As states pursue aggressive postsecondary attainment goals and agendas, state policy leaders face the need to connect educational opportunities with state- and local-level labor market needs. Asking state residents- both those that sought postsecondary education and those that did not- about their perceptions of higher education is key to this effort.
With the support of Strada Education Network, Education Commission of the States will collaborate with a cohort of three to five states in the fall of 2019 through the fall of 2020 to explore the connection between education and work. Over the course of the year, states will have the opportunity to access tailored state- and metro-level survey data capturing their residents’ perceptions of higher education and its role in assisting people in meeting their career goals. Collectively, we will draw meaning from this data in cohort meetings designed to foster inter- and intra-state collaboration and learning. A final component of the technical assistance opportunity, Education Commission of the States staff will remain available to assist states as they may formulate or implement policy approaches designed to fill the gap between education and work.
Congruent with our mission to assist state policy leaders in learning from one another, our selection process privileges states that assemble teams drawn from diverse roles in policy leadership. In the context of this particular engagement, teams drawn from state policy leadership, institutional- or system-level leadership, as well as workforce development or business community members are particularly welcome. Education Commission of the States’ staff is pleased to assist individual applicants in identifying the appropriate individuals to include in a state team; we also may combine teams if multiple applications are received from one state.
Instructions:
States interested in participating in this opportunity should submit the following interest form by July 24, 2019. Only one application is needed per state team. Scroll down to view the entirety of the application, and click "Submit" only once you are ready to turn in the form for your state team. The form itself should not take more than 15 minutes to complete.
Education Commission of the States staff will follow up with any questions based on the submitted information. State team leads will be contacted about the status of their interest forms by August 15, 2019.
Education Commission of the States Releases 50-State Comparisons Capturing Connections between Education and Work; Future Volumes to be Released
Over the next 36 months, Education Commission of the States will release three 50-State Comparisons that capture connections between education and work. The first of the three, this resource explores several areas implicated in ensuring students’ educational experiences prepare them for success in the workplace: workforce investment boards, career pathway systems and financial aid programs.
When it comes to leveraging postsecondary education to support state workforce development and individuals seeking jobs in their local economies, collaborative connections are key. Frequently, making these connections in states relies on multiple agencies working together.
This 50-State Comparison supports efforts to connect by identifying:
- Existing or potential ways to activate collaboration between state actors and across policies.
- Key players in each state’s landscape of efforts to connect education to work and to connect governmental actors across siloed agencies who share similar goals for workforce development.
- State actors currently involved in a state’s career pathway system, illustrating how leadership of these systems varies across states and stimulating conversation about which state actors should be involved.
- State programs that connect citizens with financial resources to facilitate credential completion, leading to productive participation in a state’s labor market.
Department of Education Seeks Comment on Data Collection in Support of Education Opportunity Centers
The Department of Education’s Educational Opportunity Centers program provides counseling and information on college admissions to qualified adults who want to enter or continue a program of postsecondary education. The program also provides services to improve the financial and economic literacy of participants. An important objective of the program is to counsel participants on financial aid options, including basic financial planning skills, and to assist in the application process. The goal of the EOC program is to increase the number of adult participants who enroll in postsecondary education institutions.
Projects include: academic advice, personal counseling, and career workshops; information on postsecondary education opportunities and student financial assistance; help in completing applications for college admissions, testing, and financial aid; coordination with nearby postsecondary institutions; media activities designed to involve and acquaint the community with higher education opportunities; tutoring; mentoring; education or counseling services designed to improve the financial and economic literacy of students; and programs and activities previously mentioned that are specially designed for students who are limited English proficient, students from groups that are traditionally underrepresented in postsecondary education, students with disabilities, students who are homeless children and youths, students who are in foster care or are aging out of foster care system or other disconnected students.
The Department has published the thirty-day PRA notice inviting comments on the data collection in support of the Education Opportunity Centers.
The report provides the Department with information needed to evaluate grantee’s performance and compliance with program requirements and to award prior experience points in accordance with the program regulations.
The data collection is also aggregated to provide information on project participants and program outcomes.
To review all the documents: http://www.regulations.gov by searching the Docket ID number ED-2019-ICCD-0063. Comments submitted in response to this notice should be submitted electronically through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov by selecting the Docket ID number or via postal mail, commercial delivery, or hand delivery.
The Department expects 140 responses. The Centers (which include a number of community colleges and universities) can be found at https://www2.ed.gov/programs/trioeoc/awards.html
Jobs for the Future Releases "What Works for Adult Learners: Lessons from Career Pathway Evaluations"
A limited but growing body of rigorous evaluation studies examines how career pathways influence student success. JFF set out to systematically examine these studies with the goal of answering one essential question: What do we know about the impact of career pathways on adults seeking to attain a living-wage career?
National Skills Coalition Examines Maryland Legislation to Gain Better Knowledge of Employment Outcomes
Wage data is an important tool for helping state policymakers understand whether postsecondary education and training programs are helping people find careers with family-sustaining wages. However, the most commonly used state wage data does not include this information about every state resident. To remedy this, Maryland recently enacted HB 1206 , which allows the Maryland Longitudinal Data Center System (MLDS) to receive aggregate wage information about students from the state’s Comptroller. This law makes Maryland one of the first states able to access tax data to determine student employment outcomes.
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