THE ROAD LESS TR AVELED:

Transcription

1 istitute for higher educatio leadership & policy THE ROAD LESS TR AVELED: Realizig the Potetial of Career Techical Educatio i the Califoria Commuity Colleges Nacy Shulock Collee Moore Jeremy Offestei February 2011 Istitute for Higher Educatio Leadership & Policy 6000 J Street, Tahoe Hall 3063 Sacrameto, CA T (916) F (916)

2 Executive Summary Potetial of Career Techical Educatio Missio is Not Fully Tapped The Career Techical Educatio (CTE) missio of Califoria s commuity colleges is ot well uderstood by policymakers i compariso to the trasfer missio of the colleges. This exploratory study, to be followed by a more comprehesive research ageda, is motivated by the belief that CTE is a vital piece of the college completio ageda but is ot receivig sufficiet attetio. While studets ca be successful i CTE i ways besides earig a certificate or degree, the issuig of workforce-related credetials is a udeiably importat fuctio of the colleges. CTE is importat to the college completio ageda because it ca help Califoria: Meet completio goals Meet workforce goals Meet equity goals Icrease postsecodary productivity Realize beefits of high school reforms. Califoria is ot yet poised to take full advatage of the potetial of the CTE missio area because CTE is geerally characterized by: A lack of priority across the system Weak credetial structures ad trasfer pathways Uderdeveloped data ad accoutability systems Higher costs that are ot well addressed A lack of itegratio with core istitutioal operatios. There is solid evidece of good job prospects for studets with certificates ad associate degrees i career fields. Studet iterest i vocatioal coursework is high, with 30% of course erollmets i vocatioal courses. Yet of the more tha 255,000 degree/certificate-seekig studets i the eterig cohort (defied as erollig i more tha 6 uits i the first year), oly 5% eared certificates ad oly 3% eared vocatioal associate degrees withi six years. Key Fidigs: Apparet Lack of Priority o Techical Credetials As a basis for explorig CTE more geerally, we studied patters of studet erollmet ad progress i four highwage, high-eed pathways (iformatio techology, egieerig techology, egieerig, ad ursig), visited CTE programs, iterviewed faculty ad staff, ad reviewed college catalogs ad other materials. We kow we ca t geeralize to all programs i all colleges, give the great variety i both, but the followig fidigs strike us as importat to ay effort to uderstad ad improve studet outcomes i CTE programs. 1. Data costraits limit kowledge ad college actios. The absece of provisios for studets to declare a program of study seriously impedes efforts to uderstad ad improve studet success i CTE programs because it is difficult to kow which studets are pursuig which programs. 2. Good studet progress is ot traslatig ito credetials. Few certificates ad degrees were awarded despite cosiderable studet progress. Far more studets accrue 30 or more college-level credits ad pass degree-applicable math tha the relatively few who ear certificates or degrees. Additioally, more studets completed at least 60 trasferable credits tha the umber who trasferred. 3. Pathway structures do ot promote attaimet of techical credetials. A picture emerged of CTE pathways that do ot reflect a high priority o careerorieted credetials or o sequecig lower-to-higher credetials withi a field. The route by which eterig studets are expected to attai the basic skills eeded for their programs was uclear. There was o strog patter of studets attaiig credetials i the chose field of study, with the great majority of associate degrees i iterdiscipliary studies rather tha i a techical field. There is a huge variety of programs i some fields ad a equally huge variatio across colleges i uit ad programmatic requiremets for the same credetial. Few studets who trasferred eared associate degrees ad few who eared associate degrees eared certificates. I INSTITUTE FOR HIGHER EDUCATION LEADERSHIP & POLICY AT CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, SACRAMENTO

3 Recommedatios: More Structure to Help Studets Meet Career Goals This study is the first stage of a broader research ageda aimed at uderstadig how state ad system policies might best promote the success of studets pursuig occupatioal programs. CTE is a richly complex missio area that we believe ca beefit from more attetio ad greater uderstadig by policymakers ad other stakeholders. We have much to lear from the work ahead, but this exploratory research, i the cotext of atioal mometum to icrease structure ad simplify pathways for studets, leads us to make the followig recommedatios: 1. Require studets to declare a program of study ad colleges to esure access to programs Havig studets formally select, ad colleges provide access to, well-defied programs of study would have tremedous advatages for studet success. Studets would have a clear roadmap toward completio, colleges could better alig the course schedule with studet eeds, ad the meas to moitor ad improve program outcomes would be greatly ehaced. 2. Cosider fewer ad more cosistet program offerigs Had-i-had with requirig studets to declare programs of study should be a commitmet by colleges to esure that the programs they offer are accessible to studets ad resposive to regioal eeds. The sheer umber of ad variatio across programs lead us to questio how studets ca avigate all of the choices ad whether all programs o the books are still vital. Leadig atioal researchers are callig for commuity colleges to review their multiple, variable program offerigs to esure they meet labor market eeds, based o research fidigs that may choices ad a lack of structure ca deter studet success. 3. Focus o basic skills for CTE The system's high-priority Basic Skills Iitiative has ot icluded a explicit focus o studets i CTE programs ad it does ot appear to be servig CTE well. Few CTE studets eroll i basic skills courses ad may CTE faculty believe such courses do ot beefit their studets. Yet there is o systematic alterative for addressig basic skills deficiecies amog studets i CTE programs. Few certificate programs require Eglish or math, raisig the questio whether they are producig graduates with the skills to succeed i the workplace. It is importat that the system address basic skills for the CTE missio - both curricular requiremets ad meas to help studets meet them. 4. Reexamie associate degree The associate degree i Califoria has bee asked to serve the dual purpose of preparig studets for trasfer ad for etry to the workforce. The passage of SB 1440 i 2010 is a ackowledgemet that the curret degree does ot work well for trasfer. But the degree may ot work well for workforceboud studets either. Most degrees eared by studets i the career pathways we studied were i iterdiscipliary studies a degree that does ot sigal to employers that a studet has subject matter expertise i a field. As work begis to develop a ew set of associate degrees for trasfer, parallel efforts should examie how the existig associate degree might better serve studets who are ot itedig to trasfer. 5. Coduct additioal research The data we reviewed raised specific questios that, if the Chacellor s Office could aswer with additioal research, would expedite efforts to uderstad ad improve CTE outcomes. Why do studets amass so may excess uits alog the way to earig certificates ad associate degrees? What levels of math ad Eglish proficiecy do ad should idividual certificate programs require? Are there sufficiet opportuities for icomig studets to receive kowledgeable academic ad career advisig about CTE program optios? How may studets satisfy certificate requiremets but fail to officially ear oe ad why? Stregtheig the CTE missio area i these ways should yield substatial beefits for studets, colleges, employers, ad all Califorias. Ackowledgemets We thak the followig idividuals who reviewed ad provided helpful commets o a earlier draft but, of course, we take resposibility for the fidigs ad coclusios: Pamela Burdma, Darla Cooper, Hazel Hill, Davis Jekis, Kelley Karadjeff, Nick Kremer, Jae Patto, Jessica Pitt, David Rattray, Barry Russell, Kim Schek, Eva Schiorrig, Bill Scroggis, Ro Selge, Vice Stewart, Chuck Wiseley, David Wolf, ad the Califoria Commuity College Vocatioal Research ad Accoutability Committee. THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED: REALIZING THE POTENTIAL OF CAREER TECHNICAL EDUCATION IN THE CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY COLLEGES FEBRUARY 2011 II

4 Career-Techical Educatio (CTE) ad the Commuity College Completio Ageda Califoria, alog with most other states, has made commuity college completio a major priority i the effort to boost educatioal attaimet for broad sectors of the populatio ad stregthe ecoomic health. The research preseted i this report is motivated by the belief that the career techical educatio (CTE) missio of Califoria s commuity colleges is a vital piece of the college completio ageda but is ot yet receivig sufficiet attetio. We are well aware that studets succeed i CTE i ways that do ot ivolve completig certificates or degrees. At the same time, the issuig of workforce-related credetials is a udeiably importat fuctio of commuity colleges. I this study we are iterested i the CTE missio as it relates to completio of certificates ad degrees. While efforts to address studet success ad college completio are geerally relevat to CTE, there are uique aspects of CTE that warrat more specific study. I this research we examie studet progress through four career pathways as a basis for explorig more broadly how CTE ca cotribute to the college completio ageda. This report is the first part of a larger project to study whether state ad system policies could better support studet success i CTE programs. Although admittedly a exploratory study, our fidigs cofirm our iitial suppositio that there is utapped potetial across the system for CTE to better serve studets ad the state. High Potetial i the CTE Missio Area CTE is importat to the college completio ageda for the reasos described below. Meetig Completio Goals Natioal college completio goals, such as those articulated by the Gates ad Lumia foudatios, iclude associate degrees as well as bachelor s degrees, ad both foudatios are ivestig i efforts to improve uderstadig of the role ad value of certificates. The Obama admiistratio, by callig for more Americas to get a year or more of college, also sigaled the importace of postsecodary certificates. The report recetly released by the Califoria Commuity College League s Commissio o the Future sets targets for icreases i certificates as well as associate degrees. 1 May associate degrees ad most certificates are awarded i occupatioal fields, ad there is evidece that the market value of associate degrees i occupatioal fields is greater tha other associate degrees. 2 That fidig is especially relevat amid the growig cocers that the completio ageda caot just be about the umber of credetials but must be about quality credetials with labor market value. Certificates, i particular, ca reduce time-to-completio of a meaigful credetial, removig a sigificat barrier to completio for the may studets whose lives do't accommodate may years of college-goig. Researchers have foud that studets with clear occupatioal goals are more likely to complete their programs of study, 3 suggestig that commuity college CTE programs ca make importat cotributios to the completio ageda. Meetig Workforce Goals Califoria faces a severe shortage of educated workers as the baby boom geeratio retires, the ecoomy shifts to everhigher depedece o high-level kowledge ad skills, ad the fastest-growig populatios are ot beig educated at levels to fill job opeigs. Data cofirm projected shortfalls i both jobs requirig a bachelor s degree ad middle skill jobs requirig more tha a high school educatio but less tha a bachelor s degree (e.g., egieerig techicia, radiological techicia, detal hygieist). A recet study foud that Califoria could have jobs for oe millio more bachelor s degree holders tha the state is curretly o track to produce. 4 Other research has documeted that a large share of future job opeigs are middle skills jobs. 5 Clearly, more Califorias with occupatioally-orieted certificates ad associate degrees are eeded to supply the state s future workforce. Meetig Equity Goals Differetial rates of completio across racial/ethic groups i the Califoria Commuity Colleges (CCC) preset a severe social ad ecoomic challege to Califoria s efforts to icrease educatioal attaimet. 6 Structured career pathways that iclude certificates ad associate degrees could be a importat meas to improve social mobility for ecoomically disadvataged Califorias. Research suggests that high school studets who take CTE coursework alog with traditioal academic courses have better employmet outcomes, ad at least comparable 1 INSTITUTE FOR HIGHER EDUCATION LEADERSHIP & POLICY AT CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, SACRAMENTO

