As CTE Month comes to a close, ACTE has released a Spanish-translated version of our “What is CTE?” infographic to help CTE supporters inform about CTE in the Spanish-speaking community.

This resource providers an overview of CTE and highlights the benefits that CTE can provide for students, businesses and communities in the Spanish language.

We encourage you to share this resource with Spanish speakers new to CTE as well as those who interact with the Spanish-speaking community, including students and families; educators, counselors and administrators; and federal, state and local education and workforce leaders.

Click here to access the English version of this resource.

Causes of Disengagement: StraighterLine and the University Professional and Continuing Education Association conducted a joint study to determine what causes students to leave their postsecondary institution before completion. Researchers collected survey responses during spring 2021 from individuals between the ages of 20 and 34 who had college credits but were no longer enrolled in a postsecondary institution to reveal the following key findings:

• The top cited reasons for leaving an institution included family commitments (32% of respondents), finances (24%) and work (11%). Younger learners more often cited that their institution was not the right fit, while older learners primarily cited financial motives.
• About 20% of respondents reported that their institution could reengage them and identified providing a certificate for credits earned, offering courses at a lower price and creating workshops that address student challenges as the most effective tactics for reengagement.
• Roughly 43% of respondents stated that they were “extremely likely” or “very likely” to continue their education, with those who had disengaged more recently and those who had been enrolled in health programs being most likely to plan to continue their schooling.

Relatedly, the Brookings Institution recently published an article summarizing research that examined postsecondary disengagement specifically in adult learners. Researchers analyzed the labor market trajectories of 200,000 adults who earned some credits from the Virginia Community College System between 2009 and 2014 but stopped out before completing their credential. The report’s key findings are outlined below:

• Fewer than one in seven adult learners earned at least 30 college-level credits and maintained a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher prior to their departure, suggesting that many of these adults would have difficulty maintaining enrollment and academic progress if they were to return.
• Of those who earned at least 30 credits and maintained a GPA higher than 2.0, on average, individuals earned $5,000 per quarter in the year leading up to their departure from college and nearly double this figure five years after their departure.
• Only six out of 19 programs of study were associated with significantly higher earnings for graduates. In fact, fewer than 3% of adults in the study, if they were to return to college, could easily re-enroll in fields of study that result in a significant earnings premium from completing a credential.

Reconnecting Adult Learners: According to an article in Work Shift, beginning in summer 2021, five of North Carolina’s community colleges participated in an outreach campaign called “Better Skills. Better Jobs.” This initiative aims to re-enroll adult learners who completed at least 50% of a degree or credential program within the past five years. The five colleges placed calls, emails and texts to 12,000 prospective adult learners. As a result, 753 additional students enrolled in fall 2021, and roughly 87% of these learners received grades and 63% completed a credential or re-enrolled for the spring semester. This spring, five more North Carolina community colleges are expected to participate in the outreach campaign.

Student Supports: Community colleges offer more than an education. For many, they also provide supports to address non-academic barriers to enrollment, persistence and completion. Recently, the Education Commission of the States released a policy brief that discusses how states and community colleges can provide wraparound supports. The brief highlights examples of wraparound supports, different approaches to providing supports (such as two-generation programs that combine postsecondary education for adult learners with childcare and early childhood education for their children) and examples of states and community college systems that have coordinated multiple supports for students.

The biggest news this week was that the U.S. Senate passed its CTE Month resolution with a record 68 cosponsors on February 15! The House resolution is still open for co-sponsors. In addition to final CTE Month activities, ACTE is also keeping a close eye on any negotiations that may arise on the America COMPETES Act/USICA, which contains language similar to the JOBS Act and the College Transparency Act (CTA), two of ACTE’s top legislative priorities. After passing a short-term CR to extend government funding to March 11, both chambers will be in recess for the duration of this week. Here are the key headlines from the past week:

• Notice of Funding Opportunity for Community Colleges in STEM: The Department of Defense’s National Defense Education Program (NDEP) is seeking to strategically fund STEM education at 2-year institutions and Community Colleges through a consortium approach to develop and encourage STEM ecosystems. DOD NDEP Notice of Funding Opportunity Letters of Intent are due February 22, 2022, to osd.dodstem@mail.mil. Full applications are due March 29, 2022, through grants.gov.

