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The Job
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A weekly newsletter from Paul Fain about connections between education and the American workforce. Get a veteran journalist’s take on what to watch as postsecondary education and job training systems work to better serve lower-income learners and workers.
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Turning to students to fix higher-ed’s problems
“We’re really trying to start a movement in which learners feel they have a voice,” says one college president.
How to support low-income students in online programs
The evolving approach of hybrid colleges, which provide in-person coaching and other place-based support, is worth watching.
Many certificate programs would fail a proposed earnings test
The policy would compare the wages of program graduates with those of workers with only a high-school diploma.
Competing on price
Burck Smith, founder of StraighterLine, on online course provider, remains confident that change is coming to higher ed. A key driver will be big enrollment woes.
A key missing partner
If alternative paths to degrees and good jobs are going to work for meaningful numbers of workers, the growing consensus holds that both employers and colleges need to be at the table—often with an intermediary organization.
A smoother path to jobs
The pandemic helped show that money is hardly the only reason why lower-income Americans pass up college. Employer-sponsored degrees could help more people decide college is worth the risk.
“Sponsored” degrees: money for school in exchange for a work commitment
Deloitte will pay for degrees from ASU and Northeastern for future workers who GetSet Learning will recruit from two-year colleges.
Time is a barrier for workers with college benefits
Many people without degrees also had negative experiences in school and often have no desire to resume a formal education.
The appeal of course sharing
It can help meet student demand and improve enrollment, particularly for rural community colleges.
Bypassing degrees
The group behind a campaign for employers to drop degree requirements now wants to "rewire the labor market" to help those workers land good jobs.