Non Credit Programs on Workforce Education

Several community colleges have in recent times shown preference for non-credit post-secondary students as opposed to credit students. This trait is particularly common in the areas of staff tutoring and contractor training. Several of these non-credit courses are quite popular for their flexibility in meeting the demands of the prospective workforce students as well as the demands of their employers. Important questions have been raised about traditional colleges due to the growth of this sector; these questions include the efficiency of colleges in utilizing resources and how well access is being provided for their (colleges) students. Answering the questions raised above will likely challenge state policies and practices at colleges, although analysing the effects of this program may be a herculean task due to the absence of data on activities as basic as admissions and acceptance in community college non-credit workforce education. With increasing states and college investments of resources on non-credit workforce education, increased outcome data collection will help to evaluate the effectiveness of these programs in addressing general state workforce and economic advancement requirements and also how well the needs of employers and students are being met. Connecting non-credit students to credit programs and more direct involvement of faculty members in non-credit education may more likely be facilitated by integrated organizational structures. Thus, adopting an integrated organizational structure as much as possible will possibly improve the ability of colleges to cater for their non-credit students, especially when they are supported by general state funds.

The achievements and mode of operation of non-credit workforce educational systems may be significantly dependent on the systems' position within the college's general structure. The colleges assessed for this study implement various organizational frameworks such as: decentralized systems in which non-credit is a separate unit in the college, and centralized systems in which non-credit programs are incorporated within the colleges' departments based on content area. Irrespective of the organizational framework in place, colleges utilize different strategies to attain synergy between programs and exhibit flexibility in their non-credit programs. Decentralized system of non-credit programs manages their activities by interactions within the college to enhance cooperation, prevent duplication and enable transitions between credit and non-credit programs. Several community colleges have started preferring non-credit post-secondary students to credit students. This trait is particularly common in the areas of staff tutoring and contractor training. A distinctive characteristic of these programs is their significant role in satisfying changing workforce requirements and making skills accessible in a manner that takes employer needs into consideration (Van Noy, Jacobs, Korey, Bailey, & Hughes, 2008). Within the last twenty years, there has been a considerable increase in the availability of non-credit courses in postsecondary education. Despite non-credit programs being described as having a potential for addressing educational parity, information such as academic results and the categories of students enrolled is quite scant (Xu & Ran, 2015).

The results of non-credit programs will vary due to various factors such as: enrolment patterns, institutional demands, and requirements of businesses and industry. Future employment and workforce training are significantly impacted by these programs. The overall college planning system or a funding structure involving an admission strategy for credit are also factors that can affect some of these outcomes. The development of a viable funding mechanism providing support for non-credit education is highly crucial and essential. The documented learning outcomes from enrolling in non-credit programs differ and achieve various needs since non-credit workforce education is not subject to the same academic guidelines that direct credit education. Specifying quantifiable outcomes for non-credit education helps institutions to meet needs more efficiently because there is flexibility due to the absence of regulations and an entrepreneurship-style approach can be implemented. Institutions have the freedom to design programs outcomes in relation to factors like economic changes and rising employability skills requirements (Calotescu, Eccles, Hughes, Picciano, & Sidd, 2014).

Learning is affected by adults' experiences in many ways. Individual uniqueness is engendered by adult experiences which provide an avenue for learning. Prejudices are created through experience which can mould, hinder or accelerate new learning. Also, adult experiences can be responsible for framing or even totally overhauling an adult's self-identity. It is not accidental that the Chancellor's office, the Academic Senate, the Legislature, and other professionals are displaying increasing interest in non-credit programs. The rapid population changes and reducing educational level affecting California society and her economy has been the focal point of many recent studies. A reaction to these studies is the involvement of non-credit programs in the increased interest in fundamental skills success and adult learners as a method of meeting the states workforce requirements. Obviously, a significant part will be played by non-credit programs in community colleges and adult education in K-12 districts in the efforts to tutor, train and employ the future workforce. California has an estimated two million students involved in non-credit programs and K-12 adult education. Non-credit programs (through community colleges) and adult education (through K-12) will play a crucial role as California's population grows more varied, with the influx of many new residents through immigration who will require English language education and job skills (Walton, Elliot, Illowsky, & Keech, 2009)

