CTE Policy Watch: A blog for CTE advocates

CTE and COVID-19: Responses, Innovations and Implications

The COVID-19 pandemic presented unique challenges for CTE programs, especially in regard to hands-on learning experiences. Recently, the CTE Research Network published a report addressing how CTE program offerings and student participation changed during spring 2020 and the 2020-21 academic year. To develop this report, Network researchers conducted interviews with teachers, administrators and curriculum developers from 22 CTE programs at the secondary and postsecondary levels.

Delivery Methods: Of the 22 CTE programs, researchers found that one program ceased operating in spring 2020 while 21 programs delivered instruction remotely, primarily online although some programs supplemented with paper packets and equipment kits. More than half of the programs cited lack of broadband and technology access as a challenge. In the 2020-21 academic year, 17 programs moved from remote learning to other delivery formats, primarily hybrid formats or shifting delivery formats owing to changes in state and local guidance.

Learning Activities: Although most programs reported cancelled or reduced hands-on and work-based learning opportunities, some implemented modularized instruction with theory taught virtually and hands-on practice in person, used online platforms to connect students to industry professionals or established new pathways. Several programs also reported strengthened employer partnerships due to flexible online meeting options. Additionally, many programs shifted professional development for educators online, which increased educator engagement for some.

Student Enrollment and Engagement: A few programs described lower than expected enrollment for fall 2020 while some reported increased enrollment. For the 2021-22 academic year, most programs cited enrollment concerns due to the loss of in-person recruitment events. Many programs also reported that students struggled to balance core subject classes with CTE classes that focused more on theory than the hands-on learning students originally expected. In addition, participation in CTSOs sharply declined.

Student Performance Impacts: Some CTE programs revised grading measures or extended grading periods in response to COVID-19 disruptions. In addition, 11 programs stated that students lost opportunities to take industry certification exams and some that did offer industry certification exams reported lower participation and proficiency rates.

Changes to Continue: While COVID-19 presented challenges, CTE programs noted innovative elements that will likely continue when the pandemic ends. Many programs found increasing educators’ proficiency with technology resulted in valuable recorded lessons and virtual collaboration with employers, families and students.

The report also outlined questions CTE researchers should consider as they measure program and student outcomes during and after the pandemic, including understanding how programs responded to the pandemic, studying what aspects of programs changed, and examining outcomes and data reporting issues.

ACTE serves as one of the CTE Research Network Leads, in partnership with the American Institutes for Research, JFF and Vanderbilt University. The Network’s findings align with ACTE’s own research on this topic, captured in our report High-quality CTE During COVID-19: Challenges and Innovations.

Updated: Law, Public Safety, Corrections & Security Sector Sheet

ACTE has recently updated its Sector Sheet on CTE’s role in developing the workforce for the law, public safety, corrections and security (LPSCS) sector with up-to-date labor market information, descriptions of how CTE prepares the workforce for this sector, and examples of exemplary programs in LPSCS.

The LPSCS Career Cluster® incorporates many occupations that support the U.S. criminal justice system and the myriad of professionals who assist in emergencies such as natural disasters. More than 20,000 new firefighters will be needed across the nation, particularly in the west, as fire seasons lengthen. In addition, more than 40,000 police officers and detectives – who typically earn more than $67,000 per year plus benefits – will be needed by 2029. Demand for legal services will drive the need for paralegals and legal assistants, with job opportunities increasing much faster than average. In addition, the greater use of technology in legal and protective services will also fuel job growth for forensic science technicians and drone operators.

CTE programs are taking the lead in preparing people for LPSCS careers. On the secondary level, Waipahu High School in Honolulu offers the Law and Justice Administration Pathway to introduce students to careers in law enforcement, legal services and forensics through hands-on learning and coursework in criminal justice and public safety. In partnership with the FBI Honolulu Division’s Adopt-a-School program, the academy provides a two-day immersive field exercise called PROVE – Practical Observation and Vocational Experience. PROVE tasks students with interviewing witnesses, sketching crime scenes and gathering comprehensive notes to solve a mock multi-jurisdictional criminal investigation. On the postsecondary level, the Paralegal Studies program at Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C) in Cleveland prepares students to serve as paralegal professionals with American Bar Association-approved coursework. Learning extends beyond the classroom to practicums where students gain experience in a legal office, corporate legal department or public defender’s office. Tri-C’s program offers courses in various paralegal specialty areas such as employment law, immigration law, criminal law and family law along with a variety of certificate and degree options.

