Maximizing College Completion for Workforce Development

1. Focusing on College Completion:Guided Pathways & Workforce Development Tammy Kolbe University of Vermont

2. Recent Policy Agenda • Dual focus on: • Improving accessto post-secondary educational opportunities • Promoting college attendance However: Access & attendance are necessary, but insufficient, for achieving the State’s workforce development goals.

3. “Completion” as a Workforce Development Imperative • Occupational credentials provide the most economic benefits to individuals and the economy • Certificates and degrees provide most economic benefits, with higher-level credentials providing even better returns • Attending college without a credential provides some, but not full, benefits in the labor market Effective workforce development policy must maximizeBOTH accessto and success in post-secondary education.

4. College Completion: A Troubling Story Graduation & Completion Rates for 4- and 2-Year Public Colleges (2013)

5. Critical Question • How can Vermont colleges improve college completion rates without a substantial infusion of new resources?

6. Extending Vermont’s Pathways & Student Support Frameworks • A potentially promising policy options that are aligned with Vermont’s existing PK-12 “pathways” and “student support” frameworks: • The “Guided Pathways” Model Particularly relevant for improving college completion at broad & open access higher education institutions

7. Rethinking Organization & Resources • Promotes: • Greater interaction and integration among the various parts of the college experience • Reconsiders: • Structure • Intake & supports • Instruction • Developmental education

8. Predominant Model • Cafeteria-style or self-service model • Colleges offer a broad an array of courses, programs and support services • To a great extent, students are expected to make their own choices about their “pathways” toward their degree • Consistent with post-secondary education goals focused on access and expanding enrollments However: Colleges designed to maximize course enrollment are not necessarily well designed to maximize completion of high quality programs of study

9. A Different Approach: The Guided Pathways Model • Key components: • More clearly structured, educationally coherent program pathways that lead to students’ end goals • Reorganizing instruction and student support services in ways the facilitate students’ learning and success as they progress along these paths • Complementary components: • A clear focus by institutions on “core functions” and purpose • Alignment between programs and preparation for further education and employment

10. Guided Pathways: Assumptions • Students benefit from more structured programs of study • Higher education institutions can gain efficiencies through reorganizing instruction and student support, and organizational focus

11. Rationale • Students encounter a complicated set of choices, that can be particularly difficult for students without “college knowledge” to navigate • Many students pursue suboptimal enrollment patterns • Can lead students to make costly mistakes that derail completion • Curricular incoherence limits learning • Oftentimes there is poor alignment between two- and four-year programs • Misalignment between program and degree options and workforce demands

12. Emerging Best Practices • Simplified programs • Default curricula • Meta-majors • Blocked or linked coursework • Predictable course scheduling, tied to student demand • Link K-12 initiatives to post-secondary program plans • Helping underprepared students • Developmental education as an “on ramp” to programs of study, through acceleration or integration with coursework • Integrating academic support into programs of study

13. Emerging Best Practices • Services to get and keep students on track • Investments in progress monitoring and advising • Student success courses • Set goals/timelines for completion • Organization & budgeting • Prioritizing programs aligned with workforce demands; scaling back or eliminating those that are not aligned • Partnerships with employers and, where applicable, transfer destinations

14. Concluding Thoughts • Need to maximize both access and success • Policies, programs and resources that emphasize access and transitions to post-secondary education are not enough • Special need to consider strategies that improve student success at broad/open access institutions • Students attending these institutions achieve credentials at a lower rate than their peers at competitive enrollment institutions • Guided pathway models hold promise, and are aligned with the state’s existing policy framework • Systemic reforms will be needed

15. Contact Information • Tammy Kolbe, Assistant Professor, Educational Leadership & Policy Studies • Email: tkolbe@uvm.edu • Phone: 802.656.0174