Search

The landscape of educational research necessitates sophisticated approaches to scholarly communication, demanding researchers to adeptly navigate diverse methodological traditions. This article provides systematic guidelines for academic writing that transcend methodological boundaries, offering practical strategies for crafting clear, ethical, and impactful scholarly work. Emphasizing the importance of structure, style, and scholarly conventions, the article addresses the complexities of quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods research. Key guidelines include adherence to ethical standards, clarity and conciseness in communication, and proper citation practices to maintain academic integrity. The article also offers insights into adapting dissertations and theses into journal articles, highlighting the challenges and opportunities for early-career researchers. As educational research evolves, the need for effective academic writing remains paramount, ensuring that valuable insights are shared and built upon within the scholarly community. By fostering excellence in academic writing, researchers can significantly contribute to the advancement of educational theory and practice.

The goal of Smithsonian Science for North and South Carolina Classrooms was to provide teachers with ongoing, differentiated professional development and research-based curricular materials to improve elementary student achievement in science, mathematics, and reading. This work used an inquiry-based science curriculum, Smithsonian Science for the Classroom, which is aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), and was implemented in Grades 3-5 within predominantly rural North and South Carolina school districts serving high-needs students. The Center for Research in Educational Policy (CREP) at the University of Memphis, a State of Tennessee Center of Excellence, was the independent third-party evaluator. CREP implemented a Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) to collect and analyze data using a rigorous, mixed-methods approach, including quantitative analyses of student achievement data from the Stanford-10 and state assessments, and qualitative analyses of classroom observation data, as well as teacher feedback from professional development surveys, module logs, and focus groups. For this study, 36 schools (including one split cohort being treated as one school) in seven districts within North and South Carolina were randomly assigned to treatment and comparison groups. The study cohort, followed over three academic years (2020-21 through 2022-23), was composed of more than 1,600 third grade (2020-21) students in these schools. In the comparison condition, schools used their business-as-usual science curricula and teacher professional development and did not receive Smithsonian Science curricular materials or professional development. As the pretests for achievement outcomes, students took the Abbreviated Battery of the Stanford Achievement Test Series, Tenth Edition (Stanford-10) in Reading and Math in spring of 2021 (the cohort's third grade year). The main findings and posttests included the combined sample (i.e., both states combined) for (a) the Stanford-10 Science subtest, which was administered in the spring of 2023 (the cohort's fifth grade year), and (b) spring 2023 standardized state assessment scores in Reading and Math. Using a hierarchical linear model (HLM) with school as a random effect, the analysis of the effect of Smithsonian Science for the three main findings after several years of disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic was (a) positive (g = 0.18) and statistically significant (p = 0.032) on the Stanford-10 science assessment and (b) positive for both Reading (g = 0.10) and Math (g = 0.16), meaning students in the treatment group performed better than the control group, but the effects were not statistically significant. Teachers were generally positive in terms of the professional development provided, and feedback on the module logs largely supported the effectiveness of the professional development and fidelity of implementation. Classroom observations further supported the effectiveness of the professional development and fidelity to inquiry-based practices in treatment classrooms (e.g., use of experiential hands-on learning and level of class time dedicated to inquiry-based science). With instructional time for science lagging other subject areas, and as learning recovery in reading and math after COVID-19 receive national attention, the results demonstrate that ongoing, differentiated, high-quality professional learning and high-quality instructional materials for science instruction can support student achievement in science, math, and reading.

For any dual enrollment (DE) reform to be effective, educators must acknowledge and understand the diverse experiences of all DE students, especially those from historically underrepresented populations. As part of CCRC's DEEP research, the author of this brief investigates the experiences of students historically underserved in DE to understand what these students want from their DE programs and the educators who lead them. An analysis of focus group interviews with 97 predominantly Black, Hispanic, and low-income students uncovered six themes that the author frames as students' wants: (1) Students want to know about DE options earlier; (2) Students want well-informed DE advisors who empower them; (3) Students want their DE courses to be aligned with career and academic pathways in their fields of interest; (4) Students want engaging learning experiences in their online courses; (5) Students want to know how to balance the high school experience and DE coursetaking; and (6) Students want to know how to find scholarships and manage debt to help them attend college after high school. For each of these six wants, the brief describes the students' perspectives and presents research-based strategies educators can use to support DE students in the realization of these wants. The brief also outlines questions educators can ask their students to gain a better understanding of their experiences.