ACTE’s Sector Sheet series is generously supported by Pearson.   

DC Digest: September 20-26

This week in Washington, both the House and Senate returned from recess. House Committees continued their markup work and held several hearings, while the Senate focused on pending nominations and held hearings. In addition to the continued work on the budget reconciliation bill, the Build Back Better Act, Congressional leaders are still attempting to bring the companion infrastructure deal to the floor for a vote the week of September 27. In addition, there is also the more pressing issue of passing a continuing resolution (CR) to keep the government funded after September 30. Here is some other news and notes from the week: 

• House Budget Committee Approves House Budget Reconciliation Bill: The House Budget Committee held a markup of the budget reconciliation package, known as the Build Back Better Act, on Saturday, September 25, and advanced the bill as the next step in the House’s process. It is still unclear if the House will bring this version of the bill to the floor, as negotiations within the House and with the Senate continue. The timing of future markups of the Build Back Better Act in the Senate are also still in flux. Nevertheless, this is still a great time to utilize ACTE’s Action Center to contact your Members of Congress and urge them to include robust, dedicated funding for CTE in the final version of the budget reconciliation bill.

• Senate HELP Committee Holds Hearing on Apprenticeships: On September 22, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee’s Employment and Workforce Subcommittee held a hearing to discuss ways to improve access to and awareness of apprenticeships. Two co-chairs of the Senate CTE Caucus, Sens. Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Rob Portman (R-OH), also attended the hearing as off-committee members. Sen. Portman celebrated the CTE Caucus and called for more senators to join the caucus, and Sen. Kaine discussed needed efforts to expand short-term Pell Grant access. The three witnesses present at the hearing included a student that recently completed an apprenticeship that led to full-time employment, as well as a career development professional and a business professional to provide industry perspectives. 

• Zach Curtis Joins ACTE's Public Policy Team as Government Relations Manager: Zach Curtis will be the association’s primary lobbyist, working alongside the public policy team to advocate for CTE priorities on Capitol Hill and with the executive branch. He will be laser-focused on CTE funding through the federal budget and appropriations process, issues falling under the House and Senate education committees and relevant regulatory issues pertaining to the Department of Education or Labor. Learn more about Zach on CTE Policy Watch! 

• Department of Education Announces National Blue Ribbon Schools: The Department of Education has announced 325 schools that were selected as National Blue Ribbon Schools for 2021, recognizing schools that have achieved academic excellence or made substantial progress in closing achievement gaps. Language was added for this year’s selection criteria to recognize curriculum that supported college and career readiness. View the complete list of award winners here. 

• Department of Education Announces Funding to Promise Neighborhood Grantees: The Department of Education awarded over $40 million to a new cohort of Promise Neighborhoods grantees across seven states. Promise Neighborhoods bring together schools, nonprofits, and other organizations in a concerted effort to meet the needs of children and youth. 

• Department of Education Announces Awards to Showcase Commitment to Equity, Excellence, and Opportunity: The Department of Education’s Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE) announced it is on track to award more than 5,100 grants, totaling around $2.6 billion dollars, to new and existing grantees by September 30, 2021. Grants provided under these programs will serve more than 1.3 million students and millions more attending institutions with approved projects. These grants are in addition to the nearly $40 billion in emergency grants for postsecondary education provided to more than 5,000 institutions under the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act. 

• CTE Highlighted in Advancing Innovation in Adult Education Project: This past week, September 19-25, was recognized by adult education partners as Adult Education Week. The Advancing Innovation in Adult Education Project, led by the Manhattan Strategy Group, includes several CTE programs. The project received funding from the Department of Education’s Office of Career, Technical and Adult Education (OCTAE).

Senate HELP Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Apprenticeships

On September 22, the Employment and Workplace Safety Subcommittee of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee held a hearing to discuss ways to improve access to and awareness of apprenticeships.

