WORKFORCE INVESTMENTS:

istitute for higher educatio leadership & policy WORKFORCE INVESTMENTS: State Strategies to Preserve Higher-Cost Career Educatio Programs i Commuity ad Techical Colleges NANCY SHULOCK JODI LEWIS CONNIE TAN Istitute for Higher Educatio Leadership & Policy 6000 J Street, Tahoe Hall 3063 Sacrameto, CA 95819-6081 T (916) 278-3888 F (916) 278-3907 www.csus.edu/ihelp

Executive Summary The Challege of Fiacig High-Cost Career ad Techical Educatio Programs I today s highly-skilled ecoomy, rewardig career pathways are available to those who acquire techical skills by erollig i certificate ad associate degree programs i a commuity or techical college. Such programs are ofte more costly to offer tha liberal arts ad scieces programs that prepare studets to trasfer to four-year istitutios to pursue bachelor s degrees, due to the eed for smaller class sizes ad specialized equipmet ad facilities. May of the higher-cost career ad techical educatio (CTE) programs are i fields ad idustry sectors that are importat to ecoomic growth i most states ad regios, such as ursig, allied health, various egieerig techologies, ad alterative eergy. Cosequetly, it ca be challegig for colleges, ad the states that fud them, to maitai these programs. Whe hard fiscal decisios result i dimiished offerigs of programs that are valuable to studets ad commuities, o oe is well-served. The Califoria Commuity Colleges (CCC) are facig this problem ow, particularly i the aftermath of several years of budget-cuttig durig the recessio. College officials have had to stretch fewer dollars across their program offerigs i order to try to meet erollmet targets. Sice colleges receive oe set dollar amout per full-time-equivalet studet (FTES), there is a fiscal disicetive to maitai high-cost programs. There is much aecdotal evidece, ad some empirical evidece, that CTE offerigs have bee disproportioately reduced i recet years. This is troublig to those who recogize the value of techical educatio to studets, to regios, ad to the Califoria ecoomy. This policy brief reports fidigs of a 20-state study of strategies that may help colleges provide studets with access to valuable workforce-orieted programs despite some higher costs. It is iteded to help educatio leaders ad policymakers i Califoria cotiue to work toward realizig the vast potetial of the CTE missio of the college system to cotribute to studet success. The States We studied policies ad practices i place i 20 states (see map i Figure 5). The selected states ecompass a wide variety of size, demographics, postsecodary goverace structures, ad fiace policies. Our research icluded iterviews with top state ad system postsecodary fiace ad academic officials, as well as reviews of websites ad official documets. We believe there is much to lear from states large ad small that could be adapted to Califoria s circumstaces. Most states share with Califoria the problem of shortages of skilled workers, growig diversificatio of commuity college studet populatios, ad the college ad career readiess challeges that accompay diversificatio. Ad most states appear to have give cosiderable thought to how fiace mechaisms ca help preserve valuable CTE/workforce programs for studets eve whe they etail higher costs. Fidigs CTE/Workforce educatio is a celebrated missio. A geeral theme that emerged from our research is that CTE/workforce educatio is a major priority. A sigificat portio of two-year college degrees are awarded i CTE disciplies i most of the 20 states, ad the CTE/ workforce missio ejoys a high stature o a par with or eve above that of the liberal arts/trasfer missio, accordig to may iterviewees. The terms techical educatio ad techical college are commoly used. Officials i oly a few of the 20 states idicated that maitaiig fudig for CTE/workforce programs has bee more difficult tha maitaiig fudig for programs i geeral, perhaps reflectig the fiace strategies that are i place i may states. Five strategies used to preserve high-cost programs. Figure E-1 displays the five strategies that we foud to be used by a majority of the 20 states that may help preserve higher-cost CTE/workforce programs. The figure cotrasts those strategies with Califoria s policies. 1. Eleve states have postsecodary goverace structures that iclude colleges or systems desiged to focus o techical educatio. While istitutioal goverace is ot a explicit fiace strategy, this feature of state postsecodary goverace has implicatios for fiace by virtue of siglig out the techical missio for attetio ad perhaps more direct access to policymakers. I istitute for higher educatio leadership & policy at califoria state uiversity, sacrameto

2. Thirtee states have some form of differetial fudig, whereby state fudig formulas take program costs ito accout i calculatig allocatios. Amog the states with differetial fudig, it is commo for higher-cost programs to be fuded at more tha twice the rate of lower-cost programs. Uder these formulas, a college with a above average share of high-cost programs would receive more fudig per studet tha a college with a average program mix. 3. Performace fudig icorporates icetives for studet progress ad success ito state fudig models. While ot explicitly aimed to preserve highcost programs, it ca have that effect. If completios are equally rewarded across disciplies, higher-cost programs are ot disadvataged as they are with erollmet-based fudig. Additioally, states have adopted metrics that recogize idividual college missios, which ca iclude job placemet, wage gais, ad productio of degrees i high-eed fields. 4. Eleve of the 20 states have authorized colleges to charge differig amouts of tuitio for differet programs. Some colleges use this authority very selectively for a few programs usually icludig health-related programs ad others have differet tuitio rates for early every program. 5. All but three of the 20 states assess course fees o a idividual course basis to help defray costs such as labs, specialized equipmet, ad supplies. Such fees are assessed by Califoria s colleges as well, but are strictly limited by law to items that have lastig value to studets beyod the duratio of the course. We leared of o such restrictios i other states. Implicatios for Califoria Uder the Califoria Master Pla for Higher Educatio, the CCC system was assiged a huge role i providig academic trasfer programs. I the cotext of such a historic role i trasfer educatio, the CTE/workforce missio has struggled to attai the level of attetio, support, ad respect that is directed to the trasfer missio. Today, lawmakers ad educators are well aware of the importace of the CTE/workforce missio to the state s ecoomy, ad the Chacellor s Office is leadig efforts to stregthe CTE offerigs to meet the dyamic eeds of regioal ecoomies. Figure E-1 Strategies that May Preserve CTE/Workforce Programs Strategy Separate techical istitutios/system Differetial fudig based o costs Performace- or outcomes-based fudig Differetial tuitio (either for whole system or idividual college discretio) Differetial course fees Yet the state s policies, ad we believe, prevailig educatioal values, are laggig the rhetoric about the value of CTE to curret ad prospective studets. Fiace policy is powerful because it expresses values ad priorities ad creates icetives for istitutioal actios. Califoria s prevailig policies express strogly-held values of access, equity, ad quality i servig studets. We believe that there is much i the rich array of strategies i place across the states i our study that could help preserve highcost CTE programs i ways that hoor these values. Each of the five strategies has evolved differetly i each state, providig a wide set of optios to explore for applicability to Califoria. But perhaps the most useful lesso comes from how other states value ad commuicate about CTE/ workforce educatio. Alogside efforts i Califoria to improve commuity college trasfer success, it should be possible to chage the way we commuicate to studets ad families about the value of CTE/workforce programs to studets short- ad log-term career goals. Ackowledgemets Number of States (out of 20) 11 13 14 11 17 Califoria Approach All colleges have comprehesive missio Costat fudig rate regardless of program Erollmet-based fudig Same tuitio for all programs Course materials fees limited by statute We thak all of the officials i the 20 states we studied for their time ad helpful iformatio. Workforce Ivestmets: State Strategies to Preserve Higher-Cost Career Educatio Programs i Commuity ad Techical Colleges II

Fiacig High-Priority Workforce Educatio Programs a Challege for Califoria s Commuity Colleges The Issue Public two-year colleges are addressig a vital ad growig atioal priority to help adults of all ages ear credetials of value for workforce etry ad advacemet. Today s ecoomy requires postsecodary traiig for a larger share of jobs, with may rewardig career pathways available to those with techical skills eared i commuity college certificate ad associate degree programs. Yet may of these programs, while of cosiderable value to studets, employers, ad regioal ecoomies, are costly for colleges to support. This policy brief reports fidigs of our research ito fiace strategies used i other states that may help colleges provide studets with access to valuable workforceorieted programs despite some higher costs. It is iteded to iform educatio leaders ad policymakers i Califoria as they address the challege of fiacig career ad techical educatio (CTE) offerigs i the Califoria Commuity Colleges (CCC). Figure 1 shows cost differeces i some istructioal programs commoly offered i commuity colleges. I this brief, we describe five strategies used i other states to address cost differeces such as those show below, focus o three states that employ most of the strategies, ad cosider the implicatios that other states practices may have for Califoria. The Califoria Cotext Over the last two years the Istitute for Higher Educatio Leadership & Policy (IHELP) released a four-part report series, Career Opportuities, 1 assessig the career techical educatio missio of the CCC ad offerig suggestios for chages to state ad system policies that would provide better support for this critical missio area. Oe promiet fidig was the eed for policies that would improve the aligmet of program offerigs with the eeds of regioal ecoomies. The CCC, through the Doig What Matters for Jobs ad the Ecoomy iitiative, 2 is movig aggressively to set regioal priorities ad reallocate resources accordigly. But ever-preset fiscal costraits, made worse by the great recessio, have made it difficult for Califoria s commuity colleges to support high-cost programs while balacig budgets ad meetig erollmet targets. Commuity colleges i Califoria are fuded at a costat rate per full-time-equivalet studet (FTES) ad are accoutable for meetig erollmet targets withi their allocatios. That creates a fiscal disicetive to support high-cost programs because the same dollar allocatio stretches across more FTES whe used for lower-cost programs. Not all CTE programs are high cost, ad ot all liberal arts/trasfer programs are low cost, but due to class size costraits ad the specialized lab ad equipmet Figure 1 Istructioal Costs Per Studet Credit Hour Natioal Averages (2011-2012) Figure 2 Califoria: CTE Vocatioal Credit Erollmet (FTE) as Percetage of Total Credit FTE 2002-2012 Humaities/Humaistic Studies $52 Biology, Geeral $64 Egieerig-Related Techologies $73 Allied Health ad Medical Assistig Services $131 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 32% 32% 31% 31% 31% 31% 31% 31% 30% 30% 30% Draftig/Desig Egieerig Techologies/ Techicias $163 Respiratory Care Therapy/Therapist $265 Source: Natioal Commuity College Cost & Productivity Project, Natioal Higher Educatio Bechmarkig Istitute 10% 5% 0% 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Source: CCC Chacellor s Office Datamart, reflectig aual FTES i vocatioal credit courses 1 istitute for higher educatio leadership & policy at califoria state uiversity, sacrameto

