With Workforce Pell implementation out of the gate, states have made significant headway in advancing their systems to understand and track noncredit activity. Yet, much work is still to be done.
Through our work with states as part of the State Noncredit Data Project (SNDP), we are seeing the landscape evolve on this front with the first true national movement to improve noncredit data. Assessing the policy and data landscape, we see lessons and opportunities for further state engagement and development. This next year will likely prove to be crucial for Workforce Pell implementation, as states get systems more fully developed and institutionalized. This first year will serve as more of a pilot upon which to build.
Building the data infrastructure needed to support Workforce Pell is an ongoing journey. As states and institutions move through that journey, several resources are available to help support that process. The Model Workforce Pell Data Framework, for example, is a resource generated by numerous organizations in the Workforce Pell Data Collaborative, including members of the SNDP, led by Strada Education Foundation. The framework is designed to offer a comprehensive data guide for Workforce Pell implementation for state agencies and educational institutions and includes guidance in four different pillars: employer alignment, program-level, participant-level, and employment and pathway outcomes.
In tandem with the Model Workforce Pell Data Framework, the SNDP’s national Noncredit Data Taxonomy 3.0 offers a guide for broad systems development around noncredit data. This updated version of the SNDP taxonomy includes 119 data elements with operational definitions in four major categories: purpose and design, student outcomes, enrollment and demographics, and finance and policy. The taxonomy’s “How-To Guide for Engaging the Noncredit Data Journey” includes the SNDP Core, which has 52 key data elements, along with additional mapping to the Model Workforce Pell Data Framework’s essential data.
As states consider building comprehensive systems to track noncredit activity, lessons around governance are key. The eight partner states engaged in the SNDP have demonstrated that noncredit education governance is highly variable and states differ significantly in how their noncredit ecosystem is structured. Given the diversity, rather than prescribe a single model, states may benefit from looking to others that resemble their own for guidance.
Some states have centralized around an educational “hub,” while others have organized around their labor or workforce agencies, and still others have identified their longitudinal data system as the hub of noncredit data. The designs have different advantages, such as creating efficiencies in data sharing (i.e., not having to negotiate new agreements with every agency) or greater access to data for social impact outcomes reporting (e.g., connecting to data on recidivism, homelessness). Considering who in the ecosystem understands the nuances of noncredit education (e.g., the language, the connections to adult workers, the closer ties to the labor market) is crucial in building a sustainable structure.
Finally, some key lessons emerge from the SNDP’s current scan of state policies and data-collection practices from the 37 states that have reported data thus far. About half of states have mandatory data reporting for noncredit or have noncredit as part of their state longitudinal data systems (SLDS). States have made strides in noncredit data, with many tracking key data elements such as program duration, enrollment, and completion. Far fewer have managed to connect those data with wage and employment outcomes data as well as third-party certifications and licensure. These are areas for attention and growth in many states.
Given the rising significance of noncredit education and short-term programs, these data are increasingly essential. They have the potential to guide learner decisions, provide accountability, and promote program improvement. These are all essential elements to ensure these programs are high quality and provide valuable opportunities to learners, employers, and economies.
The SNDP convenes a quarterly learning community meeting to share findings and practices about state noncredit data. Specialized working groups for states only also regularly convene to discuss and share practices across states. For information on how to join either one, follow those links.