Two co-chairs of the Senate CTE Caucus, Sens. Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Rob Portman (R-OH), attended the hearing as off-committee members. Sen. Portman celebrated the CTE Caucus during the hearing, called for more senators to join, and emphasized the role that apprenticeships play in skilling and reskilling Ohio workers as the economy rapidly changes and businesses seek qualified workers to fill positions. Sen. Kaine discussed efforts to expand access to short-term Pell Grants to high-quality CTE programs, but he reiterated that these efforts are not yet finished!

In response to a question from Sen. Mike Braun (R-IN), Leah Curry of Toyota Indiana Manufacturing noted that students should not be pigeonholed into groups – those who belong in four-year degree programs and those who belong in apprenticeships and CTE programs. Curry noted that skills are for life, and they can be built upon to achieve industry-recognized credentials. Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Chairman of the Subcommittee, noted that he himself is a former small business owner and understands that apprenticeships lead to good-paying, high demand jobs.

You can watch the full hearing on the Senate HELP Committee’s website.

Research Roundup: Access, Barriers and Equity in Postsecondary Education

Access and Participation in Dual Enrollment: Education leaders are increasingly interested in encouraging transition to college through dual and concurrent enrollment, particularly for rural learners. Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Central studied access and participation in dual enrollment based on locale and income using data on students and high schools in REL’s Central region, which is more rural than the national average and includes Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming. The following are key findings of their results:

• About 82% of high schools in the REL Central region provided at least one dual enrollment course, a higher percentage than the national average, and 89% of students had access to at least one dual enrollment course.
• Within the REL Central region, access to dual enrollment schools and courses tended to be lower in rural and city locales than in town and suburban locales. However, students in rural locales participated in dual enrollment at the highest rate.
• Within the REL Central region, high schools with high percentages of low-income students were more likely to provide at least one dual enrollment course and reported higher levels of dual enrollment participation.

Postsecondary Education Barriers: Cengage Group recently published a report examining factors that impact student decisions to opt into or out of postsecondary education. Researchers surveyed more than 1,600 respondents, including learners who were currently enrolled in postsecondary education, former postsecondary students who dropped out and high school graduates currently not enrolled in postsecondary education. The report reveals the following findings:

• Respondents identified the cost of tuition, living and course materials as the biggest barriers to postsecondary education. Additionally, more than 40% of technical college students cited their employer’s inability to cover tuition as a potential enrollment barrier.
• Almost half of all respondents stated that free tuition would encourage them to return or complete postsecondary education. Others said debt forgiveness, online courses, grants, lower costs of living and cheaper course materials would also influence their decision.
• Approximately 68% of current students and 58% of students who dropped out are interested in skills courses or micro-credentials due to their flexibility, lower prices and shorter completion time.
• Nearly half of the current students surveyed reported that they enrolled because a credential is necessary for their career path.

The report offers multiple recommendations to reduce barriers to postsecondary education such as creating online options, implementing stackable credentials, establishing debt forgiveness opportunities, introducing competency-based education and expanding job skills programs, among others.

Transfer, Mobility and Progress: The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted student transfer patterns, resulting in 191,500 fewer students transferring from one postsecondary institution to another. The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center published a report that examines this and other trends among 2.1 million postsecondary transfer students between July 2020 and June 2021. Researchers focused on three different pathways among transfer students: transfers from two-year to four-year institutions (upward transfer), transfers from four-year to two-year institutions (reverse transfer) and transfers between two-year institutions or between four-year institutions (lateral transfer). The report detailed the following findings:

• While all pathways faced declines, upward transfers decreased the least at a rate of 1.3%. In contrast, reverse transfers fell by 16.2% and lateral transfers decreased by 11.9%, with declines concentrated in transfers between two-year colleges.
• Upward transfers among Black students declined at the sharpest rates while Asian and Latinx upward transfers increased. Additionally, transfer enrollment fell more for males than females.
• Only highly selective and a few online colleges expanded their total transfer enrollment throughout the year. Hispanic-serving institutions faced significant transfer declines, while historically black colleges and universities were unaffected.