The results of an in-depth study of for-credit entrepreneurship education openings in American community colleges was released by Elizabeth Hagan in 2004. This work, involving a comprehensive review of over 1,000 community college web sites and the evaluation of data obtained from 171 community college entrepreneurship education program directors, provides an important perception of the various curricula, instructional methods and formats that are characteristic of community college entrepreneurship education. Furthermore, the effect of geographic location, faculty characteristics and the institution's mission on entrepreneurship program growth and deterioration were also studied by Hagan. Included in her findings are review results which indicate that 73 of the 426 participating institutions (17%) provide entrepreneurship or small business management degree programs, 131 (31%) award entrepreneurship certificates, and 176 (41%) provide three or more courses in small business or entrepreneurship. Hagan's survey response analysis had the intention of determining the effects (if any) of geographic location, instructor characteristics or institutional mission on the creation and development of small business management programs and community college entrepreneurship. The data was carefully analysed and the analysis showed that the relationship between any of these factors and program growth is insignificant. In Hagan's words, "the primary outcome of the research is a determination that small business and entrepreneurship programs are as diverse as the communities and institutions that house them. They come into existence, grow, or decline and are characterized by factors that are more expansive than attitude, geography, or instructor characteristics. The diversity and trend towards establishment of new programs suggest that future research about entrepreneurship education is needed (Carducci, Calderone, McJunkin, Cohen, & Hayes, 2005).

Job seekers who are relatively advanced in age are quite ignorant about the required skills for getting a job, or the ways through which to get those skills. A myriad of certificate programs and degrees exist, offered by technical or vocational schools, colleges or universities, and community organizations or employer associations- for adults seeking education to choose from. Expectedly, there are wide variations in these options based on quality, cost and character. Organizations or websites hardly provide neutral and trustworthy information. Many Americans with various levels of education, occupations and job skills went through colossal economic turmoil during and after the Great Recession and adults possessing less tertiary education or lacking in job-relevant skills were hit the hardest. Job seekers in this category with low fundamental skills and education are more likely to require further education before they can return to work, this is partly because employers' skills and educational demands from workers are more than they were in the past. Another factor that may be an impediment to older job seekers is employers' requirements for staff possessing advanced computer and technology skills (Van Horn, Krepcio, & Heidkamp, 2015).

The term "non-traditional" students is sometimes used to refer to adult students. For anyone to be termed non-traditional, they must fulfil one or more of the following criteria: late admission into postsecondary education (i.e. a different year as high school graduation), part-time attendance, fulltime employment in the course of being in school, financial independence, single parent, has dependents other than a spouse, or lacks a standard high school diploma. A variation in attributes and requirements exists however, even among non-traditional students, although others may have many or all of the aforementioned characteristics. The needs of adults in college are unique and they show a difference in engaging with college from traditional college students (college entrants immediately after high school). Past experiences, life histories, value sets and previous orientations all play an important role in their learning approaches, classroom experiences as a social engagement means, and utilization of information. Adults in college, due to the circumstances of their life rate work more importantly than school, apply their knowledge in more pragmatic and immediate ways, and have results that are related to their previous experiences. Adults are more likely to experience disabilities (mental or physical) due to age, undetected disabilities are also likely to impair their performance in college (Van Noy & Heidkamp, Working for Adults: State Policies and Community College Practices to Better Serve Adult Learners at Community Colleges During the Great Recession and Beyond, 2013).

An investigation which placed a focus on general public health training requirements of regional public health staff and a more restricted array of proficiencies associated with training requirements in community health education was carried out by (Kies & Loos, 2013). The subcategory of public health workers who educate the community on health-related issues are referred to as community health educators. Other names used to refer to them are: "health educators" or "community health educators." Various settings in which they work include: K-12 school districts, public health departments, and health care establishments, the study's three primary objectives are:

i. A general and restricted description of the continuing education and training requirement of the public health staff in the area in which DHER is found.

ii. Determination of desirable length, delivery format and location of continuing education and training.

iii. Development of recommendations for providing the requirements in continuing education and training pinpointed in the course of the research.

