[NLA] Discussion: Improving post-secondary education opportunities for low-income adults

[David J. Rosen]

NLA Colleagues,

I want to call your attention to two studies which look at how
post-secondary education programs and federal and state policies might
be better designed to meet the needs of low income adults, students like
many GED and adult or external diploma program graduates. I see an 
increasing interest, from the public and private sectors, to help 
low-income, working adults benefit from post-secondary degree programs. 
One example of private-sector interest is the NellieMae Foundation, with 
its support of the New England  ABE-to-College Transition Project. 
(Information about that project will be found at 
http://www.collegetransition.org/)

Do you see this as a trend?  Are there other studies which you would 
like to call our attention? Do you see this development as good news?

1) A July, 2002 study, "Opening Doors: Students’ Perspectives on
Juggling Work, Family, and College" published by the Manpower
Demonstration Research Corporation (MDRC) and conducted by Lisa
Matus-Grossman, Susan Gooden with Melissa Wavelet, Melisa Diaz, and
Reishma Seupersad.  This is part of a project called "Opening Doors to
Earning Credentials," which has as its policy framework:

"In today’s labor market, a growing proportion of jobs require some post
secondary training, and higher education levels are associated with
higher earnings. For low income people, community colleges offer an
important pathway out of poverty and into better jobs. But a host of
factors, ranging from a lack of financial aid to inflexible job
schedules, can keep them from enrolling in and completing post secondary
education. In Opening Doors to Earning Credentials, MDRC will work with
community colleges in each of several states to design and implement new
types of financial aid, enhanced student services, and curricular and
instructional innovations. The goal is to reach low income people who
most likely would not otherwise enroll in college and to help them
persevere long enough to earn a credential. Integral to the
demonstration project will be a random assignment study measuring how
the Opening Doors interventions affect low income students’ education,
labor market, and personal outcomes."

http://www.mdrc.org/Reports2002/opendoors_perspectives/opdrs_jugglingwork_overview.htm

2) An April, 2002 study, "Held Back: How Student Aid Programs Fail
Working Adults," conducted by Futureworks' Brian Bosworth and Vickie
Choitz, looks at how state and federal post-secondary student aid
programs might better support the needs of low wage working adults whose
job and family responsibilities limit their ability to benefit from
current aid programs.

http://www.futureworks-web.com/images/held_back_report.pdf

David J. Rosen
DJRosen at theworld.com



_______________________________________________
NLA mailing list: NLA at lists.literacytent.org
http://lists.literacytent.org/mailman/listinfo/nla
LiteracyTent: web hosting, news, community and goodies for literacy
http://literacytent.org