Career Pathways Strategies: How do College-based Programs Help Students Persist and Complete? Karen Gardiner Abt Associates National Council for Workforce Education October 2019 San Antonio, TX

The Pathways for Advancing Careers and Education (PACE) Study is supported by the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE), Administration for Children and Families (ACF), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) (Contract #s: HHSP23320072913YC and HHSP23320095624WC). The contents of this presentation do not necessarily represent the official views or policies of OPRE, ACF, or HHS.

Presentation Overview Describe PACE evaluation Summarize college-based programs’ designs Describe program implementation Instruction Advising Employment Supports Review short-term impact findings

What is the PACE Evaluation? Separate evaluations of nine promising employment and training approaches, within a common conceptual framework: career pathways Postsecondary education and training organized as a series of manageable steps leading to successively higher credentials To engage and retain participants, programs integrate four components: Academic and non-academic assessment Innovative basic skills and occupational training instruction Academic and non-academic supports Connections to employment Led by Abt Associates, sponsored by ACF, with additional support from foundations and (for 3+ programs) Health Profession Opportunity Grant (HPOG) Program funds

Evaluation Design Program-level evaluations Implementation study Assessed extent, quality of program implementation per design Key data sources: program MIS, staff surveys, observation and interviews with staff, participants, other stakeholders Impact study Randomly assigned eligible applicants to treatment (access to program) and control (no access) groups at 1:1 ratio Main data sources: surveys (at the point of random assignment and 18 months later), local college records

Programs Based at Community & Technical Colleges Multi-step programs that span basic skills remediation through multiple, stackable credentials Pima Community College’s Pathways to Healthcare Washington State’s Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training (I-BEST) program (3 colleges) Short-term programs to accelerate basic skills remediation to prepare for occupational training Madison College’s Patient Care Pathway Program Des Moines Area Community College’s Workforce Training Academy-Connect

Multi-step Programs Program Pathway Supports & Services Pathways to Healthcare Pima Community College Accelerated college readiness “bridge” 16 programs organized into 5 multi-step pathways Two academic advisors (pre- and post-training enrollment) One non-academic advisor to screen for barriers and link to supportive services Scholarships for training, books, license fees Tutoring, study groups I-BEST 3 Washington community or technical colleges Credit bearing certificate programs ladder into next academic step Basic skills instructor integrated into occupational training Advising (during PACE) to navigate college, career planning, link to supports Financial support to “fill the gap” in tuition Basic skills support classes

Short-term Programs Program Next Step Supports & Services Patient Care Pathways Program Madison College Semester-long “academies” ladder into 1- and 2-year healthcare credentials Bundle occupational and contextualized basic skills courses Proactive advising to develop academic plan, identify potential barriers, navigate college Instructional supports for chemistry class, tutoring Assistance with financial aid forms Workforce Training Academy-Connect Des Moines Area Community College Linkage to Workforce Training Academy occupational courses/credentials Online basic skills remediation Advising from Achievement Coach No tuition Transportation supports Benefits screening

More Flexibility to Design Innovative Instruction: Basic Skills Education Programs designed and implemented basic skills education so could incorporate: Contextualization (incorporate basic academic skills in the context of an occupation or “real-life” situation) Active learning techniques (Instructional approaches emphasize project-based learning and problem-solving tasks) Flexible schedules (offer training at convenient times and places) Acceleration (reorganize curricula to enable completion in a shorter (calendar) time period) Pathways to Healthcare example of Active learning techniques include: Writing instruction: “E-journaling”—responding to a weekly question in writing—to familiarize students with computers and professional writing. Reading and speaking: Students participated in a book club to hone their reading and speaking skills. The instructor addressed conventions such as bold and italics and what they meant, and asked questions to gauge understanding. Note taking to prepare for occupational training: The instructor demonstrated how to use flash cards, marginal notes, underlining and starring text, to help students understand medical terminology.

Fewer Examples of Innovative Occupational Training Programs most often used standing college courses Open to wider student population Limited ability to incorporate adult learning techniques, flexible schedules Exception = I-BEST Integrates basic skills into occupational training Courses “team taught”; basic skills instructors present and participating at least 50% of occupational class time Basic skills instructors use concepts from students’ coursework as vehicle to build basic skills

All Programs Incorporated Advising Varied in how often advisors met with students and topics discussed Single advisor model more common; addressed range of academic and non-academic issues Patient Care Pathway Program WTA-Connect I-BEST Multiple advisors specialize in academic and non-academic supports Pathways to Healthcare Often recommended—but not mandated—number of sessions Students in most programs did not participate in recommended number

Impact on Receipt of Career Counseling

Impacts on Help Arranging Supports

Employment Connections Limited or Not Provided College employment services for completers include: Workshops Pathways to Healthcare & WTA-Connect In-program experiential learning for healthcare programs Pathways to Healthcare & I-BEST Informal; through instructors or other contacts I-BEST & Pathways to Healthcare One program provided no employment services Patient Care Pathways Program goal = enrollment in healthcare occupational training program

Impacts on Receipt of Employment Services

Impacts on Education

What is Next? PACE 36- and 72-month reports will examine Employment outcomes for all programs Average rate of employment, average earnings, job characteristics, career progress Cost-benefit analyses for some programs Educational outcomes Next steps on the pathway Receipt of longer-term credentials

Where to Find More Information Websites https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/research/project/pathways-for-advancing-careers- and-education http://www.career-pathways.org/ Project Team Nicole Constance, ACF, PACE & CPIO Project Officer nicole.constance@acf.hhs.gov     Karen Gardiner, Abt Associates, PACE Project Director Karen_gardiner@abtassoc.com Larry Buron, Abt Associates, CPIO Project Director Larry_buron@abtassoc.com