Stranded Credits: Stranded credits are academic credits that students earned but cannot access due to an unpaid balance with a previously attended institution that is holding their transcript as collateral. A report by Ithaka S+R used interviews from 13 students in institutional debt relief programs and staff at five institutions to study the impact of stranded credits. The report found that stranded credits disproportionately affect students of color, first generation and low-income students; disrupt students’ education and career goals; and inhibit students’ ability to apply for financial aid. Researchers outlined the following recommendations to address stranded credits:

• State representatives and state higher education executive officers should create legislation that limits institutions’ reliance on holding transcripts and degrees for payments and requires institutions to report the prevalence of unpaid debt. Furthermore, regulatory bodies should work with institutions to identify flexible ways for students to settle their debt.
• Institutions should create debt relief programs and expand opportunities for students to learn about financial aid, debt and resources for financial hardship. Additionally, institutions should train staff about financial aid and work to identify students at risk for financial instability.

Future research on stranded credits should examine triggering events in students' lives that lead to increased debt, identify the points in their education pathways when learners are most vulnerable to accruing more debt, and explore whether "one-stop shops" that centralize registration, tuition payments and financial aid impact the prevalence of stranded credits, among other questions.

Meet Zach Curtis, ACTE's new Manager of Government Relations

This week, I came aboard the ACTE team as the new Manager of Government Relations. I will be the association’s primary lobbyist, working alongside the public policy team to advocate for CTE priorities on Capitol Hill and with the executive branch. Specifically, I will be laser-focused on CTE funding through the federal budget and appropriations process, issues falling under the House and Senate education committees, and any relevant regulatory issues pertaining to the Department of Education or Labor. I am honored to be advocating on behalf of ACTE’s members – I hope to have the opportunity to meet you in the future, be it virtually or in person. But first, I wanted to take a moment today to introduce myself to you in my first blog post.

Before ever stepping foot in Washington, D.C., I was deeply passionate about education policy and its promise of being the “great equalizer”. In 2016, I had the opportunity to lead a consulting project between Bloomberg (a media and technology company) and San Francisco Unified School district in which we helped the district address issues of inequity in their school assignment process. I quickly learned that, despite all good intentions, our education and economic systems often do not provide equal opportunity to prosperous and fulfilling lives for every learner. I am particularly excited to begin at ACTE because, at my core, I believe that CTE is one of the most effective and promising ways in which we can work toward a better and more equitable future.

After graduating from the University of Oregon with a bachelor’s degree in International Affairs, I began my career in policy as an intern for Congressman Sam Farr (D-CA) working on constituent affairs. From there, I spent the next 6.5 years working for Bloomberg in New York, San Francisco, and Washington D.C. For the bulk of that time, I served as an Account Executive for Bloomberg Government advising government affairs teams at trade associations, nonprofits, and institutions of higher education. At the beginning of 2020, I began pursuing a master’s degree in Public Policy from the George Washington University – I expect to complete this degree in May of 2022.

Most recently, I worked on federal appropriations and educator preparation policies at Learning Policy Institute (LPI). In my research at LPI, I saw the staggering impact that COVID-19 had on financial barriers to enrollment for prospective CTE students. While concerning, I see this as a moment of tremendous opportunity to advance policies that allow hard-working citizens access to pathways to fulfilling, high-wage and high-demand careers.

I look forward to championing CTE on behalf of our members to ensure we provide generations to come with the skills needed to succeed in our modern workforce. Should there be any way I can be a resource and partner to you, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me at zcurtis@acteonline.org or at 202-930-3165.

The Role of Community and Technical Colleges in Workforce Education

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to accelerate changes in the labor market, community and technical colleges are increasingly seen as essential institutions to provide workforce education. While two-year institutions have the reach, scale and infrastructure to deliver the upskilling that will be needed in years ahead, policymakers are challenged with a lack of data on workforce education. To address this information gap, Opportunity America, in collaboration with the Lumina Foundation and Amherst H. Wilder Foundation, recently published a report on noncredit and credit workforce education programs using survey responses from more than 600 public two-year institutions.