Community-based stakeholders provided input which was used along with basic survey methods in this explanatory research work which was divided into three phases. The three phases included, Phase One: Preparation; Phase Two: Data Collection; and Phase Three: Future Planning. Twenty-five public health departments and 7 community health coalitions in the region were chosen as cluster samples. Institutional Review Board approval was obtained for this study (Kies & Loos, 2013).

Regular needs assessments similar to this study will provide significant assistance for the CEPH accredited program to become an educational focal point for the public health staff in their region. A strong outreach and training program can be built by DHER with the guidance of the results of explanatory research work such as this. The DHER's already effective professional preparation program can be taken advantage of and improved upon by placing peculiar focus on her strengths in community health education. The integration of professional development into DHER's outreach programmes will ensure that it remains highly significant in community health education. A link to "Public Health Workforce Training and Continuing Education" on the DHER website for advertising learning opportunities to the regional community health staff should also be considered. Contact on a quarterly basis with all the Public Health Institutes in each state should be continued by DHER so as to keep abreast of trainings being offered and opportunities for funding applications to provide more independent regional trainings or be co-sponsors of a regional training. Efforts should also be made by DHER to take advantage of partnerships with important community organizations by consistently involving DHER faculty and students (Kies & Loos, 2013).

Efforts at developing low and moderate income (LMI) workforce alongside inclusive education have consistently been a hallmark of the nation's community college system. The community college system has advanced rapidly; the first community college was established in Joliet, Illinois in 1901.Today, there are over 1,600 campus branches around the US with an increased reach, serving 11.7 million students. In the past twenty years, predictions have been made by researchers of the creation of a labor force with increasing job growth in the high skill and low skill occupational categories; this kind of structure is referred to as an "hourglass" labour force. There is anxiety in some quarters about the decreasing amount of "middleskill" jobs- jobs requiring post-high school training but not necessarily a college degree. However, current data projects that demand for jobs like this will remain substantial. The institutional strengths of community colleges can also be taken advantage of to make the training and educational component of their sectoral schemes better. The identification of skill gaps and labor requirements through sectoral approaches is heavily reliant on employers in the locality and industry groups, these requirements after being identified can then be met through different schemes implemented by community partners such as: faith-based organizations, local non-profit outfits, and local government agencies. A lot of sectoral approaches have been found to work successfully. They may however not be able to reach many employers and staff, or attain the required scale (Choi, 2009).

For a long period of time, community colleges have been acknowledged for their role in the provision of workforce education specifically applicable to adults. Credit and non-credit forms of workforce programs are structured to provide preparation for work in various occupations and industries. Non-credit workforce programs are available in different plans and schedules, but they are not awarded degrees. However, credit workforce programs are often taken on a semester basis and can award associate degrees and certificates. There have always been policy arguments about serving adult learners at community colleges. Non-traditional students such as working adults, students with disabilities, and minority, low-income, first-generation students, community college students have an average age of 29. Educational stake holders are increasingly coming to terms with the fact that despite catering for adult students over a long period of time, community colleges may not be at their best in handling them. Considering the present challenges involved in catering for all the adult populations in community colleges coupled with the expanding requirements for postsecondary education among the varying working adult populations, this study analyses these topics, taking cognizance of the increasing workforce age and the dynamic national population patterns with the contextual background of the great recession (Van Noy & Heidkamp, Working for Adults: State Policies and Community College Practices to Better Serve Adult Learners at Community Colleges During the Great Recession and Beyond, 2013).

In the 1960s, adult education programs funded by the federal government cantered on job training and staff development gained wide spread support. Unemployment rates soared as a result of the economic recession which was the worst economic downturn experienced since the Great depression. This economic slump, compared with the civil rights movement which campaigned and canvassed for social fairness and economic equity was instrumental in kicking off the progressive restructuring of vocational education (Cortez, Fischthal, & Luedke, 2016).

