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Opening doors to earning credentials: curricular and program format innovations that help low-income students succeed in community college

The Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation's (MDRC's) Opening Doors to Earning Credentials project concludes that community colleges have the best potential to assist low-wage workers earn skills and college credentials that could result in educational and career advancement. The project identified a number of barriers to the realisation of this potential such as the characteristics of the low-wage workforce, the institutional structure and priorities of most community colleges, and the external policy environment. MDRC has identified three strategies to facilitate community college effectiveness in helping working adults earn college credentials: (1) financial incentives; (2) student support mechanisms; and (3) program and curricular innovations and redesign. MDRC commissioned Jobs for the Future to examine curricular and program redesign strategies being used in community colleges to accelerate advancement from lower levels of skills into credential programs and the time required to earn a credential. This paper presents a framework for understanding the range of experimentation with program and class reformatting and redesign. It identifies promising approaches and concludes with issues for MDRC to consider in assessing the viability of a research program on program redesign for working adults.

The Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation's (MDRC's) Opening Doors to Earning Credentials project concludes that ...  Show Full Abstract  

Authors: Kazis, Richard; Liebowitz, Marty
Corporate authors: Jobs for the Future (U.S.) (JFF)
Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation (U.S.) (MDRC)
Date: 2003
Geographic subjects: North America; United States
Resource type: Paper
Subjects: Innovation; Disadvantaged; Equity;

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