Get a Skill, Get a Job, Get Ahead? Evaluating the Effects of Virginia’s G3 Program

• In Event: Building Bridges for Community College Success: Evaluating the Role of Policy, Funding, and Accreditation

Abstract

Virginia’s G3 initiative was a bipartisan effort to invest in and align community college workforce education to a rapidly changing economy. The tuition-free community college program was leveraged as a pandemic recovery strategy and was implemented in fall 2021. The key goals of the G3 program are to increase college enrollment, improve workforce program persistence and completion rates, and increase labor market returns, particularly for historically marginalized adults. Our results suggest that G3 increased FAFSA completion by 5 percentage points and resulted in small but significant increases in enrollment in G3 eligible programs. We find no evidence that G3 increased credits attempted or earned by students, first year enrollment persistence, or degree completion rates.

Authors

• Sade Bonilla, University of Pennsylvania

• Daniel Sparks, University of Pennsylvania