Student characteristics: More than half of students at the community colleges that responded to the survey are enrolled in for-credit or noncredit job-focused programs, with an estimated 3.7 million students (35%) enrolled in noncredit programs. Additionally, noncredit programs have a larger share of older adult learners and students enrolled in occupation-focused programs than credit programs. The report also notes that community colleges collect little data on noncredit students, such as race and ethnicity, making it difficult to determine how well these programs are equitably serving learners.

Program characteristics: Both credit and noncredit programs are increasingly preparing students for industry certifications and 36% of colleges’ employer partners provide on-the-job work experience. Furthermore, while noncredit fields of study vary by college and state, health care is the most common field overall.

Transfer: The findings reveal that very few colleges provide transition opportunities from noncredit to credit education and less than 20% of students make this transition. The report noted that articulation agreements between credit and noncredit programs and increasing support for adult learners who return to college can improve transition opportunities.

Financing and accountability: Currently, noncredit workforce programs are ineligible for federal aid and three-quarters of noncredit workforce programs are shorter than 150 clock hours, excluding them from bills like the JOBS Act aimed at expanding workforce program funding. Therefore, students and employers largely cover the cost of noncredit programs. The report also details that most colleges use employer input and labor market data to assess noncredit workforce program quality, but rarely utilize employment outcomes.

Based on these findings, the authors suggest that state lawmakers undertake the following recommendations:

• Improve data collection on noncredit workforce programs
• Allocate funding based on programs’ labor market alignment and employment outcomes
• Use incentives, data and frameworks to create pathways between noncredit and credit workforce programs

Read the report here or view the Opportunity America’s virtual release here.

DC Digest: September 13-20

Last week, the remaining House Committees finished their work on portions of the Build Back Better Act, also known as the budget reconciliation package, and the Senate returned to Washington only to consider pending nominations. You can read more about the progress and next steps for the Build Back Better Act below, and here are other news and notes from Washington: 

• Next Steps for Build Back Better Act: The next legislative step is for the House Budget Committee to compile each piece of the bill into one larger bill and send it to the House Rules Committee, where it will continue to move through the legislative process. At this stage, the reconciliation process will likely move to closed-door negotiations between key Democrats and leadership in the House and Senate to come up with a package that can garner enough Democratic votes to pass each chamber. Further markups and activity may also take place in the Senate, making this a critical time for you to contact your Members of Congress and urge them to include the robust funding levels for CTE and workforce development in the Build Back Better Act, as well as include CTE programs, including at area CTE centers. in any free postsecondary education proposals. 
   
• ACTE Joins Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) in Applauding Committee Passage of the Build Back Better Act: Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) applauded the House Education and Labor Committee passing its portion of the Build Back Better Act, which includes $4 billion in dedicated funding for CTE programs, and nearly $80 billion total in funding for workforce development programs. ACTE joined Rep. Krishnamoorthi’s press statement celebrating the robust funding levels for CTE and workforce development programs, and is calling on the Senate to maintain or exceed these levels in the Build Back Better Act.

• James Kvaal Confirmed as Under Secretary of Education: The Senate has confirmed James Kvaal to be Under Secretary of Education in the U.S. Department of Education, where his focus will be on higher education priorities for the Biden Administration.

Research Roundup: Funding, Data and Accountability

Challenges in Sharing State Data: According to a report by the Data Quality Campaign (DQC), the pandemic has caused disrupted post-high school pathways, high levels of unfinished learning and low levels of student enrollment and engagement in secondary schools. Using public opinion polling of principals and parents, the report reveals disconnects in data that prevent school faculty and parents from addressing these challenges. The report outlines the following key findings and recommendations state leaders should take to improve access and use of data:

• Although 80% of principals feel confident that teachers can properly use data, teachers report they do not have sufficient support or training. State leaders should work with districts to implement data training and incorporate data literacy skills into teacher preparation programs.
• Most parents want data from state assessments and support resuming state assessments that were suspended during COVID-19, but 80% of principals think locally designed assessments are more accurate. This perception is driven in part by how long it can take to receive state assessment data on the local level. State leaders can improve the sharing of state assessment data with local leaders, educators and families by reporting this data as soon as possible and in an easy-to-understand manner.
• Few parents know where to find data about post-high school transitions. In addition, only 46% of principals report knowing where to find all the data they need to understand how well their school prepares students for their post-high school education and careers. State leaders should promote cross-agency collaboration to create high quality longitudinal data systems as well as include disaggregated data in reporting.