More than half of states have implemented tuition-free college policies aimed at reducing attendance costs and incentivizing enrollment. We review the academic literature on the design features and impacts of these tuition-free policies, and we analyze an initiative Virginia implemented in 2021 called Get a Skill, Get a Job, Get Ahead (G3), which provides tuition-free community college to students enrolled in eligible associate degree, certificate, and noncredit occupational training programs in five high-demand fields. Our descriptive analysis of G3 from 2016-17 through 2022-23 shows that both institutions and students responded to the tuition-free messaging and eligibility criteria. Specifically, G3-eligible institutional program offerings and student enrollment in such programs both increased by roughly 30% within the first two years of program implementation. While Virginia's tuition-free policy promotes enrollment in targeted occupational programs, overall enrollment effects are partially offset by a 3% enrollment reduction in aid-ineligible transfer-oriented programs. To promote skill development and improve labor market outcomes, policymakers should ensure that programs eligible for tuition-free college include pathways to longer term credentials.

Job Corps is the largest and most comprehensive education and job training program in the United States for young people ages 16 to 24 who are not in school or working. Most students live at and take classes at its approximately 120 residential centers. To explore ways to improve student outcomes and reduce per-student costs, Job Corps pilot tested two nonresidential models where students received education and training at colleges, supported by intensive personal and career counseling, instead of at a center. The two pilot programs were: (1) The Job Corps Scholars (JCS) pilot program consisted of 26 colleges each delivering its own version of the Job Corps program to eligible young people; and (2) In the Idaho Job Corps (IJC) pilot program, Idaho paired its Boise Job Corps center with a nearby community college and opened three addition fully nonresidential programs at other colleges. The two pilot programs together offered 30 diverse examples of college-partnered Job Corps programs to study. The implementation and outcomes study focused on: (1) The types of students who enrolled in these programs; (2) The ability of colleges to serve young people eligible for Job Corps, who typically face more barriers than other students; and (3) The outcomes achieved by students in the pilot programs.

Student service member/veteran (SSM/V) university enrollment has grown exponentially in recent years. In response, many U.S. universities have developed military-focused student services to address navigational and social challenges SSM/Vs face on campus. While research suggests these services are beneficial, few studies have empirically examined how often contemporary SSM/Vs engage with them across universities, how engagement connects to predictors of university success, or how SSM/Vs describe such connections. Using social capital theory, surveys (n=531), and interviews (n=59) of SSM/Vs across four universities, we analyze SSM/V military-focused service engagement levels, correlations between engagement and campus belonging and institutional satisfaction, and SSM/V perspectives on engagement. Findings suggest SSM/Vs very rarely engage in these services. Higher engagement, however, is significantly associated with more campus belonging and institutional satisfaction. Interviewees describe how the moral support military-focused service staff offer while providing reliable administrative assistance, as well as SSM/V-dedicated spaces and community building, foster belonging and satisfaction.

Prospective students and their families use college rankings to navigate their higher education options. Rising tuition and fees have made the college decision more fraught. Recently, the major college ranking providers have revised their methodologies to reflect costs and other considerations. These revisions raise important questions about the precise qualities the rankings aim to measure. Vanderbilt University asked NORC to produce a report evaluating the methodological validity of five major college ranking systems: U.S. News & World Report (USNWR), Wall Street Journal (WSJ), Forbes' Top College list (Forbes), The Times Higher Education World University Ranking (THE), and the QS World University Ranking (QS). Drawing on well-established social scientific concepts like "construct validity," this report identifies many issues in the conceptualization and construction of college ranking lists and offers methodological improvements that might address these shortcomings. The aim of this report is to inform consumers of these rankings--including college-going students, their parents, and college leaders--of the limitations of existing college ranking systems. Findings from this project will guide the development of improved systems for informing college-goers.

The College Cost Reduction Act would overhaul the Higher Education Act, making changes to student borrowing and repayment, borrower protections, college oversight, postsecondary data, and more. The bill includes a new proposed risk-sharing model that would require colleges to repay the federal government for a calculated proportion of their previously enrolled students' unpaid federal student loans--including missed payments and waived unpaid interest, as well as discharged principal under an income-driven repayment program or under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. This proportion would be calculated for each degree program at a college using a formula that accounts for college costs charged to students while enrolled and student earnings after they leave. Because this proposal would create financial liabilities for colleges that incentivize them to promote some types of degrees and programs and disincentivize others, The Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS) potential effects it would have by program, college, and sector. They found that the proposal would likely discourage colleges from promoting and supporting public service professions.