• Senate Passes Continuing Resolution (CR): On February 17, the Senate passed a CR to extend government funding until March 11. After passage of the short-term funding bill, Senate Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) was optimistic that appropriators could reach an agreement on Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 appropriations by the new mid-March deadline.

• ACTE and Advance CTE Hold Capitol Hill Briefing with CTE Caucus Co-Chairs: On Tuesday, February 15, ACTE and Advance CTE hosted a Capitol Hill webinar briefing with career and technical education student organizations (CTSOs) and congressional CTE Caucus co-chairs Rep. Jim Langevin (D-RI) and Sen. Todd Young (R-IN), bringing together policymakers, CTE stakeholders and CTSO representatives for a learner-focused conversation on the value of CTE. Read more about the event here.

• Senate HELP Committee Holds Hearing on Workforce Development: On February 15, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee held a hearing titled, “Supporting Quality Workforce Development Opportunities and Innovation to Address Barriers to Employment.” Four witnesses testified about their workforce development strategies and recommendations to confront the nation’s skills gap. Read more about the hearing here. 

On February 15, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee held a hearing titled, “Supporting Quality Workforce Development Opportunities and Innovation to Address Barriers to Employment.” Four witnesses testified about their workforce development strategies and recommendations to confront the nation’s skills gap. 

Melinda Mack, Executive Director of the New York Association of Training and Employment Professionals. noted the importance of Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) in New York, where half a million New Yorkers utilize resources like American Job Centers. Mack added that childcare, transportation, access to career navigation and case management, and continued access to benefits like Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) are key to worker success in job training programs. 

In response to business demand, the local workforce board in the rural Southern Tier of New York, the regional adult education provider and a state-funded workforce intermediary partnered with four local businesses to design an accelerated machining training program. The program invested WIOA funding to provide individualized case management to ensure workers could navigate the program and access public resources to support childcare needs. 

Peter Beard, Senior Vice President for Regional Workforce Development – Greater Houston Partnership, observed that in Houston, upskilling appears to be more effective when provided in the context of an individual’s current employment, in part because the additional skills workers obtain are generally context specific. 

Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) noted that there are opportunities for workers to pursue postsecondary and apprenticeship programs if they wish, and that engaging learners and parents in career exploration is extremely beneficial. “Ultimately, more career exposure is necessary to make sure we are getting through to adults and parents, because many don't know what exists in their region. [Showing] them the facilities makes a huge difference.” 

Ashli Watts, President and CEO of the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, said, “We hear the rhetoric that college is not for everyone. What we should be saying is that something past high school is for everyone. In Kentucky, we are looking at Union Scholarship dollars so children can go to the pathways that we need for the logistics and manufacturing sectors. We are completely aligned. In Kentucky, our system has been at the forefront of making sure we have the students that are going to meet the needs of our employers in Kentucky.” 

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) added that the JOBS Act, which would expand Pell Grants to short-term postsecondary programs, would help solve or address several of the workforce barriers that the witnesses addressed. 

Each witness emphasized the need to support sector-based training models and industry or sector partnerships to bring businesses of all sizes together with education providers. These partnerships would increase employment opportunities for workers, as well as support learning on the job, including through work-based learning, apprenticeship, and incumbent worker training. You can watch the full hearing here.

On the evening of February 17, the Senate passed a new continuing resolution (CR) by a vote of 65-27. This vote comes after the House passed the CR, H.R. 6617, to extend Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 spending through March 11. The CR was temporarily held up by Republicans in the Senate who attempted to include provisions related to combating vaccine mandates and a Department of Health & Human Services harm reduction program. The amendments were ultimately voted down, with some Republicans voting in line with their Democratic colleagues. The bill now goes to President Biden to sign before government funding runs out after February 18.

Moving forward, the House and Senate Appropriations Committees will continue negotiations to hopefully pass an FY 2022 spending package before government funding runs out again on March 11. Committee leadership has stated that they have come to an agreement on top-level funding, however, have given specifics. It is expected that the military will be receiving a larger increase than originally proposed by Democrats, while more modest increases will be given to non-defense spending like education. This is an effort to reach an agreement that will satisfy at least 60 Senators, including ten Republicans who demanded parity between defense and non-defense increases.

Although no specifics have been given about Perkins funding, ACTE continues to urge Congress to maintain the $50 million increase proposed by the House and Senate last year for FY 2022. It is expected that the President’s budget request will not come until after the State of the Union speech on March 1^st, which marks the beginning of the FY 2023 appropriations process.

