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Policymakers, higher education associations, blue-ribbon commissions, and researchers are calling for a greater focus on institutional accountability. Thus, the American Association of Community Colleges and the Association of Community College Trustees, in partnership with the College Board, have launched an effort to develop a Voluntary Framework of Accountability (VFA) for Community Colleges to ensure that the effectiveness and contributions of these colleges are properly measured. To facilitate the development of the VFA, the College Board commissioned the Community College Research Center (CCRC) to undertake a study that would identify the performance measures that states are already using for their community colleges, explore how well those measures articulate with the data demanded by [Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System] IPEDS and the regional accrediting associations, and shed light on the experiences of state higher education officials and local community college leaders with the collection and use of state performance data. CCRC researchers therefore conducted a survey of state higher education officials and local community college leaders in 10 states and also reviewed publications by state agencies and national higher education policy organizations. This report discusses the study's findings and implications.

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This report from the Eurostat technical group on measuring skills provides a thorough and critical review of data sources in this domain, both within and outside the European Statistical System (ESS), in a European context. It starts by introducing the concept of skills as an aspect of human capital and describes the main approaches to capturing skills in data: indirect measurement (mainly through qualifications and occupations), direct measurement (testing and job vacancy data) and self reporting. It then sets the scene for the policy discussion, explores policy makers' main requirements as regards the development of statistics on skills and reviews the statistical data sources for measuring skills within the four dimensions identified: skills supply, skills demand, skills mismatch and skills development. Gaps in the data on skills are discussed in the last section.

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This project assesses the feasibility of creating a voluntary, nationwide data dictionary that can be used to standardize the reporting of postsecondary accountability reporting requirements for the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 (otherwise known as Perkins IV). Variables, field codes, and programming instructions, defined in collaboration with state postsecondary data analysts, offer a framework that states can use to crosswalk data from their existing information systems into a common database format. In this project, researchers from the [National Research Center for Career and Technical Education] NRCCTE and MPR Associates worked together to meet two objectives: (1) to develop a common data dictionary; and (2) to perform a quality check on the data dictionary by asking states to populate it with actual data. A critical finding of the project is that participating states were able to uniformly define many data elements that can be used to construct and report on postsecondary accountability measures required by the Perkins Act. States and the project team selected data elements with a view toward what information might be needed if and when the Perkins Act is reauthorized. The study acknowledges that there may be differences in how states collect data; however, a common data dictionary provides a standard goal to which all states can crosswalk their own data. Using a common data dictionary, and with sufficient support, many states should be able to generate relatively similar information for Perkins accountability purposes.

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Although tracking outcomes have not always been required in the past, [UK education and training providers] are increasingly expected to know the destinations of their learners. With the recent UK government announcement that it is considering how funding can be more strongly linked to outcomes in the future, it is important that providers now establish the means to track destinations. As well as meeting the needs of learners and funders there are benefits to providers as destination data can inform the evolution of provision, support equalities analyses and provide quantitative evidence which proves the value of learning when lobbying for funding. [It is recognised] that tracking learner destinations is challenging. It requires maintaining links with learners after they have left provision, securing their cooperation in revealing their destinations, systems for processing and storing destinations data and sometimes corroborating this data with third parties such as employers.

This [guide] was commissioned by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills to explore how providers are already tracking learners' destinations, and to try and understand the issues facing providers. Following this, 15 providers took part in a trial which involved tracking learners by telephone, post and electronic methods. [This guide is the result of this work and, as] destination tracking is continuously evolving, provides a snapshot of current approaches.

Edited excerpts from publisher's website.

The contents are as follows: Introduction; The challenges of tracking; Preparing to track; Tracking by telephone; Tracking through e-approaches; Tracking by post; Tracking through face-to-face contact; Conclusions and recommendations; Annex 1: a ten-point strategy for successful tracking; Annex 2: the survey methodology and questions; Annex 3: the trial methodology; Annex 4: tracking tools (similar to those used in the trial); Annex 5: acknowledgements. Show less

The use of educational technologies has many benefits for learners, teachers, institutions and industry. The most immediate impact is derived from the flexibility with respect to time and place of learning and teaching; however many other factors are emerging. While the principles of good teaching apply equally in traditional (face-to-face) and technology enhanced training and education, the latter leaves a trail of interactions that can give insight into the nature of the learning occurring. These trails become visible through interpretation of 'learning analytics' which can then be used to improve the design for learning and teaching. While data mining and predictive analytics have been used in relation to business (e.g. tracking customer behaviour) its effective use in relation to training and education is in its infancy. The authors propose that the use of learning analytics should be widely adopted within institutes that participate in any form of online delivery, whether that be through a blended or fully online approach.