Five years after our 2019 analysis of student borrowing rates across the University of California (UC) system, TICAS partnered with the University of California Student Association (UCSA) again to evaluate the state of affordability and student debt for undergraduates at the UC, and their implications for student success. While our analysis finds improvement across several affordability metrics, concerning inequities in borrowing persist, especially by income, race/ethnicity, and disability status. The UC system's institutional aid program makes it a leader among its peers, but there is still room to strengthen affordability and close equity gaps in degree attainment. Our analysis offers targeted recommendations to build upon UC's efforts to strengthen student success and advance an affordability guarantee that eliminates the need to borrow. [This report was coproduced with the University of California Student Association.]

This report presents selected findings from the 2020/22 Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS:20/22), a study conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) within the U.S. Department of Education. The findings in this report are based on data about a nationally representative sample of all first-time beginning students (FTBs) who entered postsecondary education for the first time during the 2019-20 academic year. BPS:20/22 is the first follow-up of a cohort of FTBs originally identified during the 2019-20 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:20) and covers 3 years of students' experiences, from their first year of postsecondary education in the 2019-20 academic year through the 2021-22 academic year. The BPS:20/22 sample consisted of approximately 37,330 total students, representing the approximately 3.3 million undergraduates who were first-time postsecondary students enrolled in the 2019-20 academic year. Data from BPS can address questions about students' postsecondary enrollment patterns, continued enrollment in college, highest postsecondary credential earned, social and academic experiences and activities, and employment history. To facilitate analyses of student choices and postsecondary enrollment and credential attainment, the BPS:20/22 survey collected information on teacher effectiveness, as well as frequency and types of communication and interactions with family and friends, faculty members, and other students, which were also included in the NPSAS:20 survey. Additionally, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, several survey questions asked respondents to report on employment and education disruptions and personal experiences "as a result of the coronavirus pandemic" in spring 2020 and in the 2020-21 academic year. Respondents indicated their perception of whether an experience was the result of the coronavirus pandemic. The report provides information on first-time postsecondary students' attainment and persistence rates at any institution 3 years after they began postsecondary education, along with their education and personal experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this report, attainment represents the students' highest postsecondary credential earned, whereas persistence describes enrollment during the 2021-22 academic year for students who had not earned a postsecondary credential. As a result, students who earned a postsecondary credential and enrolled for additional postsecondary education are accounted for in attainment rates. It is important to note that BPS:20/22 data reflect first-time postsecondary students' experiences over 3 academic years, when many students are still working toward a postsecondary credential. The 2022/25 Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study, which is designed to follow up with students 6 years after they began postsecondary education, will provide more comprehensive data about postsecondary attainment. This First Look shows some of the ways that BPS:20/22 data can be used. Selected findings are not intended to emphasize any particular issue, and the report does not discuss all the information presented in the tables. Readers should not infer causality from the data in this report. Although many of the factors discussed are related to each other, this report does not explore these relationships. The student- and institution-level factors in this report are just a few of the several hundred that will be available in the BPS:20/22 data.

Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) are colleges and universities across the United States and U.S. Territories enrolling significant percentages of racially minoritized undergraduate students or created with the explicit purpose of serving specific populations of racially minoritized students under various programs created by U.S. Congress (U.S. Department of Education, n.d.). About one in five Title IV-eligible postsecondary institutions is eligible for MSI funding (Nguyen, Ramirez, & Laderman, 2023). All MSIs must be accredited, degree-granting public or private non-proprietary (not-for-profit) colleges and universities. While MSIs are federal institutional-level designations codified in the Higher Education Act of 1965, states have a stake in this matter. The following analysis is an opportunity to highlight MSIs, given their outsized roles in educating racially minoritized and other minoritized students. Because most studies have focused on discussing MSIs solely at the institutional or national levels, this piece explores MSIs at the regional and state/territory levels. Using available information from the MSI Data Project (2017-2021), this piece contributes to our knowledge of MSIs by reporting on MSIs across U.S. Census divisions and states/territories. Moreover, different from how existing literature describes seven MSI designations, following Nguyen, Ramirez, & Laderman (2023), this piece reports on 11 MSI designations. Namely, this offers more precision around which designations an institution may be eligible for. This descriptive analysis is appropriate for laying the landscape of public MSIs (Loeb et al., 2017).