Last week, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) released their Digest of Education Statistics 2020, an annual compilation of education statistics gathered from a variety of government and private sources. This year’s digest features new data from years 2018 to 2020 on secondary and postsecondary enrollment, educational attainment, types of degrees conferred and more.

Enrollment: Overall enrollment in fall 2018 for public elementary and secondary school totaled nearly 50.7 million students while enrollment in fall 2019 for postsecondary institutions consisted of more than 20 million students. More than 5.4 million students were enrolled in public two-year institutions and almost 59,000 were enrolled in public less-than-two-year institutions, an 11% increase from the year prior.

Credentials: During the 2018-19 academic year, public two-year institutions conferred over 687,000 associate degrees and more than 529,000 certificates. Public less-than-two-year institutions conferred nearly 34,000 certificates.

When examining all public postsecondary institutions, both associate degrees and certificates that take longer than a year to complete shared the same most popular fields of study: liberal arts and sciences, general studies, and humanities; health professions; and business. For shorter term certificates, mechanic and repair technologies joined health professions and business as the most popular fields of study.

Earnings Outcomes: In 2019, the median annual earnings for associate degree holders were $50,550 and for those with some postsecondary education were over $47,000. Male associate degree holders made 33% more and males with some postsecondary education made 27% more than their female counterparts.

Data from various NCES surveys are an important source of information about CTE students and programs, with the most relevant data for our community located on the center’s CTE Statistics webpage. This year, NCES is launching the High School & Beyond Longitudinal Study of 2022 (HS&B:22), which will follow 26,000 students as they make the journey to and through high school and into the workforce or postsecondary education. If your school is contacted to participate in HS&B:22, ACTE encourages your participation.

On Tuesday, February 15, ACTE and Advance CTE hosted a Capitol Hill webinar briefing with career and technical education student organizations (CTSOs) and congressional CTE Caucus co-chairs Rep. Jim Langevin (D-RI) and Sen. Todd Young (R-IN), bringing together policymakers, CTE stakeholders and CTSO representatives for a learner-focused conversation on the value of CTE. 

Rep. Langevin welcomed the webinar attendees and offered remarks from his perspective as a policymaker and co-chair of the House CTE Caucus. “Employers report that many of the top jobs that they need to fill require some form of technical skill, highlighting the importance of a well-prepared workforce and that’s where all of these young people come in… I believe that education is most effective when aligned with industry needs.” 

Sen. Young reiterated his pride in serving as a co-chair of the Senate CTE Caucus and the importance of CTE in the current economic climate. “Our nation’s economy is facing a serious skills gap,” Young said. “In my home state of Indiana, 3 out of 5 jobs require skills training that amounts to more than a high school degree, but less than a traditional four-year degree at the college or university level. CTE programs are essential, and ensure that skilled jobs are actually filled in key Indiana industries.” 

Moderator and Advance CTE Executive Director Kimberly Green then introduced student panelists Gowri Rangu, Zac Spohn, Kartik Tyagi and Maria Deddens. 

Rangu, of Longview, Texas, observed that “through CTSOs, you have so much power as an individual to use your voice and influence change.” Rangu currently serves as the First Vice President of the Technology Student Association (TSA). 

Spohn, attending Minnesota State University and representing DECA, noted that “DECA was the first time I was in a classroom where what I was being taught was applicable to what I wanted to do with my life and career.” 

Tyagi, a UNC Chapel Hill student and International President-elect of the Health Occupations Students Association (HOSA), added that “my CTSO has provided me with mentors and opportunities to expand my professional network. These individuals are some of the biggest cheerleaders on my career journey and help to shape who I am today.” Tyagi also discussed the importance of obtaining professional certifications, including his own experience earning his pharmacy technician certificate. 

For Deddens, of St. Leon, Indiana, CTSOs are a family affair and serve her community. “After witnessing my sister in the role as a state CTSO officer [for FCCLA] and applying her skills in the real world, I wanted to take the step to go into a CTSO and make a difference and a change within my community.” 

Each of the students spoke about the need for equitable access to CTE programs that can help create a more accessible and affordable future as learners explore their career paths and interests.  

Rangu summed up the experiences of each of the panelists by reminding the audience of policymakers and CTE stakeholders that they need to continue investing in CTE. “You’re not investing in an organization, you’re investing in the future.”