eeds of may CTE programs, cost cosideratios have surely played ito decisio makig at the college level. Figures 2 to 4 show the tred, sice 2002, i the share of credit erollmets (i FTES) that are classified as CTE by the CCC Chacellor s Office Taxoomy of Programs (TOP) codig system. Figure 2 shows the tred for all CTE programs a slight decrease from 32% to 30%. While ot a large drop, it has occurred durig a period of icreased attetio to workforce developmet whe we might have expected the share to icrease. Figures 3 ad 4 look at two specific CTE program areas that are high-cost programs, as show i Figure 1, so that we ca see treds more directly reflective of cost costraits. Health courses saw a icrease oly up to the poit of the recessio i 2007 ad the uderwet a declie. This patter, at a time whe allied health is a strogly growig sector, suggests that colleges may be strugglig to cover the costs of these programs. Figure 4 shows a steadier declie i aother high-cost program area egieerig ad idustrial techologies, aother sig that costs may be impedig program offerigs i priority areas. Scope of Study ad Research Methods The fudig of workforce-related postsecodary programs i our atio s colleges is a complex topic. Figure 3 Credit Erollmet (FTE) i Health Courses as Percetage of Total Credit FTE Califoria Commuity Colleges, 2002-2012 States have evolved a variety of istitutioal structures ad fudig mechaisms that ivolve a array of federal, state, local, private, ad oprofit etities ad fudig sources. We have limited the scope of this study i two ways i order to focus o issues most likely to be applicable to CCC fiace policy. We limited our study to states' geeral fud appropriatios, examiig how such fuds are used to support workforce, or CTE, programs offered by their public postsecodary istitutios (credit istructio oly). We icluded policies regardig the collectio of tuitio ad fees from studets erolled i those istitutios because those reveues affect the allocatio of state geeral fuds. We further limited our research to istitutios ad systems that are part of a state s postsecodary sector. May states offer CTE to adults through secodary techical schools, icludig credit istructio leadig to workforce credetials. We excluded these kids of schools from our study because we are focused o state postsecodary fiace, ad most secodary techical schools are fuded through K-12 fiace mechaisms. Nevertheless, K-12-fuded CTE ca be a importat part of a state s effort to help studets ear postsecodary credetials. For example, Florida has a particularly Figure 4 Credit Erollmet (FTE) i Egieerig ad Idustrial Techologies Courses as Percetage of Total Credit FTE Califoria Commuity Colleges, 2002-2012 5.0% 4.0% 3.9% 4.2% 4.0% 4.3% 4.5% 4.5% 4.4% 4.2% 4.2% 4.1% 4.0% 5.0% 4.0% 4.5% 4.4% 4.3% 4.1% 4.0% 4.1% 4.0% 4.0% 3.9% 3.9% 3.9% 3.0% 3.0% 2.0% 2.0% 1.0% 1.0% 0.0% 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Source: CCC Chacellor s Office Datamart, reflectig aual FTES i courses with a two-digit TOP code of 12 0.0% 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Source: CCC Chacellor s Office Datamart, reflectig aual FTES i courses with a two-digit TOP code of 09 Workforce Ivestmets: State Strategies to Preserve Higher-Cost Career Educatio Programs i Commuity ad Techical Colleges 2

Fiacig High-Priority Workforce Educatio Programs a Challege for Califoria s Commuity Colleges robust set of techical schools withi its K-12 system that fuctio i close cooperatio with commuity colleges because of the state s uique K-20 goverace structure. As some states use the term CTE ad others use workforce, we will use the combied term CTE/ workforce for the remaider of this report to refer to commuity college programs that prepare studets for etry ito the workforce at the certificate or associate degree level. We use the term liberal arts/trasfer to refer to commuity college programs that prepare studets to trasfer to four-year istitutios to pursue bachelor s degrees i fields where associate degrees are ot sufficiet etry-level career preparatio. I choosig states for the study, we drew o expert advice as well as our ow kowledge of two-year state systems. We icluded states from various regios of the coutry, of various sizes, ad spaig a rage of circumstaces i higher educatio goverace structures, size ad missio of the two-year sector, fudig approaches, demographics, ad idustry base. Figure 5 shows the 20 states we studied. We icluded large, diverse states (Texas, New York, ad Florida), eighborig states to Califoria (Orego, Washigto, Nevada, Arizoa), ad several states i the Midwest ad South that have bee very proactive i addressig commuity college studet success. We believe that lessos ca be leared from small states as well as large oes, particularly sice most states are experiecig shortages of skilled workers, growig diversificatio of commuity college studet populatios, ad the college ad career readiess challeges that accompay diversificatio. A wide variety of goverace structures prevail across the 20 states, icludig uified systems without local goverig boards (e.g., Virgiia, Idiaa), local goverace without a cetral system (e.g. Nebraska, Arizoa), local boards uder a state system, (e.g., Washigto, Ketucky), oe goverig board over two-year ad four-year Figure 5 States Studied WA OR WI NY NV NE KS IL IN OH KY VA AZ OK TX AR LA TN GA FL 3 istitute for higher educatio leadership & policy at califoria state uiversity, sacrameto

istitutios (e.g., Arkasas, Teessee), separate systems for techical colleges (e.g., Texas, Wiscosi), ad several other models. We believe that this set of states provides a comprehesive survey of the rage of fiace approaches that may help states preserve high-cost CTE programs i areas of value to regioal ecoomies, ad therefore of potetial value to studets. Oce we selected the states, we cosulted the 2012 State Higher Educatio Fiace report, published by State Higher Educatio Executive Officers (SHEEO), to obtai a iitial list of cotacts for commuity/ techical college fiace officials i various states. We cotacted those listed ad either cofirmed a iterview with them or were redirected to other state or system officials. We spoke with 36 idividuals across the 20 states typically vice chacellors or directors of budget/ plaig/busiess i system or statewide offices. Our semi-structured iterviews icluded questios about goverace structure, the priority of the CTE/workforce missio withi the two-year sector, the severity of the fudig problem, state fudig models, tuitio ad fee policies, ad other strategies used to support CTE/workforce programs. We asked for ad received backgroud materials ad documets from most states with iformatio o fudig models, tuitio levels, ad other elemets of their fiace approaches. We explored Research Methods: Select states (20) Coduct semi-structured iterviews with fiace ad other state ad system officials Review details o fiace policies oted by iterviewees Review college websites Categorize fiacig strategies Examie IPEDS data o treds i award of associate degrees Review fidigs for applicability to Califoria the websites of umerous colleges ad techical ceters. Fudig arragemets are evolvig i may states, so we cautio that there may be some chages to the state policies as they were described to us durig our iterviews, although we asked respodets to review drafts to check for accuracy. The purpose of this study was to lear about alterative fiacig approaches i other states i order to iform efforts uderway to esure robust CTE offerigs for studets i Califoria's commuity colleges. Its scope does ot allow for ay i-depth aalysis of the impact of fiace strategies o the sustaiability of high-cost programs. We are ucertai whether such aalyses would be revealig or eve worth udertakig because of the complicatios iheret i comparig states o both the strategies ad their potetial outcomes. With regard to strategies, for example, o two states fiace approaches are the same ad they have bee i place for varyig amouts of time. With regard to outcomes, we could ot idetify measures that would provide for a fair compariso across states, give variatios i labor markets, ecoomic cycles, state budget priorities, demographics, program quality, ad available data. The oe outcome measure for which ostesibly comparable data are available is associate degree productio by disciplie. 3 We did some exploratory aalysis to compare states o (1) the percet of a state s associate degrees that were awarded i CTE fields, ad (2) the percet of all CTE associate degrees that were awarded i health fields (which are mostly high-cost). But policy differeces across states o the award of associate degrees for trasfer studets limit the validity of eve these comparisos for assessig ay impact of fiace strategies, as do the age profiles of states as they ifluece the demad for health professioals. We cocluded that we could ot provide ay valid data o the relatioship betwee fiace strategies ad the vitality of CTE/ workforce offerigs. Idividual case studies of states before ad after adoptio of ew fiace strategies would probably stad the best chace of yieldig iformatio o the impact of fiace strategies. Therefore, we focus our fidigs o how states are usig fiace policy to preserve high-cost CTE/workforce programs, ad what lessos may be applicable to Califoria. Workforce Ivestmets: State Strategies to Preserve Higher-Cost Career Educatio Programs i Commuity ad Techical Colleges 4