This research study explores the potential of a pedagogical model of self-regulated learning supported with Artificial Intelligence (AI) chatbots to enhance self-expression and reflective writing skills for novice EFL student teachers at Faculty of Education, Assiut University. The study adopted a pre-post quasi-experimental design, that starts with the identification of the necessary self-expression and reflective writing skills for the target participants (50 fresh EFL student teachers at Assiut University who were purposively selected using a screening questionnaire based on their basic IT literacy skills). A pre-test was administered to assess their initial skill levels in self-expression and reflective writing. Then, an intervention was implemented in the form of a pedagogical model designed around the principles of self-regulated learning and situated language learning, which guided the use of AI chatbots (Bing, ChatGPT, and Google Bard). This model was initially piloted on a small sample (n = 10) of EFL student teachers to check validity and reliability and then experimented with the research participants for 8 weeks during the first semester of the academic year 2023/24. Following the intervention, a post-test was conducted to measure the participants' levels of self-expression and reflective writing skills after being exposed to the interventional model, aiming to identify any improvements gained from the intervention. The results indicated a positive effect with noticeable enhancements in the EFL student teachers' skills. This suggests the potential effectiveness of the model in fostering self-expression and reflective writing skills and developing EFL student teachers' general language proficiency and IT literacy. [This paper was published in "Academic Journal of Faculty of Education, Assiut University" v40 n9 p1-50 2024.]

Four deans of instruction in small, rural junior colleges and four deans of instruction in large, urban junior colleges were interviewed, and faculty members from the small junior colleges were surveyed, in order to ascertain their opinions regarding faculty development procedures. It was found that: (1) deans felt in-service workshops to be essential while faculty were generally unconvinced as to the usefulness of such workshops; (2) consultants were felt to be useful by both deans and faculty; (3) varying methods of faculty evaluation were used, and in the small colleges the deans played a personal role in the evaluation process while in the large colleges where evaluation procedures were more systematic the deans' role was less important; (4) deans in small colleges tended to favor faculty exchange programs while deans in large colleges had reservations as to the utility of such a practice; (5) tangible recognition for teaching excellence or outstanding service was almost unanimously approved by both faculty and deans; (6) faculty and deans approved of community involvement/service as a means of faculty development; and (7) overall, while there was no great difference in the opinions of faculty members and deans' perceptions as to the deans' role in the faculty development process, there seemed to be a nominal breakdown in communications resulting in some unnecessary misunderstandings. An extensive bibliography and the survey instruments are appended. (JDS)

The purposes of this study were to determine (1) the usefulness of ACT composite scores in assessing and predicting achievement and attrition of disadvantaged and regular freshmen at the University of Nebraska at Omaha during the 1972-73 academic year, and (2) the effectiveness of a special program in keeping low income students in school during their freshman year. Factors considered were: ACT scores, college grades, race, sex, socioeconomic status, financial aid, and employment. It was found that ACT scores were effective predictors of college grades among white students, but not among black students, regardless of income level. ACT scores were also effective predictors of attrition/persistence only among regular students in large samples, college grades being more potent for this purpose. The special program appeared more successful than the regular program in preventing attrition, especially among men and blacks; and receiving financial aid was better than not receiving financial aid. (Author/BW)

The study compared the relationship of the contract plan of student evaluation and a traditional type of evaluation, for changes in knowledge and attitudes during a college course in ecological relationships. The Syracuse Environmental Awareness Test was used to measure both cognitive and affective changes. In the experimental group the contract plan of evaluation was utilized. Subjects were evaluated on the number of course objectives which were completed satisfactorily. In the control group, a traditional type of student evaluation was used. The students were evaluated on the scores they received on three examinations. Although there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups when compared, there were several factors which gave credence to the hypothesis that the traditional method was superior to the contract method. First, there was a significant increase in cognitive knowledge for the control group between the pretest and the posttest, while in the experimental group there was no significant increase. Second, the experimental group had a larger percentage of Health Science majors than did the control group. If it is valid to assume that Health Science majors would be more highly motivated to do well in a course in their major field of study; then the experimental group should have demonstrated greater increases in cognitive and affective behavior. (RC)

