students of color from enrollment to career. More than half of adults intending to enroll are Black or Latino, so in order to help those students complete their education and achieve meaningful career outcomes, student support must be designed from the perspective of helping institutions serve these students better. Schools such as Valencia College in Florida, the “Powering Purpose” report notes, already have seen the dramatic effects this approach can have. After adopting equity-focused advising, academic, and career support, the school eliminated completion gaps by race. Group 13 Group 11 Group 12 To create a PDF of the webpage, choose in opened window 'Save as PDF' option in 'Destination' select or something like that and click to save or print button. Got it Andrew Pelesh Learn More In the news from Strada May 13, 2022 Examples From the Field: University of Minnesota Rochester At the innovative Rochester campus of the University of Minnesota, our vision is to “inspire transformation in higher education through innovations that empower graduates to solve the grand health challenges of the 21st century.” Strada Article BCC May 13, 2022 Examples From the Field: University of Oregon Ducks Rise: Empowering Underrepresented Minorities and Low-Income Students Through Research Internships and Intentional Student Experiences Strada Article BCC May 13, 2022 Examples From the Field: University of Texas System Developing In-Demand Skills Among Undergraduates for Better, More Equitable Post Completion Outcomes Strada Article BCC May 13, 2022 Fulfilling the Promise of Higher Education Access to college isn't enough. Neither is completion of degrees. It's time to focus on outcomes Strada Article BCC April 7, 2022 ‘I Didn’t Know I Had All This in Me’ Credit for prior learning helped Loyce Shelley see herself in a new way — and complete her degree. Strada CAEL Article Adult Learners Career Connection Completion Employers Equity & Oppo... Navigating Education On Purpose Engagement & ... ... March 2, 2022 How Local Partners Can Rebuild the Workforce Equitably Even before the pandemic, employers struggled to find the skilled labor they needed to fill jobs. Strada Article Connections to Ca... Navigating Education Advising Employers On Purpose ... February 23, 2022 Growing Fairly: How to Build Opportunity and Equity in Workforce Development The labor market in the United States faces seemingly contradictory challenges: Many employers have trouble finding qualified applicants for current and future jobs, while millions of Americans are out of work or are underemployed—their paths to living-wage jobs blocked by systemic barriers or lack of adequate skills. Strada Article Innovation in Wor... Adult Learners Career Connection Equity & Oppo... Navigating Education ... February 1, 2022 How Credentials Can Create Opportunity for More People The origin story of Grow With Google, like so many initiatives at the global technology company, begins with data. Strada Article Connections to Ca... Degree and Creden... Navigating Education Adult Learners Employers Nondegree On Purpose ... January 5, 2022 5 Ways To Integrate Career Connection Into College Experience Recent Strada research points to a striking disparity between first-year students’ aspirations for career planning in their undergraduate years and seniors’ actual experiences. Strada Article Connections to Ca... Navigating Education Advising Employers On Purpose Public Viewpoint Research ... December 2, 2021 4 Ways To Build Better Education-Workforce Partnerships More than 18 months into the pandemic, the employment headlines can seem like an algebraic riddle: If U.S. employers are seeking workers to fill 10.9 million jobs, how can 8.4 million workers be unemployed? Strada CAEL Article Connections to Ca... On Purpose ... November 17, 2021 How To Make Sure Education After High School Is Worth the Investment Economist Beth Akers insists she’s not a college debt crisis denier. College is expensive — more than double the cost today compared to the 1980s. And too many students pay too much for it, she said, not only in relation to what they can afford now, but also to what they will earn after graduation. Strada Article Degree and Creden... On Purpose ... November 4, 2021 How To Set Students Up for Success After Graduation As provost and later president at the University of Utah, Ruth Watkins called out the “hollow promise” a university delivers to college students who have access to higher education but leave without completing a degree. Strada Article Connections to Ca... Navigating Education Advising Employers On Purpose ... October 21, 2021 How To Better Serve Latino Students Deborah Santiago’s parents always made clear she and her three siblings would go to college. Strada Article Navigating Education Advising On Purpose Engagement & ... ... October 7, 2021 How the HBCU Experience Builds Leaders Roslyn Clark Artis grew up in southern West Virginia, the only African American in her graduating class. The daughter of a coal miner, she dreamed of becoming a lawyer and applied to every public university in her home state, hoping to find an affordable route to college. Strada Article Connections to Ca... Degree and Creden... Navigating Education Advising Employers On Purpose ... September 22, 2021 6 Ways Our Conversations Are Shaping What We Know Strada CAEL Inside Track Article Connections to Ca... Degree and Creden... Navigating Education Advising Employers On Purpose ... September 8, 2021 6 Ways to Upskill Women for In-Demand Jobs Strada CAEL Inside Track Article Connections to Ca... Navigating Education Advising Employers On Purpose Technology ... August 25, 2021 How To Connect 2-Year Students to a 4-Year School — and a Career Nationwide, about 80 percent of students enrolling in community college say they intend to continue at a four-year college or university to earn a bachelor’s degree. But only 15 percent of community college students achieve that goal within six years. Strada Article Connections to Ca... Navigating Education Advising Employers On Purpose ... August 12, 2021 3 Ways New Philanthropy Models Help More People Faster Strada Article Degree and Creden... On Purpose ... July 29, 2021 Things To Know Now About the Future of Nondegree Credentials Strada Article Connections to Ca... Degree and Creden... Employers On Purpose ... July 14, 2021 How Student Supports Can Reverse Enrollment Declines Strada Article Connections to Ca... Degree and Creden... Navigating Education Advising Employers On Purpose ... June 22, 2021 ‘Concerned, Worried, and Anxious’ — Insights From Recent High School Grads Strada Article Navigating Education Advising On Purpose ... June 8, 2021 What Will Reconnect Disrupted Learners to Education? Strada Article Degree and Creden... Navigating Education Advising On Purpose ... May 26, 2021 How Community Colleges Can Lead Our Economic Recovery Strada Article Connections to Ca... Navigating Education Advising Employers On Purpose ... May 11, 2021 Mentoring, Networking, Scholarships — How This Program Pulls Them Together Strada Article Connections to Ca... Degree and Creden... Navigating Education Advising Employers On Purpose ... April 27, 2021 How Work Changed for Good in 2020, According to Employers Recruiting, hiring, and training improvements are here to stay, employer survey says Strada Article Connections to Ca... Employers On Purpose ... April 14, 2021 Innovator Spotlight: Project Basta This career exploration and readiness program’s formula for learner success combines social capital, self-discovery to launch career pathways for first-gen grads Strada Article Measuring the Val... Pathways with Pur... Career Connection Completion Navigating Education Spotlight Institute for the... ... April 13, 2021 How To Improve Value of Higher Ed? Increase Career Support Just half of college alumni feel it was worth it to take out loans to attend college, with even lower levels of satisfaction from Black and Latino alumni about their loans. Strada Article Connections to Ca... Navigating Education Advising Employers On Purpose ... April 1, 2021 Powering Purpose Invest now in community colleges to fuel economic opportunity Strada Article Serving the Adult... Adult Learners Institute for the... ... March 31, 2021 Ready for Work? How To Prep New Grads for Tech Jobs Talent Path’s Learn-and-Earn Model Bridges Skills Gap Between College and Career Strada Article Connections to Ca... Degree and Creden... Navigating Education Advising Employers On Purpose ... March 16, 2021 How to Make Online Ed Work for Students Can the pandemic induce higher education to jump-start the future of learning? Strada Article Connections to Ca... Navigating Education Advising Employers On Purpose ...