Fidigs: CTE/Workforce Educatio is a Celebrated Missio Several themes emerged from the iterviews that warrat metio before proceedig to describe the specific fiacig strategies i use across the sample of states. First, it was clear that i early every state, cosiderable attetio has bee give to the issue of program cost as it affects the ability of commuity ad techical colleges to offer high-cost programs if those programs are judged to be of value to studets ad commuities. Most of the states have evolved multiple approaches to recogizig cost differetials i their fiacig strategies. Secod, the CTE/workforce missio is a much bigger part of the two-year postsecodary sector missio i most states tha it is i Califoria, at least as measured by the share of degrees awarded that are i CTE fields (see Figure 6). Certaily, CTE/workforce educatio ivolves much more tha associate degree programs ad liberal arts/trasfer educatio may or may ot ivolve the award of a associate degree to trasfer studets. Nevertheless, Figure 6 shows that other states have more of their two-year sector activity devoted to degree programs i CTE/workforce disciplies. The figure shows this percetage for the 20 states icluded i this study ad for Califoria for the 2004-05 ad 2010-11 academic years. I 2004-05 Califoria s CTE portio of degrees was below all states except Florida. I the more recet data, Califoria has moved above Arizoa but remais far below most of the other states. This reflects the historic importace of the commuity college trasfer missio uder the 1960 Master Pla for Higher Educatio, which provides that oly the top oe-third of high school graduates, statewide, are eligible for admissio to a public uiversity as freshme. Third, ad admittedly a subjective observatio based o the iterviews, CTE seems to ejoy a higher relative status i other states tha i Califoria. I our Career Opportuities report series we cocluded that CTE is ofte margialized from the academic core of the commuity college system ad does ot receive the level of attetio, support, ad eve respect accorded to the liberal arts/trasfer missio. By cotrast, we were struck i our iterviews by the high regard for CTE/workforce programs ad the emphasis those programs are give by systems ad lawmakers. Here are a few specific examples: 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Wiscosi Figure 6 CTE Degrees as Percet of Total Associate Degrees Awarded, 2004-05 ad 2010-11 Idiaa Ohio Louisiaa Nebraska Georgia Oklahoma New York Nevada Teessee Ketucky Virgiia Kasas Texas Washigto Arkasas Orego Illiois Califoria Arizoa 5 istitute for higher educatio leadership & policy at califoria state uiversity, sacrameto Florida 2004-2005 2010-2011 Source: Natioal Ceter for Educatio Statistics Itegrated Postsecodary Educatio Data System (IPEDS), reflectig degrees based o 25 two-digit Classificatio of Istructioal Programs (CIP) codes cosidered CTE

Washigto uses the term professioal/ techical for its CTE/workforce portfolio i order to differetiate it from K-12 CTE programs ad to emphasize the professioal career pathways available to studets. The State Board for Commuity ad Techical Colleges decided years ago to build its reputatio o its professioal/techical missio because it viewed that missio as its competitive advatage over the four-year sector. 4 I Illiois, high school studets are advised of both CTE ad trasfer program optios i commuity college, with at least equal emphasis o CTE, accordig to our iterviewee. I may of the iterviews we were told that the trasfer of credits from techical programs to fouryear istitutios was reasoably seamless, eve from istitutios desigated as techical colleges or istitutes. Iterviewees i several states reported that their goverors are highly focused o workforce educatio ad, therefore, o providig appropriate support to the two-year istitutios that provide it. As a example, CTE programs i Kasas received a 14% budget icrease recetly i a year i which the etire postsecodary budget was reduced over prior-year levels. Idiaa uses the term CTE oly for the secodary schools. Postsecodary programs are referred to oly by their disciplie ames ad are uder the academic purview of the provost, alog with all other academic programs, to sigal their iclusio i the core of the istitutio. As a idicatio of the value placed o vocatioal degrees, college faculty ad staff i Ketucky reportedly ecourage studets who are erolled i workforce programs to take geeral educatio courses as they pursue certificates so they ca ear associate degrees. Likewise, employers are ecouraged to allow studets to complete their vocatioal associate degrees eve oce they have eared etry-level skills. Two-year colleges are subject to a accoutability metric called workforce matriculatio that reports the umbers of studets who trasitio from ocredit job traiig ito credetial programs aother sigal of the priority placed o associate degrees. I Louisiaa, where a large umber of istitutios were merged ito a ew commuity ad techical college system i 1998, the former techical schools were adamat (accordig to the iterviewee) about retaiig the term techical i their ames, resultig i a set of techical commuity colleges withi the system. Fourth, we asked iterviewees whether it has bee a problem to maitai CTE/workforce programs that are of higher-tha-average cost. Our assumptio was that, if states have adopted fiace mechaisms that protect high-cost programs, the problem would ot be as acute as it appears to be i Califoria. A miority of respodets reported that sustaiig support for CTE programs was ideed a particularly difficult problem. By cotrast, a slight majority said they had ot heard that sustaiig CTE/workforce programs is a problem. Others reported problems maitaiig all programs, with o worse a problem for workforce/cte. These observatios from high-level fiace ad academic admiistrative officials, while just oe set of possible respodets, do suggest that some other states have maaged to place CTE/ workforce programs o at least a equal footig as other programs i terms of fiacial support ad stature. Workforce Ivestmets: State Strategies to Preserve Higher-Cost Career Educatio Programs i Commuity ad Techical Colleges 6

Fidigs: Five Strategies Used to Preserve Higher-Cost Programs We idetified five strategies that states are usig, i various combiatio, that may help preserve postsecodary high-cost CTE/workforce programs. Noe of these strategies are i use for the CCC system. Figure 7 lists the strategies, the umber of states (of the 20 we studied) where these strategies have bee adopted, ad the correspodig Califoria policy. We discuss each i tur ad iclude some specific state examples. Figure 7 Strategies that May Preserve CTE/Workforce Programs Strategy Separate techical istitutios/system* Differetial fudig based o costs Performace- or outcomes-based fudig** Differetial tuitio (either for whole system or idividual college discretio)*** Differetial course fees Number of States (out of 20) 11 13 14 11 17 Califoria Approach All colleges have comprehesive missio Costat fudig rate regardless of program Erollmet-based fudig; o performaceor outcomes-based fudig Same tuitio for all programs Course materials fees limited by statute to items of cotiuig value to studets outside the classroom settig * Icludes postsecodary techical colleges or istitutios that are part of comprehesive commuity college systems, part of separate techical systems, or separate istitutios ot part of a system, ad that receive state fudig. Their offerigs may be limited to postsecodary vocatioal certificates, or iclude associate degrees i vocatioal programs. We also iclude colleges with comprehesive missios that are called techical because of a stroger historical focus o techical educatio. ** Icludes states where performace fudig has bee officially adopted, eve if ot yet affectig allocatios. Three additioal states have plas uderway for some form of performace fudig. *** "Differetial tuitio," whether called tuitio or fees by the state, is a charge that is ot attached to a particular course. It ca be attached to a geeral program, ad ca be applied aually, per credit hour, or per semester/quarter. Techical Systems ad/or Istitutios I 11 of the 20 states we studied, there are two-year postsecodary istitutios that are desigated as "techical" i cotrast to, ad i additio to, commuity colleges that are primarily orieted to liberal arts/trasfer programs or to a comprehesive missio. Some of the techical colleges offer liberal arts/trasfer programs as well, but have somewhat more emphasis o CTE/workforce programs tha other two-year colleges i their states; some offer oly CTE/workforce degrees ad certificates; some offer oly certificates. We are ot icludig techical schools that are part of secodary systems, eve if they serve adults, as our focus is o postsecodary istitutios. While istitutioal goverace is ot a explicit fiace strategy, we believe that this feature of state postsecodary goverace has implicatios for fiace by virtue of siglig out the techical missio for attetio ad perhaps more direct access to policymakers. We idetified three goverace models for those states with separate techical istitutios, described below with brief descriptios of each state s model. Commuity ad Techical college systems. Three states have a system of commuity ad techical colleges i which the idividual colleges may have more or less of their offerigs i the techical area, but the goverig boards oversee both the comprehesive ad the techical colleges. The Ketucky Commuity ad Techical College System cosists of four commuity colleges ad 12 commuity ad techical colleges. It was created by statute i 1997 to uify the state s commuity colleges ad its techical colleges uder the goverace of a sigle board of regets. The Louisiaa Commuity ad Techical College System was formed i 1999 to brig together a umber of istitutios ito a 14-college system with three types of colleges: seve commuity colleges; four techical commuity colleges; ad three techical colleges. The differet desigatios roughly reflect the balace of the liberal arts/ trasfer missio with the CTE/workforce missio 7 istitute for higher educatio leadership & policy at califoria state uiversity, sacrameto