In 2020, Advance CTE and ACTE released two resources that can help state and local CTE leaders respond to data sharing challenges. Beyond the Numbers: Design Principles for CTE Data Reporting provides nine principles for developing effective and accessible CTE data reporting tools. Beyond the Numbers: A Toolkit for Communicating CTE Data includes models and templates that users can download to build their own engaging infographics, presentations and other materials to communicate their data.   

Post-pandemic Recruitment and Financial Aid Strategies: With enrollment down by 9.5% at community colleges across the country, an article by Inside Higher Ed covers innovative strategies colleges are employing to attract students for the fall 2021 semester. While many colleges reported using traditional on-campus registration and information events, some institutions are attempting to re-enroll former students who dropped out before graduating. For example, Blue Ridge Community College in North Carolina has seen re-enrollment strategies paired with scholarship opportunities increase enrollment by more than 13% compared to fall 2019. Other institutions established and marketed new programs that fill workforce needs, and a few community colleges reported implementing financial incentives for students using federal stimulus funds.

Pandemic Impacts on Accountability: The COVID-19 pandemic’s effects on the economy and financial aid policies are likely to impact federal higher education accountability metrics such as student loan repayment and earnings. In an Urban Institute report, researchers predict how each federal accountability metric will be affected by the pandemic. Most relevant to CTE, metrics on the College Scorecard, such as program-level earnings and employment rates, are predicted to decrease and could affect the decisions of prospective students.

The authors propose several options for helping learners make informed decisions using College Scorecard data, such as preserving pre-pandemic earnings data in lieu of or along with pandemic-era earnings data, excluding data from the first six months of the pandemic or providing additional context. In the longer term, data could be cushioned from the swings caused by temporary economic disruptions by averaging across more years of data or across multiple cohorts of students.

Performance-Based Funding and Student Earnings: In response to growing concerns about the value of public postsecondary education, some states adopted performance-based funding (PBF) systems to hold colleges accountable for student success metrics and labor market outcomes. InformEd States published a working paper to determine if PBF has impacted student earnings by analyzing federal data on post-college outcomes between 1997 and 2009. Researchers outlined the following key findings:

• PBF systems resulted in an average 1% earnings increase for students who attended four-year institutions, with larger increases for low-income students. For two-year colleges, there were no increases in earnings.
• PBF systems subject to equity metrics, such the academic success of low-income students, showed some increase in earnings, while workforce metrics had little impact.

The authors call for additional research and suggest that colleges serving large numbers of students of color may be disadvantaged by PBF owing to systemic labor market discrimination against people of color.

Updated: Biosciences Sector Sheet

ACTE recently updated its Sector Sheet on CTE’s role in developing the biosciences workforce with current labor market projections, information about how CTE prepares the workforce for this sector, and examples of exemplary programs in the biosciences.

The biosciences field has been absolutely critical to combatting COVID-19, and a continued demand for research and development of treatments and vaccines for infectious diseases will drive a projected rise in employment. The sector expanded its workforce in 2020 and opportunities for lab technicians are expected to grow by at least 9% through 2029. In addition, the pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing sub-sector is projected to grow its workforce by about 19% through 2029 owing to production of vaccines and other pharmaceuticals.

CTE programs are at the forefront in preparing youth and adults for bioscience careers. On the secondary level, Carlmont High School in Belmont, California, is home to the Biotechnology Institute, a three-year, cross-curricular small learning community. The biotechnology coursework culminates in a college-level biomanufacturing course in which students follow the path of a drug from inception to a final, marketed product. In addition, learners interact with biotechnology professionals through guest speakers, industry tours, mentorships and job shadowing. On the postsecondary level, InnovATEBIO is a National Science Foundation-funded initiative that is developing the biotechnology technician workforce. It assists 119 community college programs in 38 states with curriculum, professional development and other supports. In addition, InnovATEBIO builds bridges across the biotechnology workforce pipeline through relationships with industry leaders, four-year colleges and K-12 schools.

ACTE’s Sector Sheet series is generously supported by Pearson.