5 postsecodary outcomes, compared to studets takig oly academic courses. 7 I the postsecodary area, research suggests that there are ecoomic beefits to low-icome studets who pursue loger-term certificates (30 or more uits), 8 ad that such programs ca lead to well-paid careers, particularly amog low-performig studets. 9 Studets who ear credetials i occupatioal programs ca have substatial earigs advatages over those earig traditioal academic degrees. 10 Today s ecoomy offers good-payig careers i may techical fields that do t require four-year degrees. Moreover, by oe estimate 85% of occupatioal erollmets i commuity colleges are i fields that have couterparts i four-year colleges, raisig the prospect of career ladders to higher payig positios if educatioal pathways are structured well. 11 Icreasig Productivity Streamliig ad stregtheig career pathways ca icrease postsecodary educatio productivity. Poorly structured career pathways ca result i studets takig courses i pursuit of lower-uit credetials that do t cout towards higher-uit certificates ad degrees. This iefficiecy i the accumulatio of uits has bee well documeted i the literature o commuity college trasfer but may also be a factor impedig studet movemet from lower-uit certificates to higher-uit certificates ad associate degrees. If relevat uits do t carry forward to the ext highest credetial, the cost to the state ad the cost to studets i time ad moey icrease. Additioally, CTE programs led themselves to a cohort approach ad to itegratig basic skills istructio ito the curriculum, both of which ca cotribute to icreased rates of persistece ad completio. 12 Complemetig High School Reforms A growig body of research poits to the beefits of multiple forms of career-orieted educatio i high schools ad a growig body of practice is producig promisig results. 13 Sice commuity colleges serve the vast majority of Califoria high school graduates who proceed to postsecodary istitutios, strog career-orieted offerigs that alig well with those i high schools would optimize the beefits of high school reform efforts. CTE Potetial is as yet Urealized Califoria is ot yet poised to take full advatage of the great potetial of the commuity college CTE missio area to help with the state s college completio ageda. Lack of Priority The legislature periodically reaffirms that the three core missio areas of the CCC are trasfer, CTE, ad basic skills educatio, yet the attetio paid to the CTE missio has ot matched that give the other two areas. Lawmakers express far more iterest i ad uderstadig of the trasfer fuctio, eve though they kow of the importat cotributio commuity colleges make to the state s workforce through career educatio. The Basic Skills Iitiative, a top priority of the system for several years, has bee pursued largely apart from the CTE missio. CTE programs are highly complex, as they ofte ivolve parterships with state, local, ad commuity orgaizatios, have multiple fudig streams, serve studets with a variety of goals ad prior experieces, ad offer a wide array of certificatios. Whether due to the sheer complexity of the missio area, the domiace of academic faculty i college leadership positios, or purposeful orderig of priorities by policymakers ad the college system itself, CTE carries less status across the colleges. Weak Credetial Structures ad Trasfer Pathways Despite the atioal research fidigs that certificates of at least oe year ad associate degrees i occupatioal fields have good ecoomic returs, 14 such credetials appear to be udervalued i Califoria. Relatively few studets idicate a goal of earig a certificate or a associate degree ad relatively few certificates ad associate degrees are awarded. May CTE studets amass credits i career fields without acquirig a certificate or degree or they ear a iterdiscipliary studies degree that does ot reflect their field of study. The CCC does ot differetiate applied associate degrees from associate degrees as is doe i may states. The associate degree has bee forced to serve a dual fuctio but it has ot served the trasfer fuctio well or does it clearly sigal career-relevat competecies. While the ewly authorized associate degrees for trasfer 15 are aimed to alig a subset of associate degrees with trasfer requiremets, there has bee o parallel THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED: REALIZING THE POTENTIAL OF CAREER TECHNICAL EDUCATION IN THE CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY COLLEGES FEBRUARY

6 Career-Techical Educatio (CTE) ad the Commuity College Completio Ageda discussio of the eed to retool existig associate degrees to better prepare studets for the workforce ad better commuicate to employers the learig outcomes from associate degree programs. Uderdeveloped Data ad Accoutability Systems Data ad accoutability systems are poorly suited to moitor progress ad success withi the CTE missio. The CCC system s Accoutability Reportig for Commuity Colleges (ARCC) reports studet success rates without accoutig separately for CTE. The sectio of ARCC o vocatioal ad career educatio reports oly the umber of certificates ad associate degrees awarded by program area, providig o iformatio about rates of studet progress ad success. Oly certificates of 18 uits or more are required to be reported, so there is o uiformity i reportig short-term certificates ad o basis for determiig the extet to which short-term certificates are eared as a step toward higheruit certificates or degrees. This would be importat data sice research has failed to documet ecoomic returs to short-term certificates aloe. 16 There are two other major shortcomigs of CTE accoutability. First, systemwide data do ot record the program of erollmet for studets because, with a few exceptios like ursig, commuity college studets i Califoria do ot formally declare a program of erollmet. Colleges report CTE outcomes to the federal govermet uder the Carl D. Perkis Vocatioal ad Techical Educatio Act but this is limited by the lack of data o program of erollmet. Studet coursetakig patters rather tha declared program itet is the basis for reported program outcomes. This method is uable to idetify studets util they are well alog i their programs, ad is thus more valuable for compliace with federal requiremets tha for iformig college efforts to improve studet success. Secod, there is o systematic reportig of employmet outcomes for CTE programs eve though the purpose of most programs is to help studets obtai payig (or higher payig) employmet. Aecdotal reports that studets get job offers or raises before earig a credetial are sometimes offered as explaatios for successful o-completios but lack rigorous labor market outcomes data by program to back up the claims. Higher Costs Not Well Addressed CTE programs ted to be more costly tha other istructioal programs. They are heavily depedet o equipmet, may have class size restrictios due to access to equipmet or specialized accreditatio requiremets, ad they ivolve more frequet curriculum chage as well as structured egagemet with the employer commuity. The state fudig formulas employed at most colleges do ot accommodate these higher costs (eve accoutig for federal Perkis fuds received for CTE programs) ad CTE program admiistrators must seek exteral fudig for what may would cosider core istructioal costs. Lack of Itegratio with Core Istitutioal Operatios Fially, at may colleges CTE seems to operate quite separately from other istructioal uits, with separate admiistrative structures, less itegratio with core studet support areas, ad separate fudig structures that leave CTE program admiistrators much more depedet o exteral resources to keep their programs operatig. Efforts to stregthe CTE are geerally udertake as separate projects or iitiatives apart from the state s multibillio dollar ivestmet i its commuity colleges usually through grat applicatio opportuities at local or regioal levels that affect small umbers of studets. 17 This lack of itegratio suggests that emergig efforts to address college completio could have less impact o CTE programs ad studet outcomes uless special care is take to reduce silos that ca iterfere with college-wide plaig for studet success. The Complexities of Studyig CTE Studet Success Ay effort to study studet progress i CTE cofrots a problem of laguage ad defiitio. Career techical educatio has largely replaced vocatioal educatio as the term used to describe educatioal programs desiged to prepare studets for employmet opportuities that do ot iitially require four-year degrees. Yet either career or techical helps us uderstad the distict ature of these 3 INSTITUTE FOR HIGHER EDUCATION LEADERSHIP & POLICY AT CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, SACRAMENTO

7 commuity college programs. May four-year programs are just as career orieted as are oe- ad two-year programs ad may are highly techical. Some fields desigated as CTE i the commuity colleges, like ursig, have wellestablished trasfer pathways to uiversities ad others do ot. The Chacellor s Office data system classifies certai programs ad courses as vocatioal for purposes of compliace with the Perkis Act but about 20% of the vocatioal courses are trasferable ad efforts are uderway to icrease the trasferability of CTE coursework. 18 The term sub-baccalaureate credetials to referece certificates ad associate degrees cootes somethig of lesser value ad could impede efforts to stregthe these pathways ito well-payig careers that are a promiet feature of today s ecoomy. While the atio could beefit from ew termiology that better reflects the ecoomy, which offers good techical career optios at all levels of postsecodary educatio, we raise the issue here as cotext for our efforts to examie studet success withi the CTE missio. Our prior work has documeted patters of studet success for all degree/ certificate-seekers, but i this report we examie success i occupatioal programs specifically. We leared that both the defiitios of CTE programs ad the pathways alog which oe might measure progress are ambiguous. For example, we chose egieerig as oe pathway to study but wrestled with whether egieerig techology ad egieerig are oe pathway or two, ad certaily betwee them they spa the CTE ad the trasfer missios of the colleges. We chose ursig, which could potetially be the upper ed of a career pathway that icludes allied health fields, ad which certaily ecompasses the trasfer fuctio. We settled o four pathways (explaied o page 9) that admittedly do ot represet the full breadth of CTE offerigs ad cosider the research merely exploratory ad illustrative of issues that should be addressed o a larger scale. Trackig studet progress toward occupatioal program completio is complicated by variability i the value of certificates ad degrees across occupatios ad by the differet goals of the diverse populatios that eroll i CTE courses ad course sequeces. Geuie questios have arise, with respect to the atioal college completio ageda, about the wisdom of usig the umber of baccalaureate degrees as a measure of college success, irrespective of degree field ad measures of degree quality. But with CTE we ecouter more fudametal questios of whether ad which credetials should be couted ad how well a cout of completed credetials measures the value of these programs. As examples: Associate degrees i some trasferable techical fields lack or are perceived to lack market value, so may trasfer-boud studets do ot bother to satisfy degree requiremets. May studets ear a iterdiscipliary studies associate degree that does ot accurately reflect their occupatioal field of study, makig it hard to defie ad moitor success i those occupatioal programs. May CTE studets are older, workig professioals who eed coursework rather tha degrees, ofte for improved job security or advacemet; may already have degrees (10% of the studets who eared certificates i our study already had bachelor s degrees). There is a huge variety of certificates of varyig legths, may of which are shorter tha the 30 uits foud by researchers as a threshold for ecoomic retur but may evertheless have career advacemet value for studets, raisig questios about which certificates should be couted as completios. Some studets are seekig idustry certificatio ad/ or licesure as opposed to college-awarded certificates, outcomes that are ot tracked by the colleges. THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED: REALIZING THE POTENTIAL OF CAREER TECHNICAL EDUCATION IN THE CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY COLLEGES FEBRUARY

8 Career-Techical Educatio (CTE) ad the Commuity College Completio Ageda A Summary Look at CTE Erollmets ad Outcomes I spite of defiitioal issues ad the challeges of studyig studet progress ad completio, the importace of preparig Califorias to fill good middle skill positios i the ecoomy ad to acquire the foudatio for further educatio justifies the effort to uderstad these complex issues. To that ed, we preset some summary data as backgroud for the aalysis that follows. Ulike the trasfer missio of the colleges, the CTE missio area exists i a highly competitive area i which for-profit istitutios play a large ad growig role. Figure 1 shows that while the for-profit sector erolls fewer tha 10% of all udergraduates i two-year (or less) istitutios i Califoria, it awards over 20% of the associate degrees i career fields 19 ad betwee oe-half ad two-thirds of certificates. Figures 2 ad 3 compare the career fields i which certificates ad associate degrees are awarded by the for-profit ad public sectors. Each graph shows the four largest program areas i that sector ad, for compariso purposes, the share of awards i the other sector s top four programs. (Not show i the for-profit graph is family ad cosumer scieces, which accouts for 11 percet of CCC awards but a egligible share at the for-profits.) Health professios accout for the largest share i both sectors ad busiess is also amog the top four i each sector. While 91% of the awards by the for-profit sector are i four areas (health, mechaic ad repair, busiess, ad persoal/culiary), those four areas accout for oly 55% of the awards by commuity colleges, which have a broader rage of offerigs. Figures 4 ad 5 preset data o CTE course-takig, progress, ad completio i the CCC. Figure 4 shows that early oe-third of all credit erollmet i the commuity colleges is i vocatioal courses. Despite these robust course erollmets, few studets ear certificates or associate degrees i vocatioal areas. Figure 5 shows that of the 255,253 degree-seekig studets eterig the CCC i , oly 5% ad 3%, respectively, had eared certificates or vocatioal associate degrees after six-years - far fewer tha the share that trasferred to a fouryear istitutio. (We defie degree-seekig as erollig i more tha six uits i the first year.) Oly 29% of all associate degrees awarded across the CCC i 2008 were i fields idetified by the system as CTE, while 56% of all degrees Figure 1 Share of Total Erollmet Compared to Share of Completio i Career Fields, For-Profits ad Commuity Colleges i Califoria Public Private, for-profit < 2 years Private, for-profit, 2 years 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Total Udergraduate Erollmet Associate s i Career Fields Certificate of Less tha 1 Year Certificate of 1-2 Years Certificate of 2-4 Years Source: The Itegrated Postsecodary Educatio Data System (IPEDS). Survey year INSTITUTE FOR HIGHER EDUCATION LEADERSHIP & POLICY AT CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, SACRAMENTO