as well as the history of the idividual istitutios. It is govered by the Board of Supervisors of the Commuity ad Techical Colleges. I Washigto, 34 commuity ad techical colleges have local goverig boards, appoited by the Goveror, ad are orgaized uder a State Board for Commuity ad Techical Colleges (SBCTC). The ie-member state board, also appoited by the Goveror, is resposible for all matters related to istructio ad studets services at the colleges, as well as fiacial matters such as requestig ad allocatig state appropriatios for the colleges. Techical college systems. Four states have techical college systems with their ow goverig bodies, idepedet of their state s commuity colleges. Georgia has the Techical College System of Georgia, with 24 techical colleges ad oe techical divisio at a state uiversity, govered by the State Board of Techical ad Adult Educatio. This system is separate from the commuity colleges that are part of the Uiversity System of Georgia uder the Board of Regets, which are primarily trasfer istitutios with few techical offerigs. Oklahoma s 29 postsecodary career techology ceters are govered by the Career Techology State Board ad are completely separate from Oklahoma s two- ad four-year postsecodary istitutios. These ceters, which offer certificates but ot associate degrees, receive most of their fudig from local tax reveue but do receive some state support. The state s Board of Regets oversees the Cooperative Alliace Program, which coordiates pathways ad allows trasfer of credits from these career tech ceters to commuity colleges or four-year istitutios. Texas has 50 public commuity college districts with local goverig boards ad o systemwide goverace. A separate set of istitutios, the Texas State Techical College System, cosists of four techical colleges ad is govered by its ow board of regets. These techical colleges offer certificates ad associate degrees i a wide rage of career fields. Wiscosi has a separate Wiscosi Techical College System with 16 districts. Five of its colleges offer collegiate trasfer ad liberal arts programs but such programs ca be o more tha 25% of istitutioal program offerigs. I a separate system the Uiversity of Wiscosi System are 13 two-year colleges that offer liberal arts/trasfer programs. Techical istitutios ot orgaized i systems. Four states have postsecodary techical istitutios that are ot part of a commuity ad techical college system or a separate techical system, but have either their ow local goverig board or are govered alog with other postsecodary istitutios. Arkasas has 22 two-year colleges, two of which are desigated techical istitutios. Eight of the colleges are part of oe of the two uiversity systems (Uiversity of Arkasas, Arkasas State Uiversity). All colleges have their ow local goverig boards, ad they are all comprehesive i their program offerigs. The Kasas Board of Regets is the goverig board of the state's six public uiversities ad the coordiatig board for all public two-year ad four-year istitutios, icludig 19 commuity colleges ad six techical colleges. I 2007 the Kasas legislature created the Postsecodary Techical Educatio Authority. The Authority operates uder the auspices of the Board of Regets ad makes recommedatios to the Regets regardig plaig, coordiatio, ad ehacemets for the postsecodary techical college system. The Ohio Board of Regets has statutory authority for plaig ad coordiatio of seior, commuity, ad techical istitutios i the state. Ohio s 23 commuity colleges are govered by their ow local boards. Three of them are desigated techical colleges owig to their histories, but have program mixes closely resemblig the other commuity colleges. More tha 50 Ohio Techical Ceters (formerly Adult Workforce Educatio Ceters) are ow also part of the postsecodary system, havig moved uder the purview of the Ohio Board of Regets from the Departmet of Educatio i the last few years. These ceters, which offer certificates but ot degrees, have articulated pathways ito Associate ad Bachelor s degree programs i Ohio colleges. Workforce Ivestmets: State Strategies to Preserve Higher-Cost Career Educatio Programs i Commuity ad Techical Colleges 8

Fidigs: Five Strategies Used to Preserve Higher-Cost Programs The Teessee Board of Regets of the State Uiversity ad Commuity College System exercises statutory resposibility for six seior istitutios, 13 commuity colleges, ad the 26 Teessee Colleges of Applied Techology (TCAT). The TCATs, kow also as techology ceters, offer diplomas ad certificates ad are fuded by the state uder a differet method tha the 13 commuity colleges. Differetial Fudig i State Fudig Formulas for Colleges Thirtee of the 20 states have some form of differetial fudig, whereby state fudig formulas take differetial program costs ito accout i calculatig eed or allocatios for istitutios. Such formulas are ofte ot fully fuded because of limited state fuds or provisios for equalizig fudig across colleges or cappig allocatio chages betwee years. Eve where the state cotributes less tha the full computed "eed," however, budget allocatios to colleges are affected by the mix of programs offered ad the cost differeces amog them. I every state with differetial fudig, the formula oly affects the allocatio to the college system or to the college but does ot determie how the fuds, oce received by a college, are allocated to the idividual academic programs. Differetiatig by disciplie. Each state s differetial fudig approach is uique but the majority of states group academic programs ito categories, by cost, usually with referece to Classificatio of Istructioal Program (CIP) codes. For those states, the formulas reflect choices about the umber of differet cost categories to use ad the cost factor to apply to each category. There is a wide variatio i the umber of cost categories used, as well as i the differece betwee the highest- ad lowest-fuded category, as show i Figure 8. States with oly a few categories geerally group most techical courses ito just oe or two categories. The two states with a large umber of categories assig costs to early every disciplie rather tha creatig groups of disciplies. A few of the states take cost ito accout by meas other tha formulas with specified cost categories. For example, Wiscosi's techical colleges are fuded primarily from o-state fuds with the state portio aimed to supplemet ad equalize local fudig. A portio of the state allocatio is derived as a percet of college costs. Therefore, colleges with more costly programs receive more state fuds. Washigto uses a base-plus fudig model, but the base reflects allocatios from previous years i which state allocatios were i part based o program cost. Assigig costs to disciplie categories. States have developed differet meas to acquire cost data o which to base their differetial fudig formulas. Some states rely o cost studies that have bee doe elsewhere. 5 Others collect actual expediture data from their ow colleges. Virgiia uses both iteral ad exteral data, drawig o studet/faculty ratio guidelies used i other states, recommedatios from its ow colleges ad uiversities, ad accreditatio stadards o staffig requiremets. However the cost iformatio is obtaied, it is the used to various degrees of specificity to make appropriate accommodatios for program cost. A State Figure 8 Structure of Differetial Fudig Models* Number of Categories Ratio of Highest/ Lowest Fudig Rate Arkasas 4 1.8 Georgia 5 1.7 Illiois 6 2.8 Kasas 7 2.7 Ketucky 52 4.4 Nebraska 3 2.0 Nevada 3 2.0 Texas 26 2.6** Virgiia 6 2.4 * It is ot possible to describe every state's approach to differetial fudig i this way due to the uique structures of some states fudig models. Eve those i this figure have compoets of the fudig model that caot be reduced to a ratio. ** Ratio excludes oe very high cost program (Career Pilot), which is fuded at early twice the rate of the ext highest program. 9 istitute for higher educatio leadership & policy at califoria state uiversity, sacrameto

approach used by some states is to assig weights to the budgeted erollmet for each program area, usually pegged to a weight of 1.0 for geeral educatio courses, with higher weights for programs that are more costly. Nebraska ad Nevada use this approach, show i Figure 9. A secod approach computes a expected rate of studet cotact hours per faculty i a set of programs. This is, i effect, a studet-faculty ratio ad captures the differet expectatios for the class sizes that are appropriate for differet disciplies. Arkasas uses this approach, show i Figure 10. Other states that use a versio of differetial reimbursemet by credit hour for differet disciplies iclude Illiois, Ketucky, Texas, ad Virgiia. Icorporatig cost differetials i fial allocatios. The differetial costs, by disciplie, are usually just oe piece of computed program "eed" the "direct istructioal" or "faculty salary" piece. The other compoets of a state fudig formula (e.g., for idirect Weights Applied to FTES Figure 9 Usig Weights to Adjust for Program Costs 1.0 Academic 1.5 2.0 Nebraska Techical without expesive equipmet Techical with expesive equipmet Nevada Liberal arts, math, sciece, laguage Visual ad performig arts Health, trades/tech egieerig Figure 10 Usig Class Size Stadards to Adjust for Program Costs (Arkasas) Geeral educatio Techical educatio Remedial/developmetal 22 studets 16 studets 16 studets costs, equipmet, facilities) may or may ot take cost ito accout. Oe way that does accout for cost differeces i the o-istructioal compoets of the formula is to apply a percetage to the istructioal cost compoet for idirect ad support costs. Arkasas, for example, calculates academic support at 60% of direct istructio, providig more support dollars for programs with higher istructio costs. Oce all costs are computed for all disciplies, states take various approaches to usig that iformatio to determie actual budget allocatios. Some states subtract local tax reveues ad/or reveue from studet tuitio from the computed eed ad allocate state fuds for the balace as far as the state fudig will go toward meetig the balace. Some states apply the differetial fudig formula oly to ew fuds, while carryig forward the prior year s base for each istitutio. Several states have devised meas by which state fuds are used to brig greater parity across istitutioal fudig levels, such that the cost-based formula becomes oly oe bechmark for determiig aual allocatios. Performace Fudig Fourtee of the 20 states have adopted some form of performace fudig for their two-year colleges affectig various portios of the overall budget. I some cases the fudig models have bee officially approved but have ot yet begu to ifluece budget allocatios to colleges. Performace fudig is uder active discussio i aother three of the states. Iterest i basig state allocatios for postsecodary educatio i part o outcomes has grow i recet years, as ew approaches have bee devised to improve o some of the ill-advised approaches i the past. Amog the ew approaches are metrics iteded to better reflect college missios ad to preserve access for disadvataged populatios whose measured outcomes have historically bee below those of other studet populatios. 6 Despite these ew approaches, performace fudig remais a cotroversial ad usettled strategy, with states takig varyig approaches to its developmet ad implemetatio. Our purpose i discussig performace fudig here is ot to explore it i ay depth, but to explai why some states view it as oe strategy, amog others, to preserve high-cost CTE/workforce programs. Allied health - health professios 12 studets Workforce Ivestmets: State Strategies to Preserve Higher-Cost Career Educatio Programs i Commuity ad Techical Colleges 10

