Absence of conflict of interest.
Citation
Kelley-Smith, A., Schoeph, K., Hamai, T., & Bishop, M. (2017). Final evaluation report: Linn-Benton Community College. Albany, OR: LB iLearn Campus.
Highlights
- The study’s objective was to assess the impact of degree and certificate programming offered at Linn-Benton Community College’s (LBCC) iLearn campus compared to traditional programming offered at the community college on various educational, employment, and earnings outcomes.
- The study used a nonexperimental design to compare the outcomes of students enrolled in the Linn-Benton (LB) iLearn campus to students enrolled in traditional programming.
- The study found that program participation was significantly associated with increased rates of program completion.
- The quality of causal evidence presented in this report is low because the authors did not ensure that the groups being compared were similar before the intervention. This means we are not confident that the estimated effects are attributable to the LB iLearn campus program; other factors are likely to have contributed.
Intervention Examined
The LB iLearn Campus Program
Features of the Intervention
The U.S. Department of Labor's (DOL) Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) program provided $1.9 billion in grants to community colleges to improve skills and support employment in high-demand industries, notably manufacturing, health care, information technology, energy, and transportation. Through four rounds of funding, DOL awarded 256 TAACCCT grants to approximately 800 educational institutions across the United States and its territories.
Linn-Benton Community College (LBCC) in Oregon was awarded a TAACCCT grant in October 2013. LBCC used the TAACCCT funds to design and operate a virtual college called LB iLearn campus with the goal being to help dislocated workers, veterans, and other disadvantaged adults complete education and training so they can successfully obtain employment in Oregon's in-demand industries. These include healthcare, accounting, business and office administration, communications, and marketing. The virtual campus design included incorporating stacked and latticed credentials, using a competency-based framework that could accelerate learning, and offering extensive student support services through an online platform that used education modules for instruction. Specifically, LB iLearn campus staff offered customizable, online educational programming that was student-centric and allowed students to complete the program at their own pace. Additionally, this online platform provided academic and non-academic support to students through dedicated program personnel like Student Navigators, Content Experts, and Assessment Evaluators.
Features of the Study
The authors used a nonexperimental design to compare the outcomes of students in the LB iLearn campus program to students attending the traditional programming offered at the LBCC campus. Study participants were comprised of students enrolled with their first credit during the grant period in a TAACCCT-funded LB iLearn campus program (i.e., treatment group) or in a traditional program comparable to a TAACCCT-funded LB iLearn campus program (i.e., comparison group). The grant period for the analysis included 15 consecutive quarters from Fall 2014 to Winter 2017. The authors matched program participants to similar nonparticipants using propensity scores developed from demographic and academic information. After matching. study participants included 193 students in the treatment group and 386 students in the comparison group. Using data from LBCC’s existing program review process, the National Student Clearinghouse, and the Oregon Employment Department, the authors used statistical models to examine differences in outcomes between the groups. Outcomes included program completion, credits earned, transfer to a 4-year institution, retention in the LB iLearn or traditional campus, employment placement, and wage upon completion of the program.
Findings
Education
- The study found that LB iLearn campus students were 37.21 times more likely to complete the program than traditional comparison students and this result was statistically significant.
- The study found that there was no statistically significant relationship between enrollment in the LB iLearn campus programs and number of credits earned, the likelihood of transferring to a four-year academic institution, or the likelihood of program retention.
Employment
- The study found that there was no statistically significant relationship between enrollment in the LB iLearn campus programs and improved employment status upon program completion.
Earnings and Wages
- The study found that there was no statistically significant relationship between enrollment in the LB iLearn campus programs and improved wages upon program completion.
Considerations for Interpreting the Findings
The authors created a matched group of non-participating students to compare to LB iLearn campus students. However, the authors did not account for other factors that could have affected the difference between the treatment and comparison groups, such as pre-intervention degree of financial disadvantage. These preexisting differences between the groups—and not the LB iLearn campus program—could explain the observed differences in outcomes. Moreover, the authors noted that they could not find comparable comparison students for two programs (Computed Tomography and Social Media Specialist). Therefore, the study is not eligible for a moderate causal evidence rating, the highest rating available for nonexperimental designs.
Causal Evidence Rating
The quality of causal evidence presented in this report is low because the authors did not ensure that the groups being compared were similar before the intervention. This means we are not confident that the estimated effects are attributable to the LB iLearn campus program; other factors are likely to have contributed.