Direct from Washington, February 2009

Growing Role for Community Colleges

The impact of the economic downturn on community college enrollment already is evident. Interest in career pathway/development programs is on the rise as high school graduates forego, at least immediately, plans to try for a four-year degree and laid-off workers look for new career options.

Even without the changing demands because of the economic slump, community colleges were beginning to play a much larger role in noncredit workforce education. More than half of the states now provide general funds for community college noncredit workforce education and have guidelines that define what qualifies as a noncredit workforce course.

Not only are these courses sought by individuals, they often are responses to local employer needs. Again, funding may come from the state through workforce training and economic development programs.

According to a study by the Community College Research Center at Teachers College, Columbia University, community colleges also use the noncredit workforce education courses as a source of revenue. The campuses can charge whatever the market will bear because few states place caps on the amount that can be charged for the courses.

The community colleges use different organizational structures for the noncredit courses, but one evident trend is to consolidate programs and elevate noncredit education administratively within the college structure. Student outcomes from these courses are difficult to pin down because the courses are not regulated as are for-credit courses; some campuses use external validation such as industry certifications.

In addition to responding to local labor needs, noncredit workforce education has considerable potential for individual students, giving them immediate skills and access to credit programs that can lead to a degree. States that are using career pathways as part of their workforce development agenda can use the noncredit sector to connect short-term training to programs leading to degrees. The findings of the study produced several recommendations for state policy from the researchers, including:

• Provide state funding for noncredit workforce education with clear and targeted goals that help students access credit education through career pathways
• Encourage efforts to increase coordination between credit and noncredit programs
• Better assess student needs and support efforts to recruit noncredit students into credit programs
• Explore the development of non-degree forms of validation for all noncredit workforce education that promote the portability of evidence of skills and accountability of the programs
• Collect more information on outcomes from noncredit workforce education to assess its contributions to students, employers, and the economy.

"The Landscape of Noncredit Workforce Education: State Policies and Community College Practices," Michelle Van Noy, Community College Research Center.