A Snapshot of the Shifting Landscape of Noncredit Community College Workforce Education
Noncredit workforce education at community colleges enables students to develop relevant skills and earn certificates, certifications, and licensure in a wide range of industries. Although student interest in programs and credentials focused on employment is high and has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, little is known about how community colleges ensure the quality of noncredit workforce programs and the credentials they offer. This brief, co-authored by the CTE Research Network's director and principal investigator, provides a descriptive look at noncredit workforce education at community colleges across the nation to gain a sense of their different approaches to providing quality programs that yield value for students. The brief paints a picture of a rapidly changing landscape with significant variation in how colleges conceptualize the role of noncredit workforce education and approach quality.