9 Figure 2 Certificates ad Associate s Awarded i Career Fields by Private For-Profit 2-Year Colleges i Califoria by Field 7% 6% 1% 8% Health professioals ad related cliical scieces Mechaic ad repair techologies/techicias Busiess, maagemet, marketig, ad related support services 11% 67% Persoal ad culiary services Security ad protective services Other Source: The Itegrated Postsecodary Educatio Data System (IPEDS). Survey year Figure 3 Certificates ad Associate s Awarded i Career Fields by Public 2-Year Colleges i Califoria by Field 21% 27% Health professioals ad related cliical scieces Mechaic ad repair techologies/techicias Busiess, maagemet, marketig, ad related support services 11% 5% Persoal ad culiary services Security ad protective services Family ad cosumer scieces/huma scieces 13% 5% 18% Other Source: The Itegrated Postsecodary Educatio Data System (IPEDS). Survey year THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED: REALIZING THE POTENTIAL OF CAREER TECHNICAL EDUCATION IN THE CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY COLLEGES FEBRUARY

10 Career-Techical Educatio (CTE) ad the Commuity College Completio Ageda Figure 4 Distributio of Credit Erollmets, Fall % 15% 61% 16% Trasfer, ot vocatioal Basic Skills Vocatioal - trasferable Vocatioal - o-trasferable Source: Commuity College Chacellor s Office Data Mart, reflectig the system s course classificatio defiitios Figure 5 Milestoe Attaimet withi 6 Years amog All Seekers Percet of Seekers Achievig Milestoe 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 73% Retaied 2d Term 56% Retaied 2d Year 5% Certificate 8% No- Vocatioal Associate 3% Vocatioal Associate 23% Trasferred Note: Studets may be icluded i more tha oe completio measure as they could have, for example, eared both a certificate ad a associate degree. Source: Divided We Fail, IHELP, INSTITUTE FOR HIGHER EDUCATION LEADERSHIP & POLICY AT CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, SACRAMENTO

11 were i iterdiscipliary studies. 20 We kow that these geeral purpose associate degrees do t serve studets well i qualifyig them to trasfer as juiors ito specific majors, 21 ad this has bee addressed through ew legislatio (Chapter 428, Statutes of SB 1440) to develop associate degrees for trasfer. We also suspect that they do t help studets qualify for jobs i techical fields sice they do t provide studets with core cotet i a techical area or sigal to employers what skills studets have gaied. With early oe-third of course erollmets i vocatioal courses ad a ecoomy that is growig more depedet o workers with techical postsecodary preparatio, it seems reasoable to explore how studets pursue ad progress through CTE programs, why so few studets ear vocatioal credetials i the commuity colleges, ad whether commuity college programs are structured to meet studet ad employer eeds. This report oly begis to address these questios. Research Pla Our research methods were ecessarily adaptive because of the fudametal data costrait of ot beig able to idetify which CCC studets are attemptig to pursue which occupatioal pathway. Most studets do ot declare a program of erollmet so system data caot track erollmet by academic program. We had to use coursetakig behavior to judge which studets were likely pursuig each pathway. The fidigs are ecessarily less coclusive tha our previous studies of studet success where we did ot try to draw ay coclusios about specific academic programs. We take care to offer appropriate caveats i the presetatio of our fidigs. 2. Lear about the pathways. We studied the demographics ad the erollmet patters of commuity college studets who completed programs i these four areas those who had eared certificates or associate degrees at a commuity college or had trasferred ad eared a bachelor s degree at a Califoria State Uiversity. This helped us kow what patters of progress ad success to look for whe we studied a ew cohort of icomig studets. I order to lear more about the pathways, we visited CTE programs at several colleges, coducted telephoe iterviews with CTE program staff ad other experts, reviewed catalogs for 20 colleges of varyig sizes ad from differet regios of the state to uderstad curricular requiremets i these four fields, ad reviewed published material. 3. Lear about progress of studets attemptig the pathways. As best we could, give data limitatios, we applied the milestoe ad success idicator framework we have used i previous research 22 to lear where studets may be ecouterig obstacles o the path to completio. We drew o the fidigs about completers (step 2 above) to determie what milestoes ad success idicators to moitor. The remaider of this report describes these steps i order ad offers fidigs ad recommedatios that are ecessarily prelimiary give the exploratory ature of this study. Our research ivolved the followig steps: 1. Select CTE pathways. We selected four pathways that were of iterest i their ow right as high-wage, higheed fields, but primarily as a sample of the uiverse of CTE programs i order to lear more geerally about issues of studet progress ad success i CTE programs. THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED: REALIZING THE POTENTIAL OF CAREER TECHNICAL EDUCATION IN THE CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY COLLEGES FEBRUARY

12 Four Career Pathways Settig the Stage Choosig Pathways to Study To select the high-wage, high-eed, career pathways for study, we examied the Occupatioal Employmet Projectios of the Califoria Employmet Developmet Departmet to fid fields with relatively high expected growth i employmet ad relatively high media wages. 23 We also examied data o the aual umber of udergraduate certificates ad degrees awarded by the CCC ad Califoria State Uiversity (CSU) systems i related programs. 24 Based o these data, as well as coversatios with workforce ad educatio experts, we selected four occupatioal areas for study: 1. Nursig 2. Egieerig 3. Egieerig techology 4. Iformatio techology Our focus o high-eed, high-wage fields led to a selectio of fields with more rigorous math ad sciece requiremets ad more obvious opportuities at the baccalaureate level tha is the case for may CTE programs. While this limits the ability to extrapolate specific fidigs to other CTE programs, examiig studet success i these fields may still serve as a foudatio for a broader research ageda o the CTE missio of the commuity colleges. Each of the fields icludes a umber of occupatios. Nursig occupatios iclude registered ad vocatioal urses ad ursig assistats. Egieerig icludes the various subfields of egieerig (e.g., electrical, civil) ad egieerig techology occupatios iclude egieerig techologists, drafters, ad desigers. We had origially grouped egieerig techology ad egieerig ito oe pathway of egieerig-related occupatios, o the presumptio that pathways might exist from egieerig techology i commuity college to egieerig at the uiversity level. But our early research idicated that, despite similarities, the two disciplies fuctio as separate pathways with differet levels of foudatioal skills ad little movemet betwee the pathways. So we studied egieerig techology as a separate pathway despite fairly modest growth ad umbers of people employed. Iformatio techology occupatios iclude computer programmers, software ad hardware egieers, etwork admiistrators, ad various iformatio techology specialists. Descriptio of Pathways Nursig There are four major ursig pathways i the commuity colleges: 1. Programs, typically certificates, that prepare studets to become licesed vocatioal urses (LVN) 2. Programs that prepare studets for registered ursig (RN) ad award a associate degree i ursig (ADN) 3. Programs that prepare LVNs for RN licesure 4. Preparatio for trasfer to bachelor s programs i ursig (BSN) at four-year uiversities; BSN studets hold the same licesure as ADN studets but take additioal coursework i subjects such as public health ad maagemet. Nursig programs geerally admit studets i cohorts that progress through coursework ad cliical traiig o a fulltime basis. Admissio to a ADN program i the commuity colleges requires that studets pass a etrace exam that tests skills i math, readig, Eglish, ad sciece. Studets also have to complete prerequisite coursework prior to admissio to the ADN program. Although prerequisite courses vary by commuity college, college-level Eglish, microbiology, chemistry, huma physiology, ad huma aatomy are commo. There are fewer requiremets for admissio ito LVN programs tha for ADN programs. LVN applicats are ot required to take a admissios exam (although they may have to demostrate competecy i math, Eglish, or other subjects) ad geerally have fewer prerequisites. Although some commuity colleges offer programs that trai LVNs to become RNs, articulatio betwee LVN ad ADN programs remais difficult because the programs have differet prerequisites. The differece i prerequisites occurs both betwee programs offered i differet commuity colleges ad betwee programs i a sigle college or district. Although some cosistecy is achieved through accreditatio requiremets, the lack of a statewide ADN curriculum creates articulatio problems betwee ADN ad BSN programs ad has led to a system that requires program-by-program articulatio. Through our iterviews we leared that articulatio problems are greatest betwee the commuity colleges ad the CSU ad Uiversity of Califoria (UC). Studets who 9 INSTITUTE FOR HIGHER EDUCATION LEADERSHIP & POLICY AT CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, SACRAMENTO

13 eared a ADN degree i the commuity colleges have a easier time trasferrig to BSN programs i private uiversities. Egieerig There is oe domiat pathway i egieerig followed by commuity college studets trasferrig to a four-year uiversity without earig a commuity college certificate or associate degree. Lack of aligmet betwee associate degree requiremets ad trasfer requiremets is partly accoutable for this patter, as the heavy uit requiremet for some majors does ot fit well withi the curret associate degree format. (This should chage uder SB 1440, the ewly passed law that requires developmet of associate degrees for trasfer i specific disciplies.) I additio, there is little market demad for egieers with less tha a bachelor s degree, reflectig licesure requiremets. Cosequetly, while most colleges have egieerig articulatio agreemets with uiversities, may lack formal egieerig programs that cofer associate degrees. Of the twety colleges whose catalogs we reviewed, 11 offer associate degrees i egieerig ad two offer certificate programs. Studets seekig to trasfer i egieerig, with or without the associate degree, take a heavy load of math ad physical sciece courses, but fewer egieerig courses, as most of those courses are take at the uiversity followig trasfer. As egieerig fields become more specialized, evolvig ito differet disciplies, trasfer becomes more problematic. The choices are more difficult for studets to avigate ad the array of specialized course offerigs are more difficult for commuity colleges to offer. Relatively few associate degrees are awarded i Egieerig compared to the umber of colleges offerig the degree, likely because studets fid they are better served by followig idividual articulatio agreemets for trasfer requiremets tha by satisfyig degree requiremets. Most of the associate degree programs we idetified were geeral egieerig programs, suggestig that they may become eve more uder-subscribed as the field becomes more specialized. They were also extremely variable, ragig from 19 to 29 geeral educatio uits ad 9 to 53 major uits. The ew legislatio authorizig associate degrees for trasfer could chage this situatio dramatically. New egieerig trasfer degrees should be desiged to esure that studets take a efficiet route toward meetig lower divisio major requiremets for trasfer to CSU i their egieerig specialty. Determiig the core competecies for such two-year egieerig degrees is a challege facig the egieerig field atioally. 25 Calculus ad physics are the gateway courses that studets must pass i order to proceed to the subsequet set of calculus-based math ad physics courses. These courses set this pathway apart from the egieerig techology pathway. Egieerig Techology There are two major pathways i the commuity colleges for studets studyig egieerig techology: 1. Certificate ad associate degree programs coverig a set of etry-level techical skills, with the associate degree addig geeral educatio coursework to the techical courses that the certificate requires 2. Preparatio for trasfer ito baccalaureate programs i egieerig techology ad related fields - fields less prevalet i the state s public uiversities tha egieerig but oes that are icreasigly viewed as preparig importat parts of the egieerig team. 26 Studets preparig for direct etry ito the workforce may have more opportuities if they ear the associate degree because of the additio of the geeral educatio coursework, but the certificates ad the degrees are both aimed at preparig studets for the workforce ad cover a diverse set of fields such as laser techology, mechaical draftig, ad surveyig. Of the 20 colleges whose catalogs we reviewed, 11 offer certificate programs ad most of them offer more tha oe egieerig techology certificate. Oe college offers 11 differet certificate programs i egieerig techology fields. We foud a huge variety of certificate program legths as well, ragig from 4 to 55 uits of credit. Oly 5 of the 36 certificate programs require a math course ad oe requires Eglish. The associate degree offered at 11 of our 20 sample colleges falls uder the systemwide requiremets for Eglish ad math but beyod that, they exhibit sigificat variatio as well, ragig from a low of 18 to a high of 35 geeral educatio uits required ad from 18 to 50 required major uits. Table 1 (top half) shows more specifically the variatio we foud across oe particular certificate program i three THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED: REALIZING THE POTENTIAL OF CAREER TECHNICAL EDUCATION IN THE CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY COLLEGES FEBRUARY

