Adult Learning in Focus: The National Landscape and a Picture of Oklahoma

1. Adult Learning in Focus: The National Landscape and a Picture of Oklahoma Presented by: Pamela Tate President & CEO, CAEL February 26, 2009

2. About CAEL • CAEL is the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning • A 501(c)3 non-profit organization with almost 35 years of lifelong learning and workforce development experience • Mission to remove barriers so that adult learners can be successful in postsecondary education and training • Offices in Chicago, Philadelphia, Denver, New York and Toronto

3. CAEL’s Unique Integrator Role Workforce Learning and Development Employers Lifelong Learning Public Policy CAEL Colleges and Universities Government and Community

4. Office Jobs • The share of white collar office jobs has risen from 30 to 40 percent of all jobs since 1973. • In 1973, only 38 percent of office workers had completed some kind of postsecondary education. Today, 69 percent of them have, while 37 percent have at least a bachelor’s degree.

5. Education and Healthcare Jobs • Since the 1970s, education and healthcare jobs have increased from 10 to almost 20 percent of all jobs. • The share of these jobs requiring at least some college has increased from fewer than half in the 1970s to more than 75 percent today, with more than 52 percent requiring baccalaureate or graduate degrees.

6. Technology Jobs • Technology jobs have doubled from roughly 4 to 8 percent of all jobs. • In 1973, 63 percent of technology workers had completed at least some college, but today 86 percent have—and more than half have at least a bachelor’s degree.

7. Factory Jobs • Number of factory workers with a high school diploma or less is shrinking as a result of productivity growth. These jobs have declined from more than 30 percent of all jobs to less than 17 percent. • Yet even as these jobs have been declining, the number of manufacturing workers with college educations is rising • Manufacturing is going high-tech, and we need individuals in manufacturing who can design, finance and sell what we make. More than 36 percent of manufacturing workers now have some college education.

8. Natural Resources Jobs • Even in natural resources jobs like farming, fishing, forestry and mining, which have been in decline, the share of college trained workers keeps increasing. • Workers with at least some college hold 31 percent of those jobs—in comparison, back in 1973 two thirds of the workers in these fields were high school dropouts.

9. Oklahoma’s Occupational Projections 2006-2016 • 175,000 jobs will be added to the economy overall • Three industries will account for more than fifty nine percent of Oklahoma’s job growth • Education and health services • Professional and business services • Leisure and Hospitality

10. Oklahoma’s Jobs: What Training and Education are Needed? • 102,000 of those jobs will require short term, moderate term or long term job training • Almost 62,500 of them (36%) will require at least some level of postsecondary vocational training, an Associate’s Degree, a Bachelor’s degree or higher • This percentage is significantly lower than the national average of 74% that will require postsecondary credentials

11. Adult Learning in Focus • CAEL and NCHEMS released in 2008 • National Report on current size and shape of adult learning provision, barriers to adult participation • Comparisons among 50 states • State by State profiles • Policy Framework

12. Percent of Adults Age 25-34 with College Degrees (Associate and Higher), 2005 United States % OECD Counties 54 Canada 53 Japan Massachusetts 52 51 Korea 50 Minnesota 49 New York 48 New Jersey – North Dakota 47 Connecticut – Nebraska – New Hampshire 45 Colorado – Maryland – South Dakota – Virginia 44 Iowa – Vermont 43 Illinois – Pennsylvania – Rhode Island 42 Washington – Wisconsin 41 Norway • Ireland • Belgium 40 Denmark • Spain Kansas – Utah-Puerto Rico 39 France • UNITED STATES Delaware 38 Australia • Finland Georgia – Hawaii – Maine – Michigan – Montana – North Carolina - Ohio 37 Sweden • Luxembourg California – Florida – Oregon 36 Iceland Missouri 35 Netherlands • United Kingdom Indiana 34 Russian Federation Mississippi 33 Estonia Alabama – Alaska – Arizona – South Carolina – Tennessee – Wyoming 32 Kentucky – Oklahoma – Texas 31 Switzerland • New Zealand Idaho – Louisiana – West Virginia 30 New Mexico 28 Arkansas 27 Nevada 26 Poland 25 Greece 24 23 22 Germany 20 Austria • Hungary 19 Portugal 18 Mexico • Chile 17 16 Slovak Republic • Italy 15 14 Czech Republic 12 Turkey 10 Slovenia 8 Brazil Source: U.S. Census Bureau; OECD

13. National Profile on Adult Learning • In the U.S., more than 59 million people, or 30% of the adult population are untouched by postsecondary education • In 35 states, over 60% of the population does not have an associates degree or higher • Over 26 million adults in the U.S. currently have no high school diploma

