“High-Impact” Strategies to Align Higher Education and Workforce Development Systems: Evidence from State WIOA Plans

• In Event: Closing the Gap: Variations in State Approaches to Postsecondary and Workforce Alignment

Abstract

Background: State leaders continue to grapple with aligning higher education and workforce development practices to meet labor market needs while delivering value to learners. We analyzed strategies emphasized in state Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) plans - strategic documents states submit every four years to the Department of Labor - to understand how states approach education-workforce alignment. WIOA plans represent an underutilized data source: while all plans must address similar topics, states vary widely in their approaches to integrating education, training, and workforce systems. We examine alignment strategies such as stackable credentials and test how they relate to state outcomes using novel measures of credential attainment in high-demand, high-quality fields.

Research Questions: We sought to answer two related questions: 1) What promising workforce strategies and educational practices are states implementing to improve outcomes for jobseekers, and how have these changed over time? 2) To what extent do alignment strategies correlate with postsecondary and workforce outcomes, and what strategies might be considered "high-impact" practices?  

Methods: We conducted a mixed-methods qualitative content analysis, leveraging large language modeling (LLM) for text analysis and multivariate regression to assess relationships between strategies and outcomes. We systematically analyzed all WIOA plans from 50 states and 5 U.S. territories across multiple planning cycles (2016–2024), focusing on sections detailing state strategies and activities. We created an original dataset describing plan strategies across five categories: 1) governance/administration, 2) providing information to learners, 3) access to education and training, 4) connecting education to workforce programming, and 5) employer engagement. We then tested whether strategies were associated with credential production in high-demand, high-quality fields, particularly for sub-baccalaureate learners using panel regression techniques.

Results: Preliminary findings reveal three tiers of state strategies: universal compliance approaches mandated by WIOA (e.g., sectoral strategies); state variation approaches discussed in 40-80% of plans but not universally (e.g., articulation agreements, dual enrollment), and outlier/experimental approaches pursued by a small fraction of states (e.g., offering a K-12 district incentive, competency-based education). Our results also show significant variation in how states are implementing common policy approaches. For example, on average, 63% of states are investing in stackable credentials; however, some states are including attention to the stackability of microcredentials, while others are aligning dual enrollment credits with stackable pathways. Preliminary naive regression analyses indicate some meaningful, significant differences among strategies – particularly those aimed at connecting education and the workforce in improving (e.g., robust apprenticeship programming) or reducing (e.g., articulation initiatives) postsecondary and workforce alignment. Additional descriptive analyses are underway to explore workforce strategies across state characteristics (e.g., gubernatorial partisanship); future regression modeling will explore the robustness of our naive estimates.

Implications: With the House Committee on Education & Workforce recently announcing a WIOA reauthorization bill in Congress, more than a decade after its initial passage, this study can provide deeper understanding for state policymakers and researchers on the strategies states emphasize, and what leading states are implementing to produce workers and learners that meet workforce needs while achieving economic stability.

Authors

• Jeremy Wright-Kim, University of Michigan Ann Arbor
  Presenting Author

• Laura Andrea Rodriguez Lora, University of Michigan Ann Arbor
  Non-Presenting Co-Author

• Guan-Fu Chou, University of Michigan Ann Arbor
  Non-Presenting Co-Author

• Elaine W. Leigh, RAND Corporation
  Non-Presenting Co-Author