The enactment of Workforce Pell Grants underscores how community colleges sit at the nexus of America’s full economic and talent potential. Clearly the nation’s growth and security depend on a robust, innovative workforce closely coupled with educational options that are most relevant to industries’ emerging needs. To truly maximize this potential, we must look for better ways to link educational and employment data systems.
Operationalizing the vision of Workforce Pell requires integrating two data systems that each house essential parts of the picture: educational success (traditionally measured in degrees, credits and program completion rates) and market value (measured by employment, wages and hiring demand).
Traditionally these worlds have been separate: Colleges maintain records that are protected by the Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act, and employment records are generally housed in state agencies (unemployment insurance) and federal databases such as the National Directory of New Hires, the Social Security Administration (earnings data) and the Internal Revenue Service (income tax returns), all of which are tied to individual Social Security numbers and are tightly constrained by state and federal laws to prevent fraud.
If we are serious about maximizing our country’s potential—empowering workers economically and advancing the innovative capacities of our corporate assets—we must look for better ways to share this information. State longitudinal data systems have benefited from federal investments, producing actionable information and analytics on the workforce and connecting individuals’ data over time and across state agencies. Workforce Data Quality Initiative grants have helped states create and improve data systems that integrate workforce and education data. Some strong models already exist in Arkansas, Colorado, Kentucky, Texas, Virginia and Washington.
Further federal investments here could be game changers, empowering the state-level infrastructure to support Workforce Pell and a number of other programs at the federal, state and local levels. A federal system that connects students’ records (certificates, credentials) to employment sectors, occupations and wages would enable colleges to make determinations required by Workforce Pell. Giving colleges and universities better access to federal data on employment and earnings could allow them to follow students from classrooms to employers, particularly across state lines, tracking how their education programs connect to the workforce pipeline. Congress should also enact the College Transparency Act, which would create a badly needed federal student data system that tracks key postgraduation impact measures while still protecting privacy.
Private-sector entities and nonprofits have long been at work in this space —notable players include Credential Engine, the Coleridge Institute’s Administrative Data Research Facility, the National Student Clearinghouse, Lightcast, CredLens and the Education Design Lab, among others. Federal policy could accelerate these efforts, identify best practices and integrate them for greater efficiencies. A system of learning employment records—digital records of an individual’s formal and informal learning and employment—could also bridge the gap between education and work. National leadership here is critical: A robust system of data sharing can help students and their families choose colleges and programs that best fit their needs while better informing policymakers about decisions related to accountability and funding.
Workforce Pell creates a new opportunity and incentive to innovate nationally around critical data needs. The developing program includes several eligibility metrics, raising challenges such as: How should states define “high-skill, high-wage” occupations? How will the 70 percent completion and employment placement rate be measured? What constitutes a stackable credential? How can we ascertain that program trainees will find jobs in specific occupations?
Community colleges are working diligently to integrate credit, noncredit and financial aid systems to advance Workforce Pell and empower upward mobility. These institutions have worked tirelessly for decades to show that local investments in their students produce measurable economic impact through higher salaries and enhanced employment. Health care, cybersecurity, information technology, skilled trades, advanced manufacturing and bioscience are among the industry sectors where community college graduates are already making strong economic contributions and earning family-sustaining wages—without an associate or bachelor’s degree.
Let’s make sure we can build on these successes and realize the promise of Workforce Pell by ensuring access to labor market data that is readily available and that can be integrated into reliable systems already in place. Let’s use American innovation to fuel the evolution and expansion of another quintessentially American paradigm with a strong track record: opportunity through community colleges.
DeRionne Pollard is the president and CEO of the American Association of Community Colleges.