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The vocational eduction and training (VET) sector naturally produces a gold mine of data waiting to be retrieved, assimilated and interpreted into meaningful information. Senior staff need this information to make informed decisions to improve student outcomes and optimise scarce resources. There are a number of software products on the market that will assist VET staff and researchers in their quest for answers to complex questions. Providing the right question is asked (and even if it is not the right question to ask) the use of these software products can save hours of drudgery and the user does not have to be a statistician to find the answers.

The volume of collected papers is indexed at TD/TNC 66.434, individual papers are indexed from TD/TNC 66.435 to TD/TNC 66.461 and a collection of Powerpoint presentations from the conference may be found at TD/TNC 66.462. Show less

This paper presents findings from a review of existing national and international research on partnerships, regional development and innovation. This research is framed within the context of the need for entrepreneurial linkages between vocational education and training (VET) and industry. The research found that the range of industry involvement strategies is limited only by the needs of the business partners in the skill ecosystem, and market opportunities for the VET provider. As the broadening VET involvement in industry partnerships is occurring in direct response to industry requests, the continuous complexity and change experienced by industry is reflected in a widening and changing role for VET. Complex partnerships can present challenges for VET organisations without mechanisms for recognising effort and resources deployed across organisational boundaries. Consequently, current funding and data collection arrangements have difficulty capturing information that reflects versatile activities such as collaboration building. The research also found that the current system still primarily rewards prescribed outcomes in an increasingly complex and changing work environment. Thus whilst the shifting role of the VET professional is directly responding to industry need, it is not receiving appropriate recognition in data collection and funding systems.

Published abstract.

Available papers from the 10th Australian Vocational Education and Training Research Association (AVETRA) Conference are indexed from TD/TNC 89.401 to TD/TNC 89.447. Show less

Measurement systems give colleges a structure for collecting, sharing, and acting on data. This guidebook and tools help faculty, staff, college leadership, and policymakers understand and use measurement systems - and specifically use data to improve completion rates, close institutional performance gaps, and facilitate economic mobility for historically excluded students. The guidebook and accompanying tools are intended for a college team, but anyone in higher education who wants to use data to drive their decision-making can benefit from using them. These resources are relevant to college systems and, depending on a state's setup, state agencies.

The Excel workbook is a companion for the guidebook. It includes a sheet for each of the guidebook's tool. As you complete each tool, your responses will automatically populate future tools and a master tab that you can use as the basis of your college's measurement system.

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This article reports on a study that is concerned with surveying the aspirations of some students in an Australian technical and further education (TAFE) college and of developing strategies to address issues arising from the surveys. The study is essentially a series of surveys, though it has an action learning aspect because of its developmental nature; it describes problems, actions taken to solve them and subsequent review of those actions. It is a work in progress that began three years ago by seeking to understand why students in the health section of the Community and Health Services Training Centre at the college undertook their studies. The paper begins with some background matters and is followed by an account of the methods employed in the surveys. Next, some of the findings are displayed and discussed. Finally, an outline is given of some of the changes implemented as a result of the investigation process thus far.

Published abstract.

Available papers from the 8th Australian Vocational Education and Training Research Association (AVETRA) Conference, 'Emerging futures: recent, responsive and relevant research', are indexed from TD/TNC 81.564 to TD/TNC 81.610. Show less

The Database on Immigrants in OECD countries (DIOC), undertaken by the OECD, was first released in 2008 based on 2000/01 census rounds. It was then updated utilising data around 2005/06 with the final round being compiled using data circa 2010/11. DIOC provides a detailed picture of the main characteristics of migrants by country of origin. Taking advantage of the availability of data in three different points in time, the updated database allows addressing various questions such as the following: How did migrant populations change over time? Particularly, what are the key origin countries of migrants in the OECD destinations? To which extent do recent migrants differ from the earlier cohorts? How did the financial crisis of the last decade affect international migration patterns? Which countries of origin have been mostly affected by the crisis? Which countries receive the largest share of highly educated migrants? Do migrants fare better or worse than their native-born workers in the labour markets? What is known about brain drain and its evolution by country of origin? What are the patterns in female migration, in particular, for tertiary educated women? The purpose of this paper is to present the basic findings drawn from the updated DIOC 2010/11. The first section of this paper presents DIOC in detail, its key variables and country coverage, as well as the evolution of migration patterns over time. Section two describes migrant populations both by country of destination and country of origin around the years 2010/11. Section three exploits the time dimension of the database to examine migration trends between 2000/01 and 2010/11. Section four focuses on data for 2005/06 and 2010/11 to present an analysis of the impact of the global economic crisis on international migration and the labour market outcomes of migrants. Section five presents the evidence on emigration rates and emigration rates of the highly skilled at the regional and country levels. The last section concludes with further remarks about the future development of DIOC.

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