The Ones That Got Away: Why Completing a College Degree Is Not the Only Way to Succeed

Sep 29th, 2014

“There is still an urgent need to provide longer-term foundational training for traditional college-age students, but the concept of college needs to be expanded to also encompass the training needs of older workers.”

THE ONES THAT GOT AWAY:
Why Completing a College Degree Is Not the Only Way to Succeed

 

Recent research on the California community college system has revealed that workforce training programs yield some of the highest earnings for community college students, regardless of whether those students complete a degree or college certificate. Still, most conversations about community college success are limited to whether students graduate. An exclusive focus on degree completion does not fit well with the diversity of workforce training pathways that colleges have built in career and technical education (CTE), because many of these pathways do not lead to a college credential. By expanding definitions of student success to include employment, earnings gains, and third-party credentials, colleges will be able to more accurately measure the outcomes of all their CTE programs.

In partnership with WestED, LearningWorks has released, The Ones That Got Away: Why Completing a College Degree Is Not the Only Way to Succeed. This brief draws on numerous studies to explore alternative approaches to measuring how well community colleges serve CTE students.

Click here to view the full brief.

Click here for the Executive Summary.