14 Four Career Pathways Settig the Stage colleges i souther Califoria. Oe college requires far fewer total uits ad, for the two colleges with the same uit requiremet, specific requiremets vary cosiderably. Egieerig techology coursework is rarely trasferable to egieerig because it is ot calculus-based or sufficietly sciece-orieted. Oe program faculty we iterviewed thought, however, that a curriculum could be desiged to provide such a pathway. Trasfer is possible ito other four-year programs such as egieerig techology, maufacturig techology, ad costructio maagemet. The variety of associate degree requiremets ad a usettled defiitio of a lower divisio egieerig techology core amid rapidly chagig fields, make it problematic for studets to use the associate degree as a route to trasfer eligibility. Iformatio Techology I the area of iformatio techology, there are three major pathways i the commuity colleges: 1. Idustry certificatio, where studets pursue coursework to prepare them for exams that lead to certificatio of skills by idustry associatios (e.g., Cisco Certified Networkig Associate, Microsoft Certified Systems Admiistrator) 2. Commuity college certificate ad degree programs coverig a set of etry-level skills, with the coursework for a certificate ofte applicable to a related associate degree 3. Preparatio for trasfer ito baccalaureate programs i computer sciece, computer egieerig, or other IT programs. Studets itedig to trasfer geerally do ot seek a IT-related associate degree alog the way, as the requiremets for those degrees are ot well aliged with the requiremets for trasfer. Those iterested i idustry certificatio may or may ot seek a CCC certificate i the process (some colleges have certificates that cosist of courses studets would take to prepare for certificatio exams). I additio to these pathways, may studets, icludig some who already have related degrees, take IT courses to upgrade specific skills, ad others take courses to lear computer skills eeded as part of o-it certificate ad degree programs. The wide rage of roles played by the CCC i the IT area icreases the complexity of uderstadig studet pathways ad studet success i these programs. Eve for the pathways ivolvig completio of a CCC credetial, there is wide variatio across the colleges i the types of certificates ad degrees offered ad the requiremets to obtai them. Of the 20 colleges whose catalogs we reviewed, IT-related programs were offered at 19. O average, each college offered 7 differet certificates ad 3 differet associate degrees, but oe college offered 28 differet IT certificates ad aother offered 9 differet IT associate degrees. Certificate uit requiremets also varied cosiderably, icludig, for example, a 8-credit certificate i Cisco Networkig Associate ad a 39-credit certificate i Computer Network Egieerig. Fewer tha 10% of the certificate programs require Eglish or math courses. Associate degree program requiremets for uits i the major varied from 16 to 43 with comparable variatios i geeral educatio requiremets. Table 1 (bottom half) illustrates the variatio we foud for oe associate of sciece program i the IT pathway. Amog three souther Califoria colleges, there is cosiderable variatio i geeral educatio requiremets, umber of credits required i the major, core course requiremets, ad the level of math required. The breadth ad variatio of program offerigs, combied with the various pathways, suggests that it may be challegig for studets to uderstad their optios. The umerous short-term certificates offered also raises questios about market value give research demostratig that workforce ad ecoomic beefits may oly be associated with loger-term certificates of at least 30 credits. 27 Some colleges are movig to structure programs as a series of stackable short-term certificates to ecourage completio, but that may prove to be a beefit oly to the extet that completio of the shorter-term certificates actually ecourages studets to cotiue the program. Our iterviews ad review of documets revealed several commo issues cofroted by colleges offerig IT programs icludig the prevalece of math barriers, the challege of professioal developmet i fast-chagig fields, limited adoptio of ew pedagogical approaches that may be more effective i egagig studets, ad employer opiio that such programs do better at providig techical skills tha the busiess ad project maagemet skills employers value INSTITUTE FOR HIGHER EDUCATION LEADERSHIP & POLICY AT CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, SACRAMENTO

15 Table 1 Certificate ad Associate Program Variability Across Colleges Certificate: Draftig/Computer-Aided Desig (CAD) El Camio College Citrus College Sata Barbara City College 31 credits Itro to Mechaical Draftig Wireframe w/surfaces, Solid Modelig & Assemblies Advaced Parametric Solid Modelig & Assemblies Orietatio to CATIA Product Modelig w/catia Aalyses & Simulatios w/catia Adv. CATIA Fuctios Geometrical Dimesioig ad Toleracig 2-Dimesioal Mechaical CADD I & II Techical Mathematics 19 credits Begiig Drawig Digital Media Productio I Computer Aided Desig ad Mechaical Drawig OR Begiig Computer Aided Desig (CAD) Itermediate Computer Aided Draftig OR Itroductio to Egieerig CAD Techical Illustratio Advaced Mechaical Drawig Advaced Computer Aided Desig ad Draftig - Mechaical (CADD) 31 credits Basic Draftig Computer-Assisted Draft ad Desig I ad II 18 credits of draftig electives, up to 16 of which may be Work Experiece i Draftig Associate of Sciece : Computer Sciece Gledale Commuity College Chabot College Sata Barbara City College 37 major credits 30 GE/other required credits Itro to Programmig Cocepts of Programmig Laguages Programmig i C/C++ Java Computer Architecture & Assembly Laguage I & II Data Structures I & II Itro to Algorithms usig Pascal Math required: Itermediate Algebra, Calculus optioal major credits 19 GE/other required credits Itro to Programmig Usig Visual Basic.Net Itro to Programmig i C++ Object-Orieted Programmig i C++ Java Programmig Itro to UNIX Itro to HTML Math required: Statistics or Trigoometry, Calculus optioal major credits GE/other required credits Programmig Fudametals Computer Cocepts C Programmig Java Programmig Itro to UNIX Assembly Laguage Programmig Itro to Data Structures Math required: Discrete Math ad Calculus I & II THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED: REALIZING THE POTENTIAL OF CAREER TECHNICAL EDUCATION IN THE CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY COLLEGES FEBRUARY

16 Four Career Pathways What Ca We Lear from those Who Succeed? As a iitial effort to lear about studets i these four career areas ad their progress alog the educatioal pathway, we studied the patters exhibited by commuity college studets who successfully completed a postsecodary credetial i oe of these areas. There are limits to what ca be cocluded based o studyig successes because there is o way to determie whether the patters observed amog successful studets are ay differet from what we would observe amog usuccessful studets (i.e., o way to coclude that the observed patters were the reasos for the studet s success). Nevertheless, we hoped to gather some iitial iformatio about the kids of course-takig patters studets who succeeded had egaged i that might have helped to accout for their success, iformatio to be used i additioal aalyses ad as the basis for iterviews with subject-area experts. We examied data for all trasfer studets who eared a bachelor s degree from the CSU or a certificate or associate degree from a CCC i oe of the four areas i 2007 or 2008 (see box at right). 29 Figure 6 shows the total umber of studets studied by pathway ad type of credetial eared. The four pathways preset a iterestig variatio i the mix of credetials. Egieerig is almost exclusively a bachelor s degree field. While there were a small umber of associate degrees Data Used to Study Successful Certificate/ Earers The CCC Chacellor s Office maitais studet-level data for each college for each term with iformatio o every course erollmet as of the cesus date, ad certificates ad degrees awarded. The CSU Chacellor s Office maitais studet-level data for each uiversity for each term icludig all degrees awarded by major field. We obtaied two sets of data for the aalysis of certificate/degree earers: 1. Records for all CCC studets who eared associate degrees or certificates i oe of the four pathways i 2007 or All of the course erollmets for these studets, over whatever period of time they atteded a commuity college, were icluded (records dated back to ). All certificates ad degrees eared as of 2008 were icluded, although colleges are required to report oly certificates of 18 credits or more, so shorter-term certificates are ot fully represeted i the data. 2. Records for all CCC trasfer studets who eared a bachelor s degree from CSU i oe of the four career areas i 2007 or The CSU Chacellor s Office provided the relevat studet idetifiers to the CCC Chacellor s Office, which the provided all CCC records for those studets (the same iformatio as described i item 1 above). Figure 6 Certificate/ Earers i the Four Pathways (CSU ad CCC, 2007 ad 2008) Bachelor's degree Associate degree Certificate 16,000 14,000 14,531 12,000 10,000 8,000 6,000 4,000 2,000 2,621 1,169 2,952 0 Nursig Egieerig Egieerig Techology IT 13 INSTITUTE FOR HIGHER EDUCATION LEADERSHIP & POLICY AT CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, SACRAMENTO

17 awarded (imperceptible i the graph), early all completios i the field were bachelor s degrees awarded to studets eterig the CCC directly from high school ad trasferrig to the CSU. The other three fields are a mix of credetials at all levels with the associate degree domiatig the ursig pathway ad egieerig techology beig the most balaced across the three credetial levels. The mix of certificates, associate degrees, ad bachelor s degrees across the four program areas allows us to explore pathway issues from certificates to associate ad from associate, via trasfer, to bachelor s degrees. Demographic Patters of Graduates Table 2 shows demographic iformatio about these certificate ad degree completers, orgaized by the highest credetial eared as of 2008 (studets icluded i the group with a associate degree as the highest credetial could have also eared a certificate at some poit, ad the CSU graduates could have eared a certificate ad/or associate degree durig their erollmet at the CCC). Amog the iterestig demographic fidigs: Geder. There were sigificat geder disparities i these career pathways. A large majority of studets earig certificates ad degrees i ursig were female, while similarly large majorities of graduates i IT, egieerig, ad egieerig techology were male. The geder gap i IT programs icreases with each higher level credetial. Age. Studets earig a certificate as their highest credetial were more likely to be older at the time of iitial erollmet i the CCC tha studets earig a degree. Most bachelor s degree earers etered the CCC shortly after high school graduatio, especially those earig degrees i egieerig, egieerig techology, or IT. Race/ethicity. Black ad Latio studets were geerally uderrepreseted amog completers i these pathways compared to their shares of erollmet i the CCC, while white ad Asia studets were geerally over-represeted amog graduates compared to their shares of erollmet. I geeral, the racial gaps i each field grow with progress alog the educatioal pipelie, with smaller gaps at the certificate level ad larger gaps at the baccalaureate level. Nursig Geder Male Female Table 2 Demographic Characteristics of Completers Highest Credetial Completed Certificate Associate Bachelor's 16% 84% 16% 84% 15% 85% Average Age at CCC Erollmet Race/Ethicity Asia Black Latio White Egieerig Geder Male Female 29% 8% 26% 37% % 6% 21% 44% 86% 14% 30% 7% 18% 44% 84% 16% Average Age at CCC Erollmet Race/Ethicity Asia Black Latio White Egieerig Techology Geder Male Female % 15% 15% 0% 25% 60% 84% 16% 34% 4% 21% 41% 90% 10% Average Age at CCC Erollmet Race/Ethicity Asia Black Latio White Iformatio Techology Geder Male Female 16% 6% 39% 38% 72% 28% 15% 3% 30% 51% 77% 23% 18% 1% 20% 60% 87% 13% Average Age at CCC Erollmet Race/Ethicity Asia Black Latio White 24% 7% 24% 43% 22% 6% 20% 50% 34% 4% 15% 46% THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED: REALIZING THE POTENTIAL OF CAREER TECHNICAL EDUCATION IN THE CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY COLLEGES FEBRUARY