Fidigs: Five Strategies Used to Preserve Higher-Cost Programs Completio a level playig field. Despite the variatio i approach across states, every state's performace fudig system icludes a measure of certificate ad degree completio. Compared to straight erollmet-based fudig, this approach creates a more level playig field for high-cost programs. Uder erollmet-based fudig with o cost differetials, a low-cost program is advataged compared to a high-cost program because the same per-studet dollar allocatio will cover a greater portio of the program's cost. But a performace fudig system that couts completios accords o such advatage to a low-cost program. I fact, depedig o the specificatios of the performace compoet, high-cost CTE/workforce programs could be advataged because they may have more opportuities to register completios with the award of certificates ad associate degrees. Furthermore, CTE/ workforce programs with above-average completio rates would fare better tha other programs. Aligig fudig with labor market eeds. Aother strategy that some states use to preserve ad ecourage CTE/workforce programs that may cost more tha other programs is to iclude performace factors that relate to meetig labor market eeds. Some do this by icludig extra weights for completios i fields desigated as "high-eed." Some iclude measures of job placemet ad wages, although the collectio of accurate data has slowed some efforts to track labor market outcomes. I Arkasas, for example, certificate ad degree completio are amog the madatory measures, ad amog allowable optioal measures are the umber of credetials awarded i Sciece, Techology, Egieerig, ad Mathematics (STEM) fields ad other high-demad disciplies, ad the umber of credetial completers that obtai employmet. Similarly, Nevada allows colleges to choose measures for outcomes i specific workforce areas that coform to their program priorities. Louisiaa icludes measures of job placemet ad wages but has ot yet icorporated a "pre/post" measure that would assess chages i employmet status or i wages after program completio. Wiscosi's ewly developed performace fudig system has a umber of workforceorieted metrics icludig: (a) placemet rate of studets i jobs related to studets programs of study; (b) umber of degrees ad certificates awarded i fields determied to be high-demad by the system's goverig board ad the state Departmet of Workforce Developmet; (c) umber of programs or courses with idustryvalidated curriculum; (d) the trasitio of adult studets from basic educatio to skills traiig; ad (e) workforce traiig provided to busiesses ad idividuals. States have ot made as much progress i adoptig rigorous measures of wage gais, by program, because of the challeges of collectig the data. Strategies tailored for workforce/cte. Some states apply performace fudig strategies differetly for techical colleges or programs. Florida has two strads of performace fudig for its commuity colleges, oe of which is targeted just to icetivize the award of idustry certificatios i approved fields. Louisiaa has differet metrics for its techical colleges, where graduatio rates (used for fudig the commuity colleges) have ot bee a matter of cocer. Istead, the techical colleges are accoutable for couts of certificates ad degrees ad the employmet outcomes oted above. New York is just begiig a very small performace fudig pla for both the City Uiversity of New York (CUNY) ad the State Uiversity of New York (SUNY) that affects oly occupatioal programs. Teessee uses performace fudig to fud its commuity colleges but ot its techology ceters because the eed to icetivize workforce-related outcomes is ot the same for istitutios whose sole purpose is to provide occupatioal traiig. Oe metric used for its commuity colleges is "job placemet," defied as the umber of graduates who are "eligible" for job placemet who are the placed i a job. Efforts to preserve access. It is worth otig, eve though this is ot a detailed discussio of performace fudig, that most of the states we studied iclude metrics to attempt to preserve access for disadvataged studets. Examples of such metrics iclude the umber of credetials awarded to uderrepreseted miorities, advacemet alog remedial ad adult educatio milestoes, ad weightig factors for completios by Pell Grat-eligible studets. 11 istitute for higher educatio leadership & policy at califoria state uiversity, sacrameto

Differetial Tuitio Aother strategy i use to preserve high-cost programs this oe used by 11 of the 20 states is to authorize colleges to charge differet rates of tuitio for differet programs. Not all colleges that have the authority have chose to use it, o doubt out of fear that higher tuitio rates might discourage studets from erollig i high-eed programs. Those that have set differetial rates of tuitio do so selectively i high-cost programs where studet demad ad job prospects are deemed sufficiet to support somewhat higher studet tuitio. States take differet approaches to the use of differetial tuitio authority. The Texas legislature deregulated tuitio i 2003 ad gave commuity ad techical colleges the authority to charge whatever they wat i effect, whatever the market will bear. At the other extreme, Louisiaa allows differetial tuitio oly where the Board of Regets has approved a Ceter of Excellece, which requires cotributios from private idustry to support programs of demostrated high eed. The Nevada Board of Regets may approve requests by colleges to set higher rates, up to 50% above geeral tuitio rates, ad oly i certai fields, mostly i the cliical scieces. As of the time of our iterview, o Nevada colleges had yet implemeted differetial tuitio charges. I Ohio s commuity colleges, tuitio rates vary across colleges but ot by program; however, the techical ceters charge differet tuitios for differet programs. Figure 11 gives some examples of how idividual colleges ad college systems are usig their authority to set differetial rates of tuitio. Figure 11 Examples of Differetial Tuitio, by Program Number of Tiers/Rates Programs/Disciplies Tuitio Rate Arizoa Pima District Arizoa Yavapai College Illiois Cetral College 3 Rates vary by program, for multiple programs Rates vary by program, for multiple programs Idiaa (all colleges) 2 New York Oodaga Commuity College (SUNY) Ohio Mid- East Career ad Techology Ceter Texas Loe Star College System 3 Each program has a separate tuitio/fee total listed Rates vary by program, for multiple programs geeral (liberal arts) level A (e.g. aviatio tech; respiratory tech) level B (e.g., ursig, radiologic tech) stadard laboratory courses CTE market rates (e.g., digital filmmakig, ursig, radiology) stadard e.g., weldig, auto body, electrical maiteace, health geeral ursig ad detal hygiee geeral specialized program fee for seve programs health program fee practical ursig weldig heatig ad air coditioig stadard e.g., agriculture, career pilot, costructio trades, health occupatios $65.50 per credit hour $85.50 per credit hour $91.50 per credit hour $70 per credit hour $78 per credit hour $87 per credit hour rage from $105 to $145 per credit hour $99 per credit hour $124 - $173.25 per credit hour $116.15 per credit hour additioal $62.50 per semester $4,172 per year (full-time) additioal $100 per semester additioal $500 per semester $10,214 for 42 week program $9,280 for 38 week program $6,032 for 41 week program $88 per credit hour additioal per credit hour, from $3 to $12 Workforce Ivestmets: State Strategies to Preserve Higher-Cost Career Educatio Programs i Commuity ad Techical Colleges 12

Fidigs: Five Strategies Used to Preserve Higher-Cost Programs Course Fees A fial strategy ivolves the use of course fees to help offset the cost of certai programs ad courses. We differetiate this strategy from that of differetial tuitio by the structure of the charges. Course fees are assessed to studets for their erollmet i idividual courses. Tuitio is a charge for attedig a college or, i some of the cases of differetial tuitio rates oted above, for erollig i a particular program. Some istitutios use the term fee ad tuitio iterchageably to refer to the broader charges that studets pay to eroll i college. Here we use fee oly with referece to charges assessed o a courseby-course basis. Sice course fees are assessed at the idividual college level, we caot report with certaity what the practices are across the 20 states. However, our iterviews ad related documet review revealed three states where course fees may ot be assessed at all. Oe of those states Virgiia has tried to develop a tuitio schedule that provides adequately for istructioal costs without the eed for idividual course fees. The other 17 states appear to rely o course fees rather heavily, ad differetially across courses, to help colleges defer the costs of istructio i courses that have laboratories or require specialized equipmet ad supplies. We did ot lear of ay statutory restrictios like those facig Califoria s commuity colleges, which are allowed to assess course fees oly for items of durable use outside the classroom. 7 Course fees are typically listed o a college s website. There is o practical way to summarize the spectrum of charges, but we offer a few examples here from our review of college catalogs: As a iterestig cotrast to Califoria s limitatio to durable materials, Idiaa s Ivy Tech Commuity College (which is the oly commuity college i the state but has multiple braches) charges fees oly for cosumables but may also require studets to supply their ow tools ad specialized equipmet for some courses. Oe set of course materials fees applies for all campuses. Examples iclude automotive (from $10 to $50), culiary ($42), ad priciples of advaced maufacturig ($300). I New York, oe commuity college assesses fees ragig from $10 to $270 for various laboratory courses, aother has o course fees, ad a third has a limit of $100 per course. Regulatios i Oklahoma limit course fees to direct cost of service but the fees are ot limited to materials. As log as the departmet ca show that the fees do ot exceed the costs of service, they may be assessed ad used for lab assistats, equipmet, supplies, or other purposes related to the course. Oe college i Oklahoma has just submitted justificatio to icrease the lab fee for a ursig course from $250 to $530. Oe Orego college publishes the followig about course fee policy: Certai courses may require a fee(s) i additio to tuitio. Course-specific fees are published quarterly i the Schedule of Classes. The college periodically itroduces ew courses, programs, ad/or fees o a pilot basis to meet the eeds of the commuity. These fees may be admiistratively implemeted as eeded durig the year. Some of the course fees listed by that college iclude: diesel tech laboratory fee ($60 for each course); ursig cliical fee ($300 for each course with a cliical compoet); EMT fee ($160 each term); ad weldig fee ($150 lab fee). Additioal Strategies to Support CTE/ Workforce We idetified two other strategies that are ot as easily described or couted as the five strategies described earlier. Therefore, we did ot iclude them i Figure 7, where we summarized the umber of states usig each strategy. Special budget allocatios. State budgets for postsecodary educatio typically ivolve a lie item cotaiig the mai portio of the appropriatio to a college or a system of colleges ad other, smaller lie items by which the goveror or legislators express priorities for particular kids of expeditures. I the iterviews, we heard of a umber of these kids of special lie item allocatios for purposes of supportig CTE/workforce educatio. Sice these vary from year to year ad state to state we provide some examples but do ot offer ay defiitive statemets about the prevalece of this strategy. 13 istitute for higher educatio leadership & policy at califoria state uiversity, sacrameto

