Absence of conflict of interest
Citation
Price, D., Sedlak, W., Roberts, B., & Childress, L. (2016). Making the Future: The Wisconsin strategy: Final evaluation report. Indianapolis, IN: Northeast Wisconsin Technical College.
Highlights
- The study’s objective was to examine the impact of the Wisconsin Making the Future program on education, earnings, and employment outcomes.
- The study used a nonexperimental design to compare the outcomes of students who were in the Making the Future program to a matched comparison group. Using institutional research data from the community colleges and workforce, the authors conducted statistical models to examine differences between the groups.
- When compared to non-participating students, the study found that Making the Future program participation was associated with a significantly higher likelihood of credential attainment, credit accumulation, and receipt of a one-year technical diploma, a less than one-year technical diploma, and a local certificate.
- The quality of causal evidence presented in this study is moderate because it was based on a well-implemented nonexperimental design. This means we are somewhat confident that the estimated effects are attributable to the Making the Future program, but other factors might also have contributed.
Intervention Examined
Making the Future
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.
Lead by Northeast Wisconsin Technical College and including 16 technical colleges (at 49 campuses across the state), the Making the Future program focused on advanced manufacturing. The goal of the program was to align the workforce for advanced manufacturing with employer needs. The program was designed to increase the supply of workers with industry-valued and recognized credentials to include certificates, certifications, and diplomas for high-skilled positions in the labor market. Focused on developing stacked and latticed career pathway programs, Making the Future included the development of new programs as well as the modification of existing programs for participants to earn short-term credentials which stack technical diplomas with the possibility of an Associate degree in some cases.
Features of the Study
The study took place across 49 campuses within the Wisconsin community college system. The program served 3,795 participants (according to preliminary numbers). The authors used a nonexperimental design with a matched comparison group to compare the outcomes of students enrolled in the Making the Future program to those who were enrolled concurrently in advanced manufacturing programs that were not funded by TAACCCT. Using administrative data from each of the colleges, as well as unemployment insurance (UI) and workforce data, the authors conducted statistical models to examine differences in outcomes between the groups. Outcomes included credential attainment, credit accumulation, earnings, and employment. The analysis sample differed for each outcome: credential attainment outcome included 3,150 participants in each group, credit accumulation included 3,148 participants in each group, wage outcome included 1,346 in each group, and employment included 741 participants in each group.
Findings
Education and skills gain
- The study found that the average total credit accumulation was significantly higher for students in the Making the Future program (25.26) than students in the comparison group (22.25).
- The study also found a significant difference in credential attainment rates, with 48% of students in the Making the Future program attaining a credential compared to 30% of students in the comparison group.
- When compared to students in the comparison group, students in the treatment group were significantly more likely to receive a one-year technical diploma (28% vs. 17%), a less than one-year technical diploma (11% vs. 6%), and a local certificate (14% vs. 2%).
- However, the study found no significant differences between the treatment and comparison groups in the likelihood to receive a two-year technical diploma or Associate degree.
Earnings and wages
- The study found no significant differences between the groups in the incumbent worker earnings at any point after starting the program.
Employment
- The study found no significant differences between the groups in non-incumbent worker employment on quarter post-program.
Considerations for Interpreting the Findings
Although the study was a well-implemented nonexperimental design, this study had several considerations when interpreting the findings. The study examined outcomes across 49 community college campuses in Wisconsin and implementation may have varied across the community college system. These differences in implementation could have impacted the observed outcomes. Additionally, due to reporting lags for UI data, the UI data is only available for students in the April-June 2015 time frame. The authors also note that approximately 10% of participants were enrolled in other workforce development programs at the same time: 6% in Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA Title) 1, 2% in TAA, and 2% in veteran's assistance.
Causal Evidence Rating
The quality of causal evidence presented in this study is moderate because it was based on a well-implemented nonexperimental design. This means we are somewhat confident that the estimated effects are attributable to the Making the Future program, but other factors might also have contributed.