18 Four Career Pathways What Ca We Lear from those Who Succeed? Course-takig Patters of Graduates I examiig the course-takig patters of graduates for sigs of what might be importat milestoes ad idicators of likely success, we foud some iterestig results that spa across the four career areas: Basic skills. Studets completig certificates ad degrees eared very few credits i basic skills courses (i.e., pre-college level courses), a average of oly a credit or two. This tells us that a majority of graduates completed o basic skills courses. Excess credits. O average, graduates had completed sigificat umbers of excess credits, i.e., more credits tha would have bee required for the level of credetial eared. The total umber of CCC credits eared raged from 60 to 80 for studets earig a certificate as the highest credetial, where the umber of credits required would be 18 to 60 (with certificates of less tha 30 credits most commo). Associate degree completers eared a average of 90 to over 100 credits, while 60 credits are geerally required. Those earig a bachelor s degree had eared a average of 80 to 90 CCC credits before trasfer. While more research is eeded o the reasos for so may credits, the patters may suggest a eed to simplify ad/or clarify optios for studets through better advisig, curriculum desig, ad/or course schedulig. Techical coursework. As would be expected, the umber of math ad sciece courses take icreased with the level of credetial completed. Also as expected, give the focus of trasfer studets o geeral educatio ad lower-divisio prerequisites, studets earig bachelor s degrees i these fields took substatially less major coursework i the specific disciplie (i.e., egieerig techology, ursig, IT) tha did those earig certificates or associate degrees. Pathway issues. Successful studets avigated through a complex eviromet i which the pathway was more aliged at the certificate ad associate degree levels: Associate degrees i these fields are ot geerally servig as a step o the pathway to a bachelor s degree. Amog studets who completed a associate degree before trasferrig to CSU, far more eared that degree i iterdiscipliary studies tha i a specific field. The exceptio is ursig, where about half of the associate degrees were i ursig. This is likely because may studets who eared a bachelor s degree were practicig urses who had eared a associate degree at a earlier poit, ad retured to college to get a BSN (a umber of CSUs have specific programs desiged for practicig RNs to get a BSN degree). A certificate i oe of these fields is somewhat likely to serve as a step o the pathway to a associate degree, as about oe-third to oe-half of the associate degree earers had also eared a certificate, most i the same field. This was less the case i ursig, where the trasitio from a ursig assistat certificate to a degree i vocatioal or registered ursig is more difficult. Associate degrees i egieerig techology ad iformatio techology are ofte specifically desiged to layer geeral educatio coursework o top of the techical courses that cout toward a certificate. We imposed o backward time limit for whe a studet earig a associate degree might have eared the related certificate, so some of these studets may have eared the certificate well before they proceeded to the ext credetial level. Questios Raised about CTE Pathways from the Data o Completers Our aalysis of the patters amog certificate ad degree earers i these four career pathways raises a umber of geeral questios about CTE pathways i the CCC. Why have the studets completig certificates ad degrees i CTE areas eared so few basic skills credits? We kow that a substatial majority of CCC studets eter college with skills i Eglish/Laguage Arts ad/or math that place them below college level. 30 There would seem to be several possible explaatios for fidig so few basic skills erollmets amog the completers: 1. A lack of requiremet for math/eglish coursework (e.g., most certificates ivolve oly techical coursework with o Eglish or math course requiremets, possibly allowig certificate-earig studets to avoid basic skills courses) 15 INSTITUTE FOR HIGHER EDUCATION LEADERSHIP & POLICY AT CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, SACRAMENTO

19 2. A preferece amog CTE program faculty for addressig studets basic skills deficiecies i the cotext of the occupatioal curriculum over relyig o the college basic skills offerigs 3. A low rate of completio for studets who eter the CCC with remedial eeds. Certaily the amout of math ad sciece coursework required for degrees i ursig, egieerig, egieerig techology, ad IT could pose a challege for studets who eter the CCC without a good foudatio i math skills. I our site visits ad our cosultatio with the system s Vocatioal Research ad Accoutability Committee, we leared that may CTE faculty do believe that studets stad a better chace of persistig if they avoid regular basic skills sequeces ad lear requisite skills i their CTE coursework. A 2011 research study foud better outcomes for CCC studets who took cotextualized developmetal math compared to those i the basic skills math sequece. 31 Give the importace of soud basic skills for career ad college pursuits ad the very poor completio rates of studets begiig i developmetal math, 32 it is importat to lear more about the degree to which basic skills are required i certificate programs ad the extet to which skill deficiecies are impedig the completio of certificates ad degrees, especially i high-growth fields such as the oes we have studied. Why are so may studets i techical fields earig their associate degrees i iterdiscipliary studies? We kow that associate degree requiremets are ot fully aliged with the requiremets for trasfer, leadig most trasfer studets to trasfer without first earig a associate degree. 33 The trasfer studets who did ear a associate degree before earig their bachelor s degree i oe of our selected fields mostly eared a degree i iterdiscipliary studies rather tha i their field of study. Most advaced occupatioal courses at the CCC are ot trasferable, so studets itedig to trasfer focus o geeral educatio courses at the commuity college, savig the techical coursework for the uiversity. Sice the associate degree is ot servig the trasfer missio well, we might assume that the curret set of associate degrees is desiged for direct etry ito the workforce. Yet we leared from iterviews ad other coversatios that the associate degree i may techical fields does ot have strog market value ad does ot give employers sufficiet iformatio about studets skills ad competecies. This raises the prospect that the curret array of associate degrees may ot be servig the eeds of either trasfer studets or those seekig to go directly to the workforce. Does it serve studets well to have so may differet offerigs of certificates ad associate degrees withi the same geeral field, ad so much variatio withi ad across colleges i subject matter ad credit requiremets for certificates ad degrees i similar fields? The cosiderable curricular variatio we foud across colleges could be a accurate reflectio of the specializatio withi these fields. Alteratively, it could reflect some lag i curriculum plaig by which emergig programs are added faster tha lower priority oes are removed. If greater cosistecy is feasible, it could simplify the choices facig studets ad possibly reduce the excess credits that we documeted amog completers especially at the certificate ad associate degree levels. Additioally, more cosistecy across programs ad colleges could sed clearer sigals to employers about the set of skills ad competecies they could expect from a studet with a give credetial. That could, i tur, icrease the market value of the credetials that the colleges offer but that are apparetly ot highly valued by studets. THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED: REALIZING THE POTENTIAL OF CAREER TECHNICAL EDUCATION IN THE CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY COLLEGES FEBRUARY

20 Four Career Pathways What Ca We Lear from Studets Attemptig these Pathways? Idetifyig Studets i Each Pathway Buildig o what we leared from our iterviews, literature ad catalog reviews, ad aalysis of studets who successfully completed a program of study i oe of the four career pathways, we examied a cohort of firsttime studets who etered the system i the academic year to lear about the patters of studet progress i ad through these pathways (see box below). Table 3 shows the umber of studets i each of the career pathways, as we were able to idetify them with our criteria, ad their demographic compositio. Data ad Methods Used to Idetify New Studets Pursuig the Selected Pathways We obtaied a data set from the CCC Chacellor s Office that icluded all first-time studets who etered the system i the academic year ad tracked them for six years through * The data icluded studet demographic characteristics, all course erollmets, ad degrees ad certificates eared ad trasfers to a uiversity. Because the data do ot cotai iformatio o program itet, we used erollmet behaviors as a proxy to idetify studets pursuig a degree, certificate, or trasfer i oe of the four areas of iterest.** To limit our aalysis to degree/certificate-seekers we selected studets who erolled i more tha six uits of ay type i the first year, a criterio we have applied i other research. Guided by our aalysis of course-takig patters by completers, iterviews with CCC faculty ad admiistrators ad other experts i these fields, ad a review of program requiremets as specified i a sample of college catalogs, we chose a set of erollmet behaviors that would best idetify certificate/degree-seekig studets i each pathway. We used multiple criteria to differetiate studets i the targeted pathways from studets i related pathways (e.g., idetify ursig studets but ot biology majors). * Cocurretly erolled high school studets ad studets erolled oly i o-credit courses were ot icluded. ** See Appedix 4 i the olie appedices at pdfs/cte_web_appedix.pdf for the specific erollmet behaviors used to idetify studets pursuig oe of the four fields of iterest. Table 3 Characteristics of Cohort of First-Time CCC Studets i Selected Career Pathways -Seekers (>6 uits year 1) (N = 255,253) Nursig (N = 10,034) Egieerig (N = 4,350) Egieerig Techology (N = 1,381) IT (N = 8,136) Geder Male 47.0% 33.4% 55.7% 80.5% 69.1% Female 53.0% 66.6% 44.3% 19.5% 30.9% Age Mea Race/Ethicity White 39.2% 37.5% 43.1% 42.5% 39.2% Latio 33.5% 22.4% 27.0% 38.2% 22.2% Asia 17.7% 33.2% 23.7% 16.1% 30.1% Black 8.6% 6.3% 5.3% 2.7% 7.9% 17 INSTITUTE FOR HIGHER EDUCATION LEADERSHIP & POLICY AT CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, SACRAMENTO