I Illiois, commuity colleges apply for state grats, i respose to criteria that target particular programmatic priorities, aimed at program improvemet ad iovatio. Ketucky lawmakers have established a trust fud, called Ketucky Workforce Ivestmet Network System (KY WINS). A program of the Ketucky Commuity & Techical College System, it provides state fuds to compaies that are willig to ivest i their employees through a structured traiig program. Fuds are distributed o a project basis ad require a compay cash match of 35 percet. I New York, grats are made to campuses for program developmet ad to seed implemetatio for emergig, high-eed programs iteded to become self-sustaiig. Additioally, special allocatios are made to support commuity college workforce developmet programs, distributed to colleges o the basis of program mix ad college eeds. I Teessee, the state fuds equipmet at the techology ceters aually through lie item allocatios. I Washigto, whe the legislature provides fudig for ew erollmet i the commuity ad techical college system, it has teded, i recet years, to be directed specifically to high-cost, highdemad programs, like ursig. Cocurret/dual erollmet. The extet to which states, systems, ad idividual colleges offer opportuities for high school studets to eroll i college CTE/workforce courses for credit varies greatly. Summarizig these policies is well outside the scope of this project, but we believe it is worth icludig as a strategy that ca recruit studets ito CTE/workforce programs ad help such programs become sustaiable o a erollmet basis. We leared of policies i several states that provide icetives to high schools ad commuity colleges to eroll high school studets i college courses. The most commo icetive is to provide reimbursemet for both sets of istitutios for cocurretly erolled studets. Kasas has a particularly robust approach to ecouragig dual erollmet i CTE courses. High school studets may eroll i CTE courses at o charge to the studet ad the state reimburses the college for 100% of the Board of Regets calculated cost. I additio, if a studet ears a idustry-recogized credetial by the time they graduate from high school, the high school receives a $1,000 award from the state. Workforce Ivestmets: State Strategies to Preserve Higher-Cost Career Educatio Programs i Commuity ad Techical Colleges 14

A Closer Look at Three States We have idetified five strategies i use across 20 states that may help preserve high-cost CTE/workforce programs. Figure 12 shows which of the strategies are used by each state. I the earlier sectios we reviewed each strategy i tur, with examples from some states. I this sectio, we look at three states (highlighted i Figure 12) that we foud to be amog the more proactive states i takig steps to preserve high-cost CTE/workforce programs. We selected Kasas ad Texas because they are two of the three states that use all five strategies. Texas, of course, is a large ad highly diverse state like Califoria. While both states have separate techical istitutios, they provide a bit of a cotrast because Texas has a separate system of techical colleges while the Kasas techical colleges are ot orgaized ito a system. As a third state we selected Illiois, which is oe of the larger states amog the seve that have adopted four of the strategies. Illiois does ot have separate techical istitutios, makig it a iterestig cotrast to both Kasas ad Texas. Kasas Separate techical istitutios. There are 19 commuity colleges ad six techical colleges. Each has its ow goverig board but all are uder the coordiatig authority of the Kasas Board of Regets (BOR). The Kasas Techical Educatio Authority (TEA) was established by the Kasas Legislature i 2007. It Figure 12 Fudig Strategies, by State Separate Techical Istitutios Differetial Fudig Performace Fudig Differetial Tuitio Course Fees Arizoa X X Arkasas X X X X Florida X X X Georgia X X X X Illiois X X X X Idiaa X X X Kasas X X X X X Ketucky X X Louisiaa X X X X Nebraska X X Nevada X X X X New York X X X Ohio X X X X X Oklahoma X X X Orego X Teessee X X X X Texas X X X X X Virgiia X Washigto X X X Wiscosi X X X X 15 istitute for higher educatio leadership & policy at califoria state uiversity, sacrameto

operates uder the auspices of the BOR ad makes recommedatios to the BOR regardig coordiatio of, statewide plaig for, ad improvemets to the techical college system. Its missio, as stated i TEA s 2012-13 Strategic Priorities documet, is to "drive the advacemet of a robust techical educatio system to meet the eeds of Kasas busiess ad idustry." The techical colleges are authorized oly to offer the associate of applied sciece, whereas the commuity colleges offer academic associate degrees as well as applied degrees. Both offer certificates. The TEA has bee grated authority to review ad alig programs with labor market eeds. About 46% of all associate degrees awarded i 2010-11 (icludig applied degrees) across both sets of colleges were i vocatioal fields. Differetial fudig. Both sets of istitutios receive state fudig usig a erollmet-based formula that has seve tiers, or cost categories. All programs referred to as academic are fuded at the lowest rate. The fudig tiers do ot take ito accout ay factors of labor market eed for programs but oly program cost. The tiered cost structure is based o a atioal cost study doe by Johso Couty Commuity College i Kasas. The study bega with a atioal grat ad is ow a self-sufficiet program that serves postsecodary istitutios i other states for a fee. Cost iformatio for the study is regularly collected from throughout the atio. The seve tiers produce a "istructor rate" which is supplemeted for high-cost programs by a "extraordiary cost rate" (low, moderate, or high) to cover specialized equipmet, supplies, ad materials. Fuds are added for istructioal support ad istitutioal support at a costat rate for all programs. Oce the program rate is used to compute the cost to serve studets at each college, each college is assumed to raise approximately 20% of the total from tuitio. Ay local tax reveue is also backed out to determie the balace to be appropriated by the state. Performace fudig. I 1999 the Kasas Legislature established performace-based fudig for techical colleges, commuity colleges, ad state uiversities. Each istitutio s receipt of ew state fuds is cotiget upo meetig goals outlied i its Performace Agreemet. 8 Istitutios submit a Performace Agreemet for Board approval oce every three years ad performace is evaluated aually. Each commuity ad techical college chooses idicators, from a specified list, to iclude i its Performace Agreemet. Idicators must address two goals icreasig educatioal attaimet ad meetig the eeds of the Kasas ecoomy. Idicators for the first goal iclude umber of certificates ad degrees awarded. Idicators for the secod goal iclude percet of studets employed or trasferred, wages of studets hired (as provided by the Kasas Departmet of Labor), ad third-party techical credetials. Commuity ad techical colleges must also iclude three idicators specific to the istitutio, oe of which measures a o-college-ready studet populatio. Differetial tuitio. Each college sets its ow tuitio ad higher rates of tuitio, called program fees, are assessed by some colleges for some programs. At oe commuity college, for example, tuitio for all state residets is $86 per credit hour regardless of program. For aother, the residet tuitio is $120 per credit hour with extra program fees for some programs icludig practical ursig ($1,371), automotive service ($250), precisio machiig ($200), iformatio systems ($200), ad weldig ($300). Oe techical college has i-state tuitio of $95 per credit hour ad aual program fees for every program, mostly i the rage of $1,500 to $2,000. 9 Course fees. Colleges may, ad ofte do, charge studets for supplies ad laboratory costs. This iformatio is typically published i the class schedule ad is difficult to summarize here. As examples, oe commuity college icludes o its mai website that a few departmets have special fees to cover the cost of labs ad materials ad directs studets to each program for details. Some of the programs listed as havig the special fees are allied health, costructio trades, cosmetology, evirometal techology, ad heatig & air. Aother college website has a cost sheet for each program that lists the estimated costs for required purchase of supplies. As examples, estimated costs of required supplies are $2,000 for automotive techology, $450 for hospitality/ culiary arts, $370 for detal assistig, ad $300 for idustrial egieerig. 10 Workforce Ivestmets: State Strategies to Preserve Higher-Cost Career Educatio Programs i Commuity ad Techical Colleges 16

