Absence of conflict of interest.
Citation
Bragg, D. D., Giani, M. S., Fox, H. L., Bishop, C., & Bridges, K. (2015). Third party evaluation of the impact of the Health Professions Pathways (H2P) Consortium. Champaign, IL: Office of Community College Research and Leadership, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Highlights
- The study’s objective was to examine the impact of the Health Professions Pathways (H2P) Consortium on education, earnings, and employment outcomes.
- The study used a nonexperimental design to compare the outcomes of students who were in the H2P Consortium to a matched comparison group.
- The study found a statistically significant relationship between H2P participation and the likelihood to be employed and have higher wages in contrast to the comparison group.
- The quality of the causal evidence rating presented in this report is low because the authors used a cohort from a previous enrollment year for the comparison group presenting a confounding factor. This means we are not confident that the effects are attributable to the Health Professions Pathways (H2P) Consortium; other factors are likely to have contributed.
Intervention Examined
Health Professions Pathways (H2P) Consortium
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.
The Health Professions Pathways (H2P) Consortium was an initiative funded by the TAACCCT program, which included nine community colleges, and 6,549 participants across these institutions. Participants were enrolled in a health professional program of study, which included either enhanced or developed through H2P. The H2P program including the following eight strategies: online assessment & career mentorship; developmental education; core curriculum; industry-recognized credentials; retention support; health worker training programs; improved data systems; and promotion of a national movement.
Features of the Study
The nonexperimental study was conducted at nine community colleges in five states (Minnesota, Kentucky, Ohio, Illinois, and Texas). Participants in the H2P program were matched to health professions students enrolled at the nine institutions prior to the implementation of H2P (Fall 2009). The authors matched H2P participants to similar nonparticipants using propensity scores developed from demographic information, prior education, and the H2P college (for the analyses examining education as an outcome). The matching for the employment and earnings analyses matched on the same variables as those for education, plus median pre-cohort earnings. Study participants included 336 students in the treatment group and 1,196 students in the comparison group. Using the Office of Community College Research and Leadership (OCCRL) and unemployment insurance (UI) data, the authors conducted statistical models to examine differences between the groups in program completion rates, employment rates, and final median wages.
Study Sites
- Anoka-Ramsey Community College in Coons Rapids, Minnesota
- Ashland Community and Technical College in Ashland, Kentucky
- Cincinnati State Technical and Community College in Cincinnati,
- Ohio El Centro College in Dallas, Texas Jefferson Community and
- Technical College in Louisville, Kentucky Malcolm X College in
- Chicago, Illinois Owens Community College in Toledo, Ohio Pine
- Technical and Community College in Pine City, Minnesota
- Texarkana College in Texarkana, Texas
Findings
Education and skills gain
- The study did not find a statistically significant relationship between the treatment and comparison groups in program completion rates.
Earnings and wages
- The study found a statistically significant relationship between H2P participation and earnings, with H2P students having 22.4 percentage points greater earnings growth than comparison group students.
Employment
- The study found a statistically significant relationship between H2P participation and employment, where H2P students were eight percentage points more likely to be employed at the end of the program than comparison group students.
Considerations for Interpreting the Findings
The authors used a cohort from a previous enrollment year as the comparison group. Because the outcome data on the two groups were collected from participants at different times, differences in outcomes could be due to time-varying factors (such as overall changes in the economy) and not the intervention. The data collection period for the comparison group was during the 2009-2010 recession, which may have resulted in lower rates of employment and wages for the comparison group. Additionally, the authors used varied methods for forming the comparison group; as such, it is possible that the comparison group contains students who are not health care students, which could affect the education outcomes. 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 the causal evidence rating presented in this report is low because the authors used a cohort from a previous enrollment year as the comparison group presenting a confounding factor. This means we are not confident that the effects are attributable to the Health Professions Pathways (H2P) Consortium; other factors are likely to have contributed.