21 Milestoe Attaimet How Far Do Studets Get? We used the milestoe ad success idicator framework that we have developed for previous research (see Steps to Success, Divided We Fail) to aalyze studet progress alog the pathways ad to determie whether certai erollmet behaviors were more predictive of studet success. We icluded the geeric milestoes ad success idicators that we have applied to all degree-seekers as well as oes that we developed specifically for studets erolled i the four pathways. Our fidigs come with a caveat due to the proxy method required to determie which studets belog i each pathway (see box below). Cautios Due to Proxy Method of Idetifyig Studets i Pathways To the extet that we have misidetified studets i a pathway, our results would be skewed. For example, some studets who failed to reach a pathway milestoe (e.g., completig four ursig courses) may have faced barriers that would be importat to uderstad; others who failed to complete those courses may ot have bee seekig a ursig credetial. While we used course-takig behaviors as best we could to idetify studets i each pathway, the fidigs caot be iterpreted with the same level of cofidece as our fidigs for the etire degree-seekig cohort, where it was ot ecessary to determie studets academic program goals. The proxy method of usig erollmet behaviors to idetify studets i pathways also likely overstates completio. We caot recogize studets as belogig to a pathway util they have achieved a fair amout of success, i.e., erolled i the courses that we set as criteria for pathway status. We miss those studets who iteded to pursue the pathways but dropped out before erollig i those courses. Our aalysis is ecessarily limited to those studets who are further alog ad, therefore, more likely to be successful. I additio, the criteria applied to each pathway are differet ad therefore completio fidigs across the pathways are ot meaigfully compared. For example, completios could look better i ursig tha i IT because more studets who iteded to complete a ursig program dropped out before meetig the criteria for us to idetify them as a ursig studet tha was the case for IT. Figures 7 through 10 show the umber of studets who reached the itermediate milestoes for each of the four pathways, as well as those who completed a credetial or trasfer. 34 The aalysis shows that across all fields may studets are lost before completig 30 college-level credits ad may more are lost betwee completig 30 or more college-level credits ad earig a certificate or degree or trasferrig. Math seems to be a more serious barrier for egieerig ad IT tha for ursig or egieerig techology, perhaps because of the higher levels of math required i egieerig ad because may IT studets are returig adults who may have lost some of their math skills. Specialists i each of these fields may fid some specific patters of ote i the attaimet of itermediate milestoes. Here we poit to just a few field-specific fidigs that suggest how such a aalysis could help target efforts at key stall poits particularly with better data that allowed earlier ad more accurate idetificatio of studets i the pathway. Nursig. Aatomy/physiology seems to be a bigger barrier tha either math or chemistry, likely accoutig sigificatly for low rates of completig all ursig prerequisites. 35 It is likely that our data reflect studet failure to pass aatomy/physiology rather tha their iability to eroll i the courses. Because we used erollmet i prerequisite courses to idetify studets seekig a ursig degree, most studets that stopped pursuig a ursig program because they could ot eroll i a prerequisite class were probably excluded from our aalysis. Egieerig. Math seems to be a bigger barrier tha physical sciece. Egieerig techology. No sigle barrier stads out, particularly as the drop off to the secod year ad beyod could be partially explaied by studets completig short-term certificates, which are a bigger portio of the completios i this pathway tha i the others. Iformatio techology. Math appears to be a sigificat barrier ad few studets persist to the poit of completig four IT courses. THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED: REALIZING THE POTENTIAL OF CAREER TECHNICAL EDUCATION IN THE CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY COLLEGES FEBRUARY

22 Four Career Pathways What Ca We Lear from Studets Attemptig these Pathways? Figure 7 Milestoe Attaimet amog Studets i the Nursig Pathway Number i Pathway 30+ College-level Credits Applicable Math Course Aatomy/ Physiology Course Chemistry Course Nursig Prerequisite Courses Four Nursig/ Health Courses Trasfer Curriculum Trasfer w/o Assc. Trasfer w/ Assc. Certificate Associate Itermediate Milestoes Completio Award i Iterdiscipliary Studies Award i Other Field Award i Field Note: Studets ca be couted i more tha oe category of completio, e.g., they may ear a certificate ad a associate degree. Figure 8 Milestoe Attaimet amog Studets i the Egieerig Pathway Number i Pathway 30+ College-level Credits Two trasferable Physical Sciece Courses Two Trasferable Math Courses Trasfer Curriculum Trasfer w/o Assc. Trasfer w/ Assc. Certificate Associate Itermediate Milestoes Completio Award i Iterdiscipliary Studies Award i Other Field Award i Field Note: Studets ca be couted i more tha oe category of completio, e.g., they may ear a certificate ad a associate degree. 19 INSTITUTE FOR HIGHER EDUCATION LEADERSHIP & POLICY AT CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, SACRAMENTO

23 Figure 9 Milestoe Attaimet amog Studets i the Egieerig Techology Pathway Number i Pathway 30+ College-level Credits Applicable Math Course Applicable Physical Sciece Course Four Eg Tech Courses Trasfer Curriculum Trasfer w/o Assc. Trasfer w/ Assc. Certificate Associate Itermediate Milestoes Completio Award i Iterdiscipliary Studies Award i Other Field Award i Field Note: Studets ca be couted i more tha oe category of completio, e.g., they may ear a certificate ad a associate degree. Figure 10 Milestoe Attaimet amog Studets i the IT Pathway Number i Pathway 30+ College-level Credits Two Applicable Math Courses Four IT Courses Trasfer Curriculum Trasfer w/o Assc. Trasfer w/ Assc. Certificate Associate Itermediate Milestoes Completio Award i Iterdiscipliary Studies Award i Other Field Award i Field Note: Studets ca be couted i more tha oe category of completio, e.g., they may ear a certificate ad a associate degree. THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED: REALIZING THE POTENTIAL OF CAREER TECHNICAL EDUCATION IN THE CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY COLLEGES FEBRUARY

24 Four Career Pathways What Ca We Lear from Studets Attemptig these Pathways? Observatios about Completios ad Pathway Structure The fidigs i Figures 7-10 show a geerally low level of associate ad certificate awards, particularly certificates, with the exceptio of the egieerig techology pathway where the completios are more evely balaced across trasfer, certificate, ad associate degree. The last three bars i each figure are iteded to help us uderstad the extet to which there may be effective pathways from certificates to associate degrees to trasfer i each field. Those bars show the aligmet of degrees eared to the field of study. Most certificates ad degrees are outside the field of study. I all four pathways (Figures 7-10), the bottom slice of the associate degree ad certificate bars idicatig those awards i the field of study is the smallest. We assume that this partly reflects some misidetificatio of studets i the pathway. Beyod that, we suspect that some of the other fields are closely related. For example, aeroautical ad aviatio techology, automotive techology, ad electro-mechaical techology are ot icluded i the egieerig techology field (as we defied it based o Classificatio of Istructioal Program [CIP] codes ad the correspodig Taxoomy of Programs [TOP] codes used by the CCC 36 ) but those fields seem closely eough related to suggest that more of the awards are reflective of a studet s field of study tha the graph suggests. It could also be that studets struggle with the huge variety of certificate ad degree programs offered (especially certificate) ad the limited advisig resources available at the colleges, ad ed up with certificates that do t best reflect their career itetios. Our fidig that most associate degrees are outside the field (mostly i iterdiscipliary studies top bar i the figures) suggests that those degrees are ot servig well those studets who wat to use their degree to eter the workforce i a techical field. Aother possibility is that colleges do ot have the resources to offer courses required for all of the programs i their catalogs. Studets may ed up earig awards i other programs or iterdiscipliary studies because they are uable to fid the courses eeded to complete their iteded program of study. Most associate degree earers do ot ear certificates. With the exceptio of egieerig techology, may more studets ear associate degrees tha certificates durig the six year period meaig that the certificate does ot fuctio as a steppig stoe for the majority of degree earers i the fields we studied, although some studets who eared oly a certificate withi the six years could go o to ear a associate degree at a later poit. However, the proportios of certificate ad degree earers withi the field is much closer, suggestig that whe the associate degree is well aliged with the certificate ivolvig mostly the additio of geeral educatio the certificate does fuctio as a step toward a degree. Few trasfer studets ear associate degrees; most degrees are outside the field of study. The majority of trasfer studets do ot ear a associate degree prior to trasfer ad most of those who do, ear it outside the field of study. This is cosistet with what we heard from those we iterviewed ad other research fidigs about the poor articulatio betwee commuity college degree programs i career fields ad the trasfer requiremets ito four-year programs. 37 I particular, iterviewees metioed that studets watig a bachelor s degree i egieerig are better served focusig o completig courses i math ad sciece tha by completig a associate degree i egieerig. The fidig that few trasfer studets ear associate degrees i the field validates the reform efforts that led to the passage of SB1440, sice the curret set of associate degrees is clearly ot helpig studets achieve trasfer eligibility i these programs. May studets get close to trasferrig but do t trasfer. I our report Divided We Fail we showed that fewer tha half of all trasfers complete a trasfer curriculum prior to trasfer, reflectig that may studets trasfer to private ad out-of-state uiversities where there are fewer admissios requiremets for trasfer studets. (We defie completig a trasfer curriculum as completig 60 trasferable uits icludig Eglish ad math). Here we see a very differet patter, with more studets completig trasfer requiremets tha actually trasferrig, across all four pathways. This suggests that may studets persist 21 INSTITUTE FOR HIGHER EDUCATION LEADERSHIP & POLICY AT CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, SACRAMENTO

25 log eough to be eligible to trasfer but do t have the precise course mix, a high eough grade poit average to be accepted ito high demad fields like egieerig ad computer sciece, or are uable to gai access to their program of study at their chose college. Statewide efforts to improve trasfer pathways, per SB1440, ad to preserve trasfer slots at public uiversities could have a major impact o icreasig trasfer umbers i these fields. Success Idicators Idetifyig Patters that Help Studets Succeed A importat part of our milestoe ad success idicator framework ivolves discoverig what erollmet patters are most predictive of success. Such iformatio ca help colleges direct efforts toward ecouragig more studets to follow successful patters. Table 4 summarizes the success idicators that were most strogly associated with completig a credetial or trasferrig to a four-year uiversity. Studets who met the success idicators show had at least oe-third greater odds of completig tha those who did t. Most of the idicators that we foud to be importat i our previous research o commuity college studets i geeral were also importat for studets i each of the pathways. 38 This suggests that colleges should help studets i CTE programs build early mometum towards completio ad direct them immediately ito ay required Eglish ad math courses. Also show are importat success idicators that were specific to ursig, iformatio techology, or egieerig. The egieerig techology-specific idicators that we tried were too weakly associated with completio for iclusio. The fieldspecific success idicators poit to the importace of havig studets egage i substative coursework i the field early o. Cosistet with what we heard i our iterviews, we foud that ursig studets who complete their sciece prerequisites whe they first attempt them are more likely to complete. This suggests it is importat to esure that studets are well prepared for this coursework so that they do ot become discouraged by failig to complete it. Table 4 Key Success Idicators Success Idicators for All Pathways Success Idicators for Some Pathways Field-Specific Idicators Complete college-level math i 2 years Complete a college success course (egieerig techology) Complete a ursig course withi 4 years (ursig) Complete college-level Eglish i 2 years Ear 20+ credits i first year Complete summer credits Complete 80% of credits i first year Register o time for 80% of courses (ursig, iformatio techology, egieerig) Eroll cotiuously (ursig, egieerig, egieerig techology) Pass sciece prerequisites i first term attempted (ursig) Complete a physical sciece course i 2 years (egieerig) Complete a IT course i 2 years (IT) Atted full time i first term THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED: REALIZING THE POTENTIAL OF CAREER TECHNICAL EDUCATION IN THE CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY COLLEGES FEBRUARY