A Closer Look at Three States Texas Separate techical istitutios. Texas has 50 public commuity college districts with local goverig boards. These districts are ot orgaized ito a college system. I additio to these istitutios, there are four techical colleges comprisig the Texas State Techical College System, which is govered by a board of regets. The techical college system was established i 1965. The techical colleges offer certificates ad associate degrees i a wide rage of career fields. The majority of degree offerigs are associates of applied sciece. Accordig to the Texas Educatio Code, the emphasis of each Texas State Techical College System campus shall be o advaced or emergig techical programs ot commoly offered by public juior colleges. 11 Differetial fudig. For each bieium, the Texas Legislature approves a rate per cotact hour for 26 disciplies. This rate applies to commuity colleges, techical colleges, ad state uiversities, although the portio of eed as computed by these fudig rates that is fuded by the state varies across each set of istitutios. The differet state fudig level is i part because the 50 commuity college districts are local istitutios with local tax reveues, while the techical colleges are state istitutios with o local fudig base. For the 2012-13 bieium the lowest rate for psychology, social services, ad history was $4.58 per cotact hour. The highest was career pilot, at $21.51 per cotact hour far higher tha the ext highest, detal hygiee, at $11.96. Most of the other disciplies were i the rage of $5.00 to $6.50 per cotact hour. Cost rates are based o a aual study of public two-year college istructio ad istructioal admiistrative costs. A prorated amout of istructioal admiistrative costs is added to each disciplie s cost per cotact hour for a total disciplie-based cost per cotact hour. Performace fudig. I Jue 2013, the goveror approved a ew performace fudig model that icludes oe approach for the commuity colleges ad aother for the techical colleges. Uder the pla, 10% of state fudig for the commuity colleges would be determied by colleges performace i movig studets through a set of success poits icludig developmetal educatio, gateway courses i Eglish ad math, credit hour attaimet, credetials awarded, ad trasfers to a geeral academic istitutio. For the techical colleges, a ew model is to be developed to allocate formula fudig based o the additioal direct ad idirect ecoomic value provided to the state ecoomy by their studets. 12 Implemetatio of the model would require idetifyig cohorts of graduates, trasfers, ad leavers ad matchig Uemploymet Isurace (UI) wage records for employmet ad wage iformatio for five years after the studet graduated or left. Wages would the be compared to miimum wages. Differetial tuitio. Whe the Texas Legislature deregulated tuitio i 2003 it gave commuity ad techical colleges freedom to set their ow rates, icludig differetial rates by program, subject to the approval of their goverig boards. As a example from oe techical college, geeral academic course tuitio is $82, with a additioal desigated tuitio of $46 for a total of $128 for oe credit hour; techical course tuitio is $97 for oe credit hour, with the same additioal desigated tuitio for a total of $143. As a example from a commuity college, there is a schedule for basic tuitio, by umbers of credit hours, ad a separate schedule of special programs ad tuitio with charges listed for 30 programs, ragig from $100 for computer maiteace techology to $11,771 for Aviatio Techology - Pilot. 13 Course fees. Course fees may be charged for a variety of purposes. Oe commuity college website lists lab fees for a log list of courses, ragig up to $24, a secod list of isurace-related fees for cliical programs, of up to $70, ad a third list of geeral course fees ragig from five fire protectio techology courses with fees from $20 to $100, to $60 for each machiig course, to $440 for each of several truck drivig courses. 14 17 istitute for higher educatio leadership & policy at califoria state uiversity, sacrameto

Illiois No separate techical istitutios. The Illiois Commuity College System cosists of 48 commuity colleges orgaized ito 39 districts, each with its ow goverig board. The system is coordiated by the Illiois Commuity College Board. All of the colleges offer academic trasfer programs as well as CTE/workforce programs. The colleges award certificates, associates of applied sciece, ad associates of arts/scieces. There are o colleges desigated as techical colleges. Differetial fudig. The majority of state fudig for the commuity college system is appropriated usig a credit-hour reimbursemet model that differetiates amog program costs i order to help maitai critical, but higher-cost, programs. There are six categories: baccalaureate, busiess, techical, health, remedial, ad adult basic educatio. The reimbursemet rates are based o ed-of-year expeditures submitted by every college. The techical rate is 1.5 times the baccalaureate rate; the health rate is 2.8 times the baccalaureate rate. The eed for state fuds for each college is determied by multiplyig the rates by the umber of credit hours i each of the six categories, subtractig tuitio, fees, ad local tax reveue. The state lacks the resources to cotribute the full computed eed, so makes a adjustmet to a effective rate. I fiscal year 2013 the effective rate was about 40% of the computed rate. Differetial tuitio. Tuitio is ot set by statute but is determied by idividual colleges. Because tuitio reveue is subtracted from computed eed i determiig the state appropriatio, colleges must use tuitio reveue to help balace their budgets. Oe college lists residet tuitio as $115 per semester credit. The class schedule icludes differetial cost by program, listed as tuitio for that class. Fall 2013 examples iclude tuitios for: Stick Weldig I at $215 for oe credit; Electrical Systems Troubleshootig at $345 for 3 credits; ad Moder Cuisie at $545 for 3 credits. Aother college website states that variable i-district tuitio rate will be applied to Practical Nursig Certificate, Associate Degree i Nursig, ad Radiography Program courses. A third states that variable tuitio rates for the specific programs ad courses listed below will be applied per credit hour, i additio to the stadard i-district tuitio rate, ad lists several health programs alog with weldig, auto body, hospitality, air coditioig, refrigeratio ad heatig, ad electrical maiteace. 15 Course fees. Colleges may charge course fees i additio to variable tuitio. Oe college website states: may courses require a course fee i additio to tuitio ad other fees. Course fees vary. They cover the cost of materials ad lab equipmet. The full cost of each course, icludig tuitio, fees, ad course fee, is oted with each course listig i the class schedule. 16 A legthy list of courses follows, with fees ragig from $5 to $135. Performace fudig. State allocatios for commuity colleges icorporated a small performace compoet begiig i fiscal year 2013. Colleges are measured oly agaist themselves to gauge improvemet. Six performace measures are used for the commuity colleges: degree ad certificate completio; degree ad certificate completio of at risk studets; trasfer to a four-year istitutio; remedial ad adult educatio advacemet; ad mometum poits (i.e., couts of studets makig specified progress i terms of credit completio ad advacemet through levels of remedial ad adult educatio). Workforce Ivestmets: State Strategies to Preserve Higher-Cost Career Educatio Programs i Commuity ad Techical Colleges 18

Implicatios: Which Approaches Might Make Sese for Califoria? Uder the Califoria Master Pla for Higher Educatio, the CCC system was assiged a huge role i providig liberal arts/trasfer programs for at least two-thirds of high school graduates those who are ot eligible to begi i oe of Califoria s public uiversities. I the cotext of such a historic role i trasfer educatio, the CTE/workforce missio has struggled to attai the level of attetio, support, ad respect that is directed to the trasfer missio. Today, particularly i light of the recessio, lawmakers ad educators are well aware of the importace of the CTE/workforce missio to the state s ecoomy. Califoria s commuity colleges offer a rich array of programs that help studets get jobs ad advace i the workforce. Uder the leadership of the Chacellor s Office, colleges are targetig those offerigs to meet the growig ad dyamic eeds of regioal ecoomies. Nevertheless, the state s policies, ad we believe, prevailig educatioal values, are laggig the rhetoric about the value of CTE to curret ad prospective studets. I our report series Career Opportuities, we aalyzed the CTE missio of the CCC ad cocluded that state ad system policies are ot as well aliged with the missio as they could be. We offered may suggestios for chages that could help more studets gai access to, ad advace i, good careers ad help the college system meet regioal workforce eeds. This study builds o that research by explorig the fiace mechaisms that other states use that may help colleges maitai studet access to valuable CTE/workforce programs. We idetified five strategies that are prevalet i other states. Noe of these strategies is used i Califoria, with the limited exceptio of course fees, ad the use of those is heavily costraied by Califoria law. We also perceived a differet culture aroud CTE/workforce educatio that is expressed i laguage ad messagig. We coclude this report with some observatios about what strategies ad approaches i other states might make sese for Califoria. Messagig We observed i our iterviews that most of the other states have a stroger focus o CTE/workforce educatio tha does Califoria. Perhaps this offers the most useful lesso for Califoria that regardless of specific fiace strategies, it probably behooves Califoria to icrease the attetio that is give to CTE/workforce programs ad to the messages, both explicit ad implicit, that are coveyed to prospective studets about the value of such programs. Other states leaders ad state agecy ad college websites sed clear ad strog messages that the CTE/workforce missio of their two-year postsecodary sector is hugely importat ad valuable to studets. Alogside efforts i Califoria to improve commuity college trasfer success, it should be possible to chage the way we commuicate to studets ad families about the value of CTE/workforce programs to studets shortad log-term career goals. Effective commuicatio aloe ca have fiacial implicatios simply by attractig more studets ito programs ad thereby ehacig college efforts to provide access to a richer set of offerigs. Goverace Techical Istitutios I Califoria, there is strog ad pricipled resistace to the idea that our commuity colleges would be aythig but "comprehesive." The resistace stems from a cocer that "techical" colleges would track low-icome, miority, ad other disadvataged studets ito less desirable pathways. Our research revealed may differet goverig arragemets i those states that have some two-year istitutios with a primary focus o techical educatio. Our cotacts i those states spoke of pathways some eve usig the descriptor "seamless" from techical colleges or techology ceters to public fouryear istitutios. It is clear that great strides have bee take i may cases to esure that the techical credits ad credetials that studets ear ca be a step toward further educatio. 19 istitute for higher educatio leadership & policy at califoria state uiversity, sacrameto