To answer the need for more black teachers and administrators in institutions of higher education, Federal City College (FCC) and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (VPI & SU) planned and implemented a cooperative program to provide advanced graduate training to faculty and staff at FCC leading to the Doctor of Education degree. The program enabled faculty and staff unable to take a leave of absence to maintain their present position while participating in the program. Although each participant's plan of studies was individualized, certain elements of the program were shared: (1) a professional core of seminars and laboratory studies in higher education; (2) a series of institutes, tutorials, conferences, externships, and discussions with outside experts, agency heads, and other personnel; and (3) formal training in doctoral-level research and evaluation activities, including the design and outline of a dissertation. As a basis for designing the individual plans of study and research, each participant was required to pass a qualifying examination early in the program. Upon successful completion of the individual plan of study, exclusive of the dissertation, some students elected to receive a certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies and terminated their participation at that point. The program was termed a success by both the participants from FCC and the VPI & SU staff. (MM)

Jobs for the Future (JFF) is developing this state policy framework to outline the steps states can take toward fully adopting each of the Big Blur's four key components and creating a more effective system for grades 11-14. The Big Blur argues for the need to erase the arbitrary boundaries between high school, college, and careers and create one new system for grades 11-14. The model opens the opportunity for all students to start earning a postsecondary credential and preparing for career success in 11th grade. The framework describes a continuum of four types of state policy environments that states currently have or will experience on the road toward a fully reimagined system of education-to-career pathways that work for all students. The four policy environments are: (1) fragmented; (2) coordinated; (3) integrated; and (4) transformed. In the framework, JFF provides examples of how each of the key components of the Big Blur (incentives, alignment, governance, and staffing) evolves from a fragmented to a fully transformed state policy environment.

The U.S. Government Accountability office (GAO) recently released a report presenting new data on eligibility and uptake for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) among college students with low incomes. The report paints a stark picture that, despite high levels of food insecurity among college students, few are receiving SNAP benefits. Our new brief highlights the report's findings and offers policy recommendations to improve student eligibility for SNAP and ensure that students who do qualify are receiving this crucial benefit.

The Faculty Survey of Student Engagement (FSSE) complements the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE). FSSE measures faculty members' expectations of student engagement in educational practices that are empirically linked with high levels of learning and development. The survey also collects information about how faculty members spend their time on professorial activities, such as teaching and scholarship, and what kinds of learning experiences their institutions emphasize. This overview provides general information about the institutions and faculty members that participated in the 2024 FSSE administration, and highlights ways institutions can use their results to identify areas of institutional strength, as well as aspects of the undergraduate experience that may warrant attention.

The current U.S. secondary education, postsecondary education, and workforce training systems are failing to serve the needs of many of today's students. Securing a good job with a family-sustaining wage increasingly requires workers to possess industry certifications, degrees, and credentials, but U.S. education systems are not set up to help enough students secure them. In addition, there are significant economic disruptions on the horizon that are going to have big implications for the future of education and work. Jobs for the Future's Big Blur vision calls for entirely new educational institutions and systems to better prepare 16-to-20-year-olds for college and careers. This paper examines new structures for teaching and learning to help states create more effective grade 11-14 schools and systems, with examples of promising state-level instructor models. This paper outlines new types of instructor preparation, accountability systems, and learning management structures that are needed to effectively serve the developmental needs of young people in grades 11-14 and the unified system envisioned in the Big Blur.

Leaders in higher education face increasing pressure to ensure their institutions are well-positioned to adapt to our changing world. As part of responding to these demands, a growing number of institutions have established dedicated teams of in-house experts to support this work and the culture change around it, broadly termed academic change or academic innovation. This report details methods and findings of a comprehensive survey of academic innovation department leaders in colleges and universities across the United States. The survey received responses from 138 academic innovation leaders who shared details on the scope of their work, the structures and institutional resources supporting it, their impact, and their perspectives on contemporary challenges including the COVID-19 pandemic and its influence on postsecondary learning. Ten years after the first such survey, findings included evidence of increasing staffing and budgets, evolving priorities, shifting reporting structures, and technological advancement. Implications include expanding research and professional communities for this relatively new functional area within US higher education, recommendations for institutional leaders, and a focus on supporting continued growth. As a result, the report serves as a census of academic innovation units in an array of US colleges and universities, with details relevant for benchmarking and further research. The following are appended: (1) Data tables for all survey items; (2) Participating institution list; and (3) Survey instrument. [This report was produced by the University of Michigan, Center for Academic Innovation and Quantum Thinking. Additional sponsors for this report include: Class Technologies, Acadeum, Intelliboard, Auburn University, Biggio Center for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning Leading Academic Change, EdPlus at Arizona State University, Bentley University, University System of Maryland, William E. Kirwan Center for Academic Innovation, POD Network in Higher education (POD), and SAB Creative & Consulting.]