26 Fidigs ad Recommedatios: Realizig the Potetial The huge variety of CTE programs (especially certificate programs) ad college circumstaces require cautio i geeralizig too broadly from the four pathways we examied. For example, math requiremets for the programs we studied are more rigorous ad opportuities to trasfer are greater tha for may CTE programs. Recogizig that our fidigs ad recommedatios will ot apply to all programs i all colleges, we coclude this exploratory study of CTE ad studet success by summarizig our mai fidigs ad offerig recommedatios. The uifyig theme emergig from our research is that there appears to be sigificat opportuity to better traslate the credits that studets ear ito credetials that will help studets attai their career goals. Fidigs 1. Data Costraits Limit Kowledge ad College Actios The lack of college ad system data o studet erollmet by program is a severe impedimet to gaiig a firm uderstadig of where studets ecouter barriers o the road to successful completio of degrees ad certificates i CTE programs. The method we have used i the past to idetify where studets are gettig stalled o the road to completio caot easily be applied to idividual CTE programs. With our work aroud method we were able to documet some iterestig patters, raise some key issues, ad draw some coclusios. But applyig these aalytical tools to well-defied cohorts of occupatioal program erollees would be exceedigly more istructive. Program faculty ad staff would be able to aalyze i more detail, ad with greater accuracy, where studet progress was beig stalled ad would be more likely to develop appropriate resposes. Our aalysis cofirmed that the same behaviors we have foud to be successful for all degree-seekers (e.g., erollig fulltime, passig gateway courses early) appear successful i these career pathways as well. We idetified a few field-specific erollmet behaviors that appear to promote completio but havig data to moitor studets erolled i specific programs would make this aalysis far more powerful i idetifyig successful erollmet patters for each field. 2. Good Studet Progress is ot Traslatig ito Credetials Despite data limitatios, we were able to documet sigificat studet progress but relatively few certificates ad degrees to show for it: Low icidece of certificates ad degrees Few certificates ad degrees are awarded relative to the umber of vocatioal course erollmets (early oe-third of all courses) ad the eeds of the Califoria ecoomy. We leared that associate degrees ad certificates are ot emphasized i some programs because such credetials are ot believed to be valued by employers. We woder if this is a chicke or egg issue. If occupatioal certificates ad degrees set clear sigals to employers about the skills ad competecies of the studets who ear them, might employers value the credetials more tha they do today? The atioal evidece of ecoomic retur to credetials of 30 or more uits suggests that such credetials would be of value i Califoria. Sigificat threshold credit accumulatio Sigificat umbers of studets i each pathway accrue 30 or more college-level credits ad pass degree-applicable math - far more tha the relatively few who ear certificates or degrees, suggestig urealized market value. It would be importat to kow why studets with 30 or more credits do ot ear certificates. Possible explaatios iclude: credits do t add up to meet ay program requiremets, studets are uaware that they have completed a program, ad studets do t believe the credetial will beefit them. High trasfer potetial More studets i these career pathways complete a trasfer curriculum tha actually trasfer - a opposite patter from that exhibited by degree-seekers i geeral where most studets trasfer (other tha to UC ad CSU) without completig 60 trasferable credits. This suggests that better structured CTE trasfer pathways would be oe chage that could yield cosiderably higher trasfer success. 3. Pathway Structures do ot Promote Attaimet of Techical Credetials Several of our research fidigs pait a picture of CTE pathways that may ot be structured to the best advatage 23 INSTITUTE FOR HIGHER EDUCATION LEADERSHIP & POLICY AT CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, SACRAMENTO

27 of studets, because curret structures reflect the lack of priority o career-orieted credetials. Uclear basic skills eeds ad optios The core basic skills sequece does ot appear to be servig CTE programs. Certificate/degree-earers i these four fields completed, o average, less tha oe course i basic skills. Several CTE program iterviewees said they rarely refer studets to basic skills courses for fear that the basic skills sequece is a dead ed for their studets. Yet despite idividual reform efforts i math ad laguage arts basic skills istructio across the CCC, there is o systematic alterative for addressig skills deficiecies i CTE programs. Few certificate programs eve require Eglish or math, which may ot be i accord with the competecies employers seek. Loose aligmet of credetials with techical fields of study Most certificates ad degrees that were eared by the studets we tracked were ot awarded i the field of study as best we could defie it. The great majority of associate degrees were awarded i iterdiscipliary studies rather tha i a techical field. Certificates were awarded i a wide variety of fields, some likely related to the pathway but reflectig a huge array of certificate programs across the colleges. Substatial program variatio ad proliferatio We documeted, ad cited above, a huge variety of degree ad certificate programs ad a equally huge variatio across programs i uit ad programmatic requiremets. Uit requiremets, geeral educatio compoets, ad basic skills expectatios vary widely as well. With studets eedig (ad askig for) fewer choices ad more structure, ad with employers ad studets likely beefitig from clearer sigals from credetials, we questio whether the copious array of offerigs best promotes studet success. Pathways ot desiged aroud sequetial credetials Amog the cohort we studied, few of those who trasferred eared associate degrees ad few of those who eared associate degrees eared certificates. Eve fewer eared lower ad higher credetials i the same field. Whether lower-uit credetials help studets build mometum toward higher-uit credetials likely varies by field. Nevertheless, it seems importat to uderstad whether more tightly structured pathways through levels of credetialig could promote studet success. Recommedatios 1. Require studets to declare a program of study ad colleges to esure access to programs All eterig studets who idicate a goal of certificate, associate degree, trasfer, or job skills should be required to declare their desired program of study, icludig specific occupatioal program. This iformatio should become part of the basic maagemet iformatio system (MIS), updated at least aually, to eable colleges to pla their course offerigs aroud the programs i which studets eroll. Studets ucertai of their program should iitially be udeclared ad assisted to determie a programmatic itet by a certai poit. Havig studets formally select, ad colleges provide access to, programs of study would have tremedous advatages for studet success. Studets would have a clear roadmap toward completio ad have far fewer chaces to make poor coursetakig decisios. 39 Colleges could better costruct a class schedule aroud programs (ot courses) to esure access to the courses studets eed. Excess uits would be reduced, savig studets time ad moey ad providig capacity for additioal studets. Erollig studets formally i programs would give colleges a powerful data tool for improvig studet success. Our aalysis, costraied though it is, has demostrated the potetial of the milestoe ad success idicator framework to help colleges lear how more studets could successfully complete career programs. But more coclusive ad helpful fidigs about studet progress ad success caot be produced without accoutig for erollmet by program. 2. Cosider fewer ad more cosistet program offerigs The Chacellor s Office should iitiate a effort to review certificates ad associate degree programs to determie whether studet eeds would be better met with fewer programs ad greater cosistecy across colleges i program structure. THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED: REALIZING THE POTENTIAL OF CAREER TECHNICAL EDUCATION IN THE CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY COLLEGES FEBRUARY

28 Fidigs ad Recommedatios: Realizig the Potetial Had-i-had with requirig studets to declare programs of study should be a commitmet by colleges to esure that the programs they offer are accessible to studets ad resposive to regioal eeds. The sheer umber of ad variatio across programs lead us to questio how studets ca avigate all of the choices ad whether all programs o the books are still vital. The excess uits we documeted amog completers suggests that a codesed set of choices that reflects more cosistecy across colleges might be more efficiet for studets ad taxpayers. A ew report o certificate programs i the atio s commuity colleges documets the same complexity ad variability that we foud i Califoria. It expresses cocer about the seemigly haphazard ature of the way that states approach certificate productio ad speculates that the multiplicity ad variability of offerigs might have more to do with faculty iterests ad the iertia of resourceallocatio practices tha with labor market eeds. Amog that report s recommedatios is that states collect ad aalyze data o labor market returs to certificates to esure that the credetials offered have relevace to highdemad occupatios ad that state policymakers work with colleges to develop more cosistet certificate programs that ecourage variatios across colleges oly as might be reasoably resposive to employers i the regio. 40 Aother ew research report cocludes that a lack of program structure ca be a sigificat deterret to commuity college studet success. 41 The ew Course Idetificatio Number System (C-ID) could aid efforts to achieve more cosistecy across CTE offerigs. While some might argue that strivig for cosistecy across program types ad requiremets would be cotrary to the regioal dimesio of the CTE missio, there are examples of other large states with great regioal variatio that have more statewide cosistecy i their CTE programs. Commuity colleges i Florida, for example, must adhere to a state-defied set of cotet stadards for each CTE program. 42 Each college ca choose which programs to offer based o local eeds ad ca decide how to orgaize its courses ad curriculum to impart the stadards to studets. 3. Focus o basic skills for CTE Curret efforts to improve basic skills istructio should iclude a explicit focus o how studets i CTE programs ca best attai the proficiecy levels i Eglish laguage arts ad math that their programs require. This research raises a umber of cocers about basic skills for CTE programs that warrat study. Our fidig that CTE program completers i the four fields took virtually o basic skills courses raises the possibility that studets are ot able to overcome basic skills deficiecies to complete certificates or degrees i these vital fields. Some studets are acquirig requisite basic skills i cotextualized CTE curricula but such practices are ot widespread. 43 Our fidig that few certificate programs require Eglish or math raises the cocer that the programs are ot producig graduates with the skills eeded to succeed i the workplace. Give the importace of icreasig studet success i these, ad other, key techical fields, it is importat that as the system cotiues its priority work o basic skills, it explicitly address basic skills for the CTE missio - both curricular requiremets ad meas to help studets meet them - be it through cotextualized istructio or basic skills courses. 4. Reexamie associate degree As work begis to develop a ew set of associate degrees for trasfer, per SB 1440, parallel efforts should examie how existig associate degrees might better serve studets who are ot itedig to trasfer. Our aalysis cofirms the eed for the ew associate degrees for trasfer authorized by SB1440. It is difficult for oe subject area associate degree to adequately prepare studets to trasfer ito upper divisio coursework ad prepare them with the subject matter expertise to move directly to the workforce. While a trasfer degree eed oly prepare studets with the itroductory foudatio to eter a bachelor s program at a par with other juiors, a applied associate degree must give studets more substative kowledge of the field as appropriate to etry-level job expectatios. The associate degrees awarded by our colleges may ot be meetig either of these eeds well. SB 1440 offers a great opportuity to desig degrees that will help studets meet all lower divisio requiremets ad trasfer as juiors ito their major fields. But our aalysis has coviced us that the curret associate degree is also i eed of review ow that it will have a more sigular purpose of preparig studets for employmet. Most degrees eared by studets i the four career pathways were i iterdiscipliary studies. A well-desiged specialized degree 25 INSTITUTE FOR HIGHER EDUCATION LEADERSHIP & POLICY AT CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, SACRAMENTO