Investments in adult education for employees in the military and in programming for civil servants were made by the federal government in the 1960s. Adult education programs all over the United States had copies of the program apparatus (materials, assessments, and methods) distributed to them for copying. Service men and women were also assisted to acquire high school credentials by the Department of Defence through the formation of general adult secondary education programs.

Despite millions of Americans benefitting from the federal government's adult basic education programs in California and other states, more people were unable to participate. This exclusion was due to a lack of requisite basic educational background. Other reasons for adults being excluded from this program include geographical location, age, disability, or labor market status. The year 1964 experienced an improvement in unemployment rates, however, English language learners, African-Americans, and under educated people were not able to be beneficiaries of the economic boom.

With growth and changes in non-credit workforce education, changes will be observed in the structural pattern and revenue creation being used by community colleges. In fact, many of the colleges under evaluation carried out organizational changes of some sort in recent times. Some colleges integrated their various non-credit programs into a single unit. Other schools placed non-credit workforce education more importantly within the college for example by the creation of new top level rank to enhance communication and highlight the significance of non-credit. Yet other colleges placed limits on some types of non-credit courses such as basic skills courses and recreational courses (Van Noy, Jacobs, Korey, Bailey, & Hughes, The Landscape of Noncredit Workforce Education: State Policies and Community College Practices, 2008).

Despite the significant potential shown by non-credit workforce education programs, funding, organizational, and accountability issues still persist (Van Noy & Jacobs, The outlook for noncredit workforce education, 2009). Even in states where data is collected on non-credit teaching activities, it is collected inadequately with primitive methods of head counts only, and a more detailed account of student characteristics in most states. It is however difficult to compare student participation among various states because data collection varies for each state and they have different definitions of non-credit workforce education; It therefore becomes challenging to conclude about the level of enrolment in non-credit workforce education across the country. Fathoming how widespread the obtaining of industry-recognized certificates is also gets impeded by the unavailability of data. Hopefully, significant awareness about the rate of acquisition of these credentials by adults will be provided by current federal efforts to acquire data on adult certifications. The availability of data on how many adults have acquired certificates and the type of certification acquired will go a long way in providing more insight into how students utilize their credentials in career and technical education (Sykes, Szuplat, & Decker, 2014).

Better comprehension of the efficiency of these programs in fulfilling their goals will be enhanced by understanding the results of non-credit workforce education. Limited standardized data may however exist to record enrolment and outcomes of these programs. Documented student results resulting from participation in non-credit programs exhibit marked variations due to the absence of regulations by the academic rules guiding credit education. The accuracy of such documented outcomes fulfils the differing needs of employers and individuals in similarly varying manners. Increased data acquisition would be indispensable to community colleges and policy formulators in achieving a more comprehensive grasp of the attributes and requirements of employers and prospective staff desiring non-credit workforce education. Specifically, improved data collection will reveal how frequently degrees are sought by non-credit students and the encounters of students switching from non-credit to credit programs. Additionally, improved data could provide direction to local colleges seeking to evaluate which programs and recorded outcomes are helpful for which students and valuable among employers (Van Noy, Jacobs, Korey, Bailey, & Hughes, The Landscape of Noncredit Workforce Education: State Policies and Community College Practices, 2008).

Achieving improved success of a target range of adult populations has been the focal point of many recent initiatives, this target range includes: low-skilled adults, working adults, and adults above 50 years old. None of these initiatives have concentrated specifically on disabled adults. However, the various sections of adult population mentioned above face similar problems and anxieties in post-high school education compared to traditional students, therefore, lessons from one section may be found applicable to others, even in cases of disability. The importance of past experiences, life histories, value sets and previous orientations has been emphasized by research in their learning approaches, classroom experiences as a social engagement means, and utilization of information. Adults in college, due to their prevalent life circumstances have been found to rate work more importantly than school, apply their knowledge in more pragmatic and immediate ways, and have results that are related to their previous experiences. Adults are more likely to experience disabilities (mental or physical) due to age; undetected disabilities are also likely to impair their performance in college (Sykes, Szuplat, & Decker, 2014).