14. National Perspective: How Can the U.S. Reach International Competitiveness by 2025? Current Degree Production Combined with Population Growth Vs. Best Performance* on the Student Transition and Completion Measures Degrees* Produced from 2005 to 2025 with Current 41,860,914 Rate of Production plus Population Growth 63,127,642 Degrees Needed to Meet Best Performance** (55%) 0 20 40 60 80 Millions The performance gap is large and we need to increase the rate of degree production in the U.S. by 50.8%. * Degrees includes both Associates and 4-year degrees. ** Best performance is the average of the top three states. 14

15. Even Best Performance with Traditional College-Aged Students at Each Stage of the Educational Pipeline Will Leave Gaps in More than 30 States Texas 1,333,645 Florida 893,504 California 560,688 New Jersey 320,720 Tennessee 307,956 Nevada 287,565 Louisiana 204,814 Arkansas 186,640 Kentucky 159,765 North Carolina 132,748 Arizona 122,061 Mississippi 115,120 In order to reach international competitiveness by 2025, the U.S. and 32 states can’t close the gap with even best performance with traditional college students. They must rely on the re-entry pipeline – getting older adults back into the education system and on track to attaining college degrees. Ohio 114,375 South Carolina 112,681 Alabama 110,495 West Virginia 74,752 Alaska 65,853 Oklahoma 62,332 Oregon 53,995 Michigan 53,574 New Mexico 47,420 Wisconsin 44,757 Maine 39,436 Idaho 37,706 Montana 34,547 Hawaii 28,659 Georgia 25,326 Wyoming 24,741 Maryland 23,542 Connecticut 10,875 Missouri 8,898 Indiana 2,788 0 300,000 600,000 900,000 1,200,000 1,500,000

16. Oklahoma’s Challenge • But of 2,208,389 working-age adults (18 to 64)…. • 72.5 percent have not completed college (associate’s degrees or higher) This is much lower than the national average. Of these: • 537,154 have completed some college but no degree • 749,633 have completed just a high school diploma but have not entered college

17. Oklahoma’s Challenge • 469,212 Oklahomans are living in families whose combined incomes are less than a living wage (twice the level of poverty) • Almost 50,000 speak little or no English • 314,454 have not completed High School or equivalent

18. But What Happens to Those Who Fall Through the Cracks? Residents Who Finish High School but Struggle to Earn a Living Wage? High School Dropouts Residents Who Complete Some College but No Degree Residents Entering with English Deficiencies Workers Who Need Retraining to Compete in the New Job Market Traditional Student Pipeline (What We Measure Well) High School Students Complete College Enter College HS Graduation and Dropout Rates College-Going Rates Retention and Persistence Rates Graduation Rates

19. Major Barriers to Adult Participation • Major Barriers to Adult Participation in all Learning Opportunities are Access, Affordability, and Aspiration: • Time and Place Barriers • Levels of Preparation for Participation & Success • Cost and Ability to Pay • Understanding Relevance and Getting Information

20. Policies That Help Adult Learners • Address Affordability: Reduce the Cost of Postsecondary Learning for Adults • Raise Awareness about the Need for Adult Learning • Address Accessibility: Put Postsecondary Learning within Reach of Adults • Make the Right Connections: Advising, Career Pathways, Education Pathways, Articulation and Credentialing

21. Federal Financial Aid • Pell Grants are technically available to less than half-time students, but do not allow these students to count living expenses as part of cost of education • Pell Grants cannot be used for non-credit programs • Federal loans are available only to students attending half-time or more

22. No Aid to Part-Time Students or Missing Data Proportion of Need-Based Aid Distributed to Part-Time Students 2004-05 Source: NCHEMS Student Financial Aid Survey

23. State-Based Aid • Most states do not provide grant aid to less than half-time students • Some states provide grants to students in short-term, intensive, non-degree programs that do not qualify for federal aid • Almost all states have early aid application deadlines that may disadvantage adults with multiple obligations

24. Other Sources of Assistance • Tuition Assistance Programs (employer assistance) • Lifelong Learning Accounts • 529 plans • TANF & WIA—subject to state program plans and definitions and interpretation of regulations (about 40% of these funds are currently used for education and training across the states)

25. Affordability Solutions • Document aid that is available to adult learners and make that easily available to students • Ensure resources for part-time and less than part-time study • Investigate and promote new financing strategies such as Lifelong Learning Accounts • Encourage higher education institutions to review and re-work procedures to meet needs of these students (flexible payment plans, for example)

26. Accessibility Solutions States can: • Encourage/incentivize better transfer/bridge processes between noncredit and for-credit learning • Create better pathways between two- and four-year institutions • Encourage prior learning assessment and accelerated degree programs

27. Accessibility Solutions • Provide incentive funding to encourage institutions to improve their services and programs for adult learners • Change reimbursement formulas for public institutions so that there are no disincentives to serving adult and other nontraditional learners

28. Aspiration Solutions • Foster partnerships between industry and higher education so that adults can see career possibilities • Raise awareness of the benefits of education for employability and earnings • Create and disseminate educational pathways to jobs in high demand

29. CAEL Contact Information Contact: Pamela Tate, President and CEO, CAEL ptate@cael.org 312-499-2681