29 that gives studets a clear roadmap of course-takig ad gives employers a clear sese of the competecies of graduates might better meet studets short-term eeds. Cosideratio should also be give to providig future trasfer opportuities where there is a couterpart program i the CSU, perhaps via the upside dow model whereby studets complete most techical coursework at the commuity college ad complete GE at the uiversity Coduct additioal research The data we reviewed raised some importat questios that we believe the Chacellor s Office would be able to aswer with additioal research: Why do studets amass so may excess uits alog the way to earig certificates ad associate degrees? What levels of math ad Eglish proficiecy do idividual certificate programs require? Are these levels appropriate i view of employer expectatios? How are basic skills deficiecies beig addressed for studets i CTE programs? Are there sufficiet opportuities for icomig studets especially those comig directly from high school to receive academic ad career advisig to help them uderstad available CTE program optios? How may studets satisfy certificate requiremets but fail to officially ear oe? Why? Future Directios We bega this report by cotrastig the importace of CTE with the positio it curretly occupies i the CCC. We hope that this study ca help CTE gai a more itegral positio withi the system, i terms of its priority, its fudig, ad the degree to which silos ca be peetrated across missio areas. As we build o these fidigs for our broader CTE research ageda, we will surely ecouter may complexities ad trade-offs. For example, how are employer eeds best balaced with studet eeds i determiig the amout of program differetiatio ad specializatio withi a field? Would there be a uacceptable cost i attritio of settig basic skill proficiecy requiremets for certificates? Would the additio of a applied associate degree help delieate pathways for studets ad employers? Would a applied baccalaureate offered by the Califoria State Uiversity improve trasfer outcomes for studets i career programs or would it dimiish the value of the baccalaureate? What is the best way, give scarce couselig resources, to help studets declare a programmatic field of study i a timely maer? If some CTE programs are strictly termial ad others are highly trasferable, should that differece be made more explicit for studets ad for the policies that pertai to CTE? Oe potetial trade-off strikes us as especially importat to cosider as we explore prospects for achievig better aliged career pathways. If we build cohesive pathways that lead from the certificate level to associate to trasfer ad a baccalaureate degree, there may be a cost of reduced success at the sub-baccalaureate level. For example, the level of math ad sciece coursework required for vocatioal ursig is lower tha that required for registered ursig, ad the math requiremets for certificates ad associate degree programs i egieerig techology are lower tha those for trasfer ito baccalaureate programs i egieerig or egieerig techology. Icreasig the rigor of requiremets for the lower credetials would help studets keep bachelor s degree optios ope but could discourage some studets from pursuig what would otherwise be viable sub-baccalaureate career optios, or could reduce their rates of success i those programs. At the same time, studets who complete requiremets for oe level of credetial ad fid that they wat to cotiue their educatio could get discouraged if too few of their completed credits at oe level cout toward the ext. We will explore these ad may other questios i the comig moths ad years as part of our broader ageda to uderstad how state ad system policies affect the operatio of the CTE missio ad the success of studets pursuig occupatioal programs. The goal of this research ageda is to help Califoria adopt policies ad ivest resources to best promote the success of studets i pursuig their chose careers. THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED: REALIZING THE POTENTIAL OF CAREER TECHNICAL EDUCATION IN THE CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY COLLEGES FEBRUARY

30 Notes 1 Lay, S.M. (2010). A report of the Commissio o the Future of the Commuity College League of Califoria. Sacrameto, CA: Commuity College League of Califoria. 2 Jacobse, L. & Mokher, C. (2009). Pathways to boostig the earigs of low-icome studets by icreasig their educatioal attaimet. Washigto, DC: Hudso Istitute Ceter for Employmet Policy ad CNA Aalysis ad Solutios; Bailey, T., Kiezl, G, & Marcotte, D. (2004). The retur to a sub-baccalaureate educatio: The effects of schoolig, credetials ad program of study o ecoomic outcomes. Washigto, DC: U.S. Departmet of Educatio. 3 Hagedor, L.S. & DuBray, D. (2010). Math ad sciece success ad osuccess: Joureys withi the commuity college. Joural of Wome ad Miorities i Sciece ad Egieerig, 16(1), Johso, H. & Segupta, R. (2009). Closig the gap: Meetig Califoria s eed for college graduates. Sa Fracisco: Public Policy Istitute of Califoria. 5 Offestei, J. & Shulock, N. (2009). Techical difficulties: Meetig Califoria s workforce eeds i sciece, techology, egieerig, ad math (STEM) fields. Sacrameto, CA: Istitute for Higher Educatio Leadership & Policy; PolicyLik (2010). Pathways out of poverty for vulerable Califorias: Policies that prepare the workforce for middle-skill ifrastructure jobs. Oaklad, CA: Author; The Workforce Alliace (2009). Califoria s forgotte middle-skill jobs: Meetig the demads of a 21st cetury ecoomy. Washigto, DC: Author; Califoria Commuity College Associatio for Occupatioal Educatio (2010). Proposed regioal workforce ad ecoomic developmet strategy. Retrieved from Workforce_Ecoomic_Developmet_Strategy_Overlay.html. 6 Moore, C. & Shulock, N. (2010). Divided we fail: Improvig completio ad closig racial gaps i Califoria s commuity colleges. Sacrameto, CA: Istitute for Higher Educatio Leadership & Policy. 7 Ster, D. & Stears, R. (2008). Evidece ad challeges: Will multiple pathways improve studet outcomes? I Oakes, J. & Sauder, M. (eds.), Beyod trackig: Multiple pathways to college, career, ad civic participatio. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Educatio Press. 8 Bosworth, B. (2010). Certificates cout: A aalysis of sub-baccalaureate certificates. Washigto, DC: Complete College America (p. 23). 9 Jacobse & Mokher, 2009 (p. i). 10 Bosworth, 2010; Furchtgott-Roth, D., Jacobse, L., & Mokher, C. (2009). Stregtheig commuity colleges ifluece o ecoomic mobility. Washigto, DC: The Pew Charitable Trusts; Bailey, et al., Grubb, W.N. & Lazerso, M. (2004). Commuity colleges eed to build o their stregths. The Chroicle of Higher Educatio, 51(10). 12 Jekis, D., Zeideberg, M., & Kiezl, G.S. (2009). Educatioal outcomes of I-BEST, Washigto State Commuity ad Techical College System s Itegrated Basic Educatio ad Skills Traiig program: Fidigs from a multivariate aalysis (CCRC Workig Paper No. 16). New York: Commuity College Research Ceter, Teachers College, Columbia Uiversity; Scriveer, S., Bloom, D., LeBlac, A., Paxso, C., Rouse, C.E., & Sommo, C. (2008). A good start: Two-year effects of a learig commuity program at Kigsborough Commuity College. New York: MDRC. 13 Farr, B., Bradby, D., Hartry, A., Sipes, L., Hall, L., & Tasoff, S. (2009). Evaluatio of the demostratio sites i the CoectEd etwork. Berkeley, CA: MPR Associates, Ic. 14 Jekis, D. (2008). A short guide to tippig poit aalyses of commuity college studet labor market outcomes. New York: Commuity College Research Ceter; Bosworth, SB 1440 (Padilla), Chapter 428, Statutes of Bosworth, A example is the Goveror s Iitiative o Ecoomic Developmet ad Career Techical Educatio, SB 70 (Scott), Chapter 352, Statutes of Course classificatio data retrieved from the Chacellor s Office Data Mart at MIS/DataMartadReports/tabid/282/Default.aspx. The RP Group s CTE Trasfer project is studyig ways to improve CTE trasfer pathways. Iformatio o the project ca be foud at CTETrasfer.html. 19 We idetified career fields usig the postsecodary taxoomy published by the Natioal Ceter for Educatio Statistics (NCES). The NCES classifies programs as either career fields or liberal arts fields. The taxoomy ca be foud at 20 Califoria Postsecodary Educatio Commissio o-lie data, s/ Completios Disciplie/Istructioal Program for 2008, accessed December 10, 2010 at 21 For some of the reasos behid the ew trasfer legislatio, SB 1440, see Moore, C., Shulock, N. & Jese, C. (2009). Craftig a studet-cetered trasfer process i Califoria: Lessos from other states. Sacrameto, CA: Istitute for Higher Educatio Leadership & Policy. 22 Moore, C., Shulock, N., & Offestei, J. (2009). Steps to success: Aalyzig milestoe achievemet to improve commuity college studet outcomes. Sacrameto, CA: Istitute for Higher Educatio Leadership & Policy. 23 See Appedix 1 i the olie appedices at ihelp/pdfs/cte_web_appedix.pdf for a summary of the employmet projectio data for the four fields. 24 EDD produces occupatioal projectios usig Stadard Occupatioal Codes (SOC). I order to idetify educatioal programs related to each set of SOC codes, we used crosswalk files obtaied from the Natioal Crosswalk Service Ceter to match the SOC codes up to the Classificatio of Istructioal Programs (CIP) codes used by CSU to classify their degree programs. To match CIP codes to the Taxoomy of Program (TOP) codes used by CCC, we used the Crosswalk Table 6th Editio Taxoomy of Programs to 2000 Classificatio of Istructioal Programs obtaied from the Chacellor s Office website. 25 Mattis, M.C. & Sisli, J. (Eds.) (2005). Ehacig the commuity college pathway to egieerig careers, Washigto, DC: The Natioal Academies Press. 26 Califoria Egieerig Liaiso Coucil (1995). Egieerig team. Retrieved from 27 INSTITUTE FOR HIGHER EDUCATION LEADERSHIP & POLICY AT CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, SACRAMENTO

31 27 Bosworth, 2010; Leibach, T. & Jekis, D. (2008). Usig logitudial data to icrease commuity college studet success: A guide to measurig milestoe ad mometum poit attaimet. New York: Commuity College Research Ceter, Teachers College, Columbia Uiversity. 28 Associatio for Computig Machiery (2009). Future of computig educatio summit. New York: Author; Bulle, C.V., Abraham, T., Gallagher, K., Simo, J.C., & Zwieg, P. (2009). IT workforce treds: Implicatios for curriculum ad hirig. Commuicatios of the Associatio for Iformatio Systems, 24(Jauary), See Appedices 2 ad 3 i the olie appedices at edu/ihelp/pdfs/cte_web_appedix.pdf for a list of TOP ad CIP codes used to idetify degree ad certificate earers i these fields. 30 Legislative Aalyst s Office (2010). Are eterig freshme prepared for college-level work? Sacrameto, CA: Author. 31 Wiseley, W.C. (2011). Effective basic skills istructio: The case for cotextualized developmetal math. PACE Policy Brief. Berkeley, CA: Policy Aalysis for Califoria Educatio. 32 Wiseley, Moore & Shulock, See Appedix 5 i the olie appedices at pdfs/cte_web_appedix.pdf for a list of TOP codes used to idetify degrees ad certificates eared i these fields. 36 To match CIP codes to TOP codes, we used the Crosswalk Table: 6th Editio Taxoomy of Programs to 2000 Classificatio of Istructioal Programs. 37 Schiorrig, E., Karadjeff, K., & Cooper, D. (2009). Phase I research summary: CTE trasfer research project. Berkley, CA. The RP Group Ceter for Studet Success. 38 Moore et al., Scott-Clayto, J. (2011). The shapeless river: Does a lack of structure ihibit studets progress at commuity colleges? (CCRC Workig Paper No. 25). New York: Commuity College Research Ceter, Teachers College, Columbia Uiversity. 40 Bosworth, 2010, pp.iii-iv ad Scott-Clayto, Moore, C. (2010). Strategies for improvig higher educatio i Califoria: Some lessos from Florida for Califoria s higher educatio policies. Los Ageles, CA: Campaig for College Opportuity. 43 Wiseley, Towsed, B., Bragg, D., & Ruud, C. (2008). The adult learer ad the applied baccalaureate: Natioal ad state-by-state ivetory. Champaig, IL: Office of Commuity College Research ad Leadership, Uiversity of Illiois at Urbaa-Champaig. 35 AB 1559, Berryhill, siged by the goveror i 2007 requires commuity college registered ursig programs that use a multi-criteria screeig process to admit applicats o the basis of a diagostic assessmet tool, academic performace, ad other criteria. The use of these tools should icrease the level of academic preparatio amog ursig studets ad the rate at which they complete their courses. THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED: REALIZING THE POTENTIAL OF CAREER TECHNICAL EDUCATION IN THE CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY COLLEGES FEBRUARY

32 istitute for higher educatio leadership & policy The project is supported by a grat from The James Irvie Foudatio The Istitute for Higher Educatio Leadership & Policy seeks to ehace leadership ad policy for higher educatio i Califoria ad the atio by producig research ad services for policymakers, practitioers, ad educators. The Istitute thaks the William ad Flora Hewlett Foudatio for its cotiued support. Istitute for Higher Educatio Leadership & Policy 6000 J Street, Tahoe Hall 3063 Sacrameto, CA T (916) F (916)