Poster #133 - Understanding Program Features and Credential Attainment in Noncredit Workforce Programs

• In Event: Saturday Poster Luncheon

Abstract

Rapid technological change has increased demand for a skilled workforce. At the same time, individuals are actively seeking opportunities to advance their careers or develop the skills needed to meet labor market demands. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2023), there are approximately eleven million job openings and only six million unemployed workers, underscoring the importance of flexible and accessible career and technical training to address evolving workforce needs and support individual career advancement. Noncredit technical workforce training programs at community colleges play a critical role in providing timely training and pathways for individuals to earn workforce-relevant credentials aligned with labor market demand. Prior studies have demonstrated the value of credentials for improving students' labor market outcomes. Understanding the factors that contribute to variation in credential attainment across different programs is essential, as it can offer insights into how to better design and develop these programs to enhance student success. However, due to the limited availability of noncredit program data, we know very little about how various features influence variation in credential attainment. Utilizing unique administrative data from seven high-demand programs across 22 institutions from 2016 to 2023, this study identifies substantial variation in credential attainment rates both across and within programs and shows how different factors contribute to the variation. Employing Shapley-Owen decomposition and ordinary least squares regression analysis, we isolate the influence of program features relative to student demographics, peer characteristics, and local labor market conditions. Findings indicate that program-specific factors explain approximately 50% of the total variation explained in credential attainment. Notably, significant differences in effectiveness exist within the same programs across institutions, with some programs demonstrating credential attainment rates up to 27 percentage points above expectations, and others 35 percentage points below, after adjusting for confounding factors.  We further collected survey data to help us better understand how specific program attributes, such as instructional format, financial assistance, academic advising, and career services, contribute to credential attainment. This is important given that colleges are provided with substantial leeway in how to design and deliver a program. For example, colleges may choose whether to offer courses online or in person; the number of contact hours required for program completion; whether the program is offered in intensive shortened formats within six weeks versus a longer course with a less intensive schedule. In terms of content and materials, colleges may choose the books and other materials to be used in their courses, and may also vary in the extent to which programs provide work-based learning experiences to students. By the time of the conference, we will present findings on how these program-level design choices contribute to the remaining unexplained variation in credential attainment. This study offers important policy implications, especially as many states increasingly emphasize the role of noncredit programs in workforce development. Our findings will provide valuable insights into which program design elements are most strongly associated with improved student success.

Author

• XunFei Li, University of California, Irvine
  Presenting Author