This is ot to suggest that there are o barriers to accessig baccalaureate programs i techical colleges, as trasfer betwee ay two istitutios ca be problematic. But either do we wat to suggest that studets i techical programs eed bachelor's degrees for successful careers i today's highly techical ecoomy. Our poit is that there are other models out there that are believed to be servig studets well. With the robust growth i allied health, iformatio techology, alterative eergy, ad other sectors where certificates ad associate degrees i applied fields are yieldig strog returs for studets, it may be time to cosider havig more tha oe of Califoria's 112 colleges explicitly idetified as a "techical" college. 17 Such a strategy might make most sese i some of the large, multi-college districts. Additioally, some observers have advocated for a regioal approach to postsecodary educatio i such a large state as Califoria. Were such coversatios to proceed, it would be importat to cosider if ad how techical colleges could fit ito a regioal model. Differetial Fudig Equity is a strogly-held value across the commuity college system that plays out i fiscal policy. Before Propositio 13 shifted the resposibility for fudig the colleges from the local districts to the state i 1978, vastly differet levels of fudig per FTES prevailed across the college system. Various steps have bee take sice the to reduce the gap across college districts i reveue per studet, culmiatig i Seate Bill 361 i 2006, which equalized per-ftes fudig across districts. The system's goal i supportig that legislatio was to achieve a allocatio model that would "result i truly equal fudig per studet" with such a outcome "kept stable over time." 18 But as Goveror Brow demostrated i the recetly eacted Local Cotrol Fudig Formula for the K-12 system, equity ca be defied i differet ways. I the goveror's view, equity requires the state to allocate the fuds to match the eeds of studets, eeds that are ot equally distributed across districts. Districts with more studets who require extra services will ow receive more fuds per studet. Applyig this logic to the commuity college system opes the door to discuss what equity meas ad how it might be accomplished through fiace. Rather tha equal fudig per district, equity could be uderstood as equal opportuity for studets to access the programs that they wat, or equal opportuity for districts to offer the programs that are valued i their regios. Iterviewees i several of the states we studied described their differetial fudig models as fair or equitable. Performace Fudig Lawmakers ad educators i Califoria have ot show the iterest i performace fudig that is evidet elsewhere, with over two-thirds of all states i the atio havig adopted it or havig formal discussios i place to adopt it for some or all postsecodary istitutios. 19 I this case it is Califoria s strogly-held value o access to higher educatio that is behid the cocers that performace fudig, by icetivizig completio, could harm disadvataged populatios with historically lower rates of completio. This research could iform future discussios that may arise i Califoria because it shows how states ca take varied ad flexible approaches to tailorig performace fudig to idividual istitutioal missios ad goals, icludig goals related to icreasig access ad success of low-icome ad miority studets i completig programs ad fidig employmet. Of particular ote are those states that allow idividual colleges to select some measures related to program completio ad job placemet i specified disciplies of importace to the college, ad those states that adopt differet approaches for techical colleges tha for trasfer-orieted colleges. Icorporatig icetives for program completio ad job placemet i priority idustry sectors, for example, might be compatible with the Doig What Matters for Jobs ad the Ecoomy iitiative of the system s Workforce ad Ecoomic Developmet divisio, eve if a broader adoptio of performace icetives is ot pursued. Workforce Ivestmets: State Strategies to Preserve Higher-Cost Career Educatio Programs i Commuity ad Techical Colleges 20

Implicatios: Which Approaches Might Make Sese for Califoria? Differetial Tuitio Tuitio reveue cotributes a much smaller portio of total commuity college reveue i Califoria tha i most of the states we studied because aual tuitio i the CCC is less tha 40% of the atioal average for commuity colleges. 20 Therefore, differetial tuitio, uless the differetial is quite large, is probably ot a particularly useful strategy for sustaiig high-cost CTE/workforce programs i the CCC. It is worth otig, however, that some states use differetial tuitio very selectively for a few programs such as i health ad other cliical fields. Others charge more oly for programs where there is evidece of a strog job market for completers. Aother oteworthy example is Louisiaa, where differetial tuitio is authorized oly i Board-approved cases where idustry is providig fiacial support for programs support which oe would expect to traslate ito jobs for studets. Ay cosideratio of a differetial tuitio policy, eve i these kids of fields, would have to be accompaied by attetio to fiacial aid policy to esure that access to such programs by low-icome studets would be maitaied. Much to Lear From Other States Fiace policy is a powerful tool of govermet because it expresses values ad priorities ad creates icetives for istitutioal actios. Our study of the fiace mechaisms that 20 states have i place for their commuity ad techical colleges reveals that this set of states, for the most part, has bee thoughtful about tryig to esure that amog their priorities is studet access to CTE/workforce programs that may etail some higher costs. Our study also uderscored that every state is differet ad thus geerates uique policy approaches. As a result, we thik there is much to examie amog these states policies that may be helpful to educators ad policymakers i Califoria as they cotiue to work to improve studet success i ways that embody Califoria s values of access, equity, ad quality i commuity college educatio. Differetial Course Fees Based o our research, it appears that Califoria is well out of step with much of the coutry i recogizig that studets are willig ad may eve expect to pay for supplemetal istructioal costs like supplies, protective clothig, equipmet, ad laboratory staffig. Course fees are assessed i the CCC but are greatly limited by statute ad regulatio as oted earlier. This may be a issue worth explorig with studets to see if some added flexibility to the ability of colleges to assess course fees might have more of a upside for studet access to high quality istructio tha a dowside for studet fiaces. 21 istitute for higher educatio leadership & policy at califoria state uiversity, sacrameto

Notes 1 All reports i the series are available at www.csus.edu/ihelp. 2 See http://doigwhatmatters.cccco.edu/ 3 These data are available from the Natioal Ceter for Educatio Statistics Itegrated Postsecodary Educatio Data System (IPEDS). The Classificatio of Istructioal Programs (CIP) codes ca be used to differetiate CTE programs from others, as 25 of the two-digit CIP codes are cosidered career ad techical educatio. 4 See our case study of the Washigto Commuity ad Techical College system i which we explored i depth its celebratio of its workforce missio. Kirli, M. & Shulock, N. (2012). O balace: Lessos i effective coordiatio from the Washigto State Board for Commuity ad Techical Colleges. Sacrameto, CA: Istitute for Higher Educatio Leadership & Policy. 5 Oe oteworthy example is a cost study performed regularly by Johso Couty Commuity College i Kasas i which other states may participate, for a fee, to obtai updated cost iformatio. 6 See Shulock, N. (2011, May). Cocers about performace-based fudig ad ways that states are addressig the cocers. IHELP Brief. Sacrameto, CA: Istitute for Higher Educatio Leadership & Policy. Available at http://www.csus.edu/ihelp/pdfs/b_ performace%20fudig_05-11.pdf. 7 See Califoria Educatio Code Sectio 76365 ad Title 5 of the Califoria Code of Regulatios, Sectio 59400. 8 Kasas Board of Regets (2013). Performace agreemets: Fudig guidelies. Topeka, KS: Author. Available at http://www. kasasregets.org/resources/pdf/2446-revisedfudigguideli es4-19-2013.pdf. 9 Tuitio iformatio as reported o the websites, respectively, of Cowley College, Coffeyville Commuity College, ad Northwest Kasas Techical College. 10 Course fee iformatio from Fort Scott Commuity College ad Flit Hills Techical College, respectively. 11 Texas Educatio Code, Title 3, Subtitle G, Sectio 135.01(c). 12 Texas Higher Educatio Coordiatig Board (2011). Outcomes-based fudig: Models developed by istitutios for istitutios. Austi, TX: Author. 13 Tuitio data from the Texas State Techical College system website ad for Alamo Colleges, respectively. 14 From Amarillo College website. 15 From websites for Illiois Cetral College, Illiois Easter Commuity College, ad Licol Lad Commuity College, respectively. 16 From website of Kakakee Commuity College. 17 Los Ageles Trade Techical College, i the Los Ageles Commuity College District, is the oly oe of the 112 colleges with "techical" i its ame. 18 Laguage cited from August 4, 2006 memoradum to college chief executive officers ad chief busiess officers from the System's Vice Chacellor for Fiscal Policy ad the Presidet of the League for Califoria Commuity Colleges. 19 Natioal Coferece of State Legislatures (2013, February). Performace fudig i higher educatio. Retrieved from http:// www.csl.org/issues-research/educ/performace-fudig.aspx. 20 Eglad-Siegert, C. (2013). Draft 2013 atioal tuitio ad fee report. Olympia, WA: Washigto Studet Achievemet Coucil. This 50-state survey, commissioed by the Washigto legislature ad goveror ad required i statute, reported required tuitio ad fees for 2012-13 ad is available at http://www.wsac.wa.gov/sites/ default/files/tuitiofeereport-draft.pdf. Workforce Ivestmets: State Strategies to Preserve Higher-Cost Career Educatio Programs i Commuity ad Techical Colleges 22

istitute for higher educatio leadership & policy Other IHELP Reports o Career Techical Educatio: The Road Less Traveled: Realizig the Potetial of Career Techical Educatio i the Califoria Commuity Colleges February 2011 Career Opportuities: Career Techical Educatio ad the College Completio Ageda Part I: Structure ad Fudig of Career Techical Educatio i the Califoria Commuity College Jauary 2012 Career Opportuities: Career Techical Educatio ad the College Completio Ageda - Part II: Ivetory ad Aalysis of CTE Programs i the Califoria Commuity Colleges February 2012 Policy Brief - Career Opportuities: Career Techical Educatio ad the College Completio Ageda Parts I ad II (summarized) March 2012 Career Opportuities: Career Techical Educatio ad the College Completio Ageda Part III: Promisig CTE Policies from Across the States September 2012 Career Opportuities: Career Techical Educatio ad the College Completio Ageda - Part IV: Aligig Policy with Missio for Better Outcomes March 2013 All IHELP publicatios are available at www.csus.edu/ihelp 23 istitute for higher educatio leadership & policy at califoria state uiversity, sacrameto

istitute for higher educatio leadership & policy Istitute for Higher Educatio Leadership & Policy 6000 J Street, Tahoe Hall 3063 Sacrameto, CA 95819-6081 T (916) 278-3888 F (916) 278-3907 www.csus.edu/ihelp

istitute for higher educatio leadership & policy The Istitute for Higher Educatio Leadership & Policy coducts research ad applies kowledge ad evidece to produce actioable recommedatios to improve policy, practice, ad leadership for postsecodary readiess ad success. Istitute for Higher Educatio Leadership & Policy 6000 J Street, Tahoe Hall 3063 Sacrameto, CA 95819-6081 T (916) 278-3888 F (916) 278-3907 www.csus.edu/ihelp