No Educational Experience Should Be an Island: How Low-Income Students’ Access to and Persistence in Postsecondary Education is Restricted in the Very Programs they Need the Most

Abstract

For low-income students, particularly those who are lower-skilled and/or did not enroll in postsecondary education immediately after high school, completing a community-college based workforce development program offers a crucial opportunity to put their new skills to work and find employment in their regional labor market. The best of these programs are developed in conjunction with local employers, designed to address skills and employment gaps in the local area, and offer high-quality training that leads to careers. In this context, the author argues that not-for-credit or noncredit programs present advantages: they can offer training of shorter duration and can connect very low-income individuals with employment faster; they are often created based on specific employer needs or input, ensuring that students are learning skills applicable to jobs in their local area; and institutions can more rapidly and easily get them started, since they are usually not subject to time-consuming curriculum approval processes.