A functioning and equitable college transfer pipeline can help students to lower college costs, minimize student debt, and get credit toward a four-year degree. These benefits are crucial for students and families who pursue postsecondary education for upward economic mobility. However, in the face of a complex maze of policies and practices that students need to navigate to get credit for completed coursework, less than a quarter of students who enter community colleges with the explicit intention to move on to a four-year degree successfully transfer. Our new primer on student transfer options in Michigan provides an in-depth review of the myths and realities transfer students face in the state, proven national strategies to improve transfer success, and the impact of Michigan's current transfer policies on students, institutions, and the state workforce. The primer also offers recommendations for increased transfer affordability and completion tailored to the higher education system in Michigan.

This year, The Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS) Michigan Student Advocacy Fellows focused their advocacy on expanding resources for students to cover rising non-tuition costs associated with higher education. As their culminating project, the students conducted a survey assessing the impact of non-tuition costs on Michiganders and created an issue brief to guide policymakers in creating resources for students to access housing, food, transportation, and other costs. The brief reviews programs other states have implemented to address student basic needs and provides recommendations to create new state and federal resources to increase college affordability.

Dual enrollment (DE) is one of the fastest growing programs that support the high school-to-college transition. Yet, there is limited empirical evidence about its impact on either students' college application choices or admission outcomes. Using a fuzzy regression discontinuity approach on data from two cohorts of ninth-grade students in one anonymous state, we found that taking DE credits increased the likelihood of applying to highly selective in-state four-year institutions. Attempting DE credits also increased the probability of gaining admission to a highly selective in-state four-year college. Heterogeneous analysis further indicates that the gains were extended across Black, Latinx, and white student populations.

Specialized high schools are an increasingly popular way to prepare young adults for postsecondary experiences and expand school choice. While much literature ex- amines charter school spillover effects and the effects of specialized schools on the students who attend them, little is known about the spillover effects of specialized high schools on traditional public schools (TPS). Using an event study design, we show that one type of specialized high school, North Carolina's Cooperative Innovative High Schools, initially attracted students who were higher achieving and more likely to be white than TPS students, but these specialized schools became more representative of the district population over time. On average, the opening of specialized schools had a mix of null and positive spillover effects on TPS student achievement. While there is some evidence of negative spillovers from the first schools that opened, the effects become more positive over time.

The Latino and Adult Student Success (LASS) Academy is a multi-year initiative administered by CAEL (the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning) focused on supporting Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) in their efforts to improve outcomes for adult and Latino adult learners. In its first phase, from 2018 through 2021, the LASS Academy supported fifteen postsecondary initiatives across the country. In the second phase, from 2022 through 2024, the LASS Academy continued its work with four Texas institutions: Austin Community College (ACC), South Texas College (STC), Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi (TAMU-CC), and the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV). The LASS Academy model facilitates institutional change through four key activities: identify key priorities and action steps; provide technical assistance; collect, analyze, and report data; and facilitate peer-to-peer learning. During the second LASS Academy, each of the four participating institutions made progress toward their goals, buttressed by change management support from CAEL and collaboration with other technical assistance partners. Throughout this work, the institutions gained important insights into ways they can improve their services for adult and Latino adult learners.

In 2022, Maryland implemented a new initiative focused on removing degree requirements from state positions. This initiative opened over 19,000 jobs to more than 1.3 million individuals Skilled Through Alternative Routes (STARs)--such as community college, workforce training, or on-the-job experience--rather than through a bachelor's degree in the State of Maryland. Skills-based/skills-first hiring has since branched across the U.S., with 22 states opening more than 467,000 jobs to STARs across the nation. Following Maryland's announcement to remove degree requirements from state positions, the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) launched the Skills-Based Hiring Initiative in 2023. The focus of ACCT's initiative is to facilitate a pilot program in Maryland dedicated to increasing the effectiveness of skills-based hiring. ACCT partnered with Opportunity@Work, the State of Maryland, and four Maryland Community Colleges (Carroll Community College, Community College of Baltimore County, Frederick Community College, and Howard Community College). This brief serves as a review of lessons learned and recommendations from the Maryland pilot program for institutions, organizations, and state/local government agencies looking to partner to create pathways for STARs. This brief outlines the initial scope of the project and how ACCT had to pivot, along with challenges that were encountered, lessons learned along the way, and it highlights the project that has resulted in improved collaboration with a community college and a state agency that has had significant vacancy rates. [Opportunity@Work partnered with the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) to produce this report.]