Pathways Resource Library

The post highlights the gap between community college students' aspirations to earn four-year degrees and the reality that only a small percentage achieve this goal. It criticizes current narratives and policies that hinder successful transfers, particularly for low-income and minority students, and advocates for a shift towards focusing on credit mobility and recognition. By changing the narrative to value students' prior achievements and creating more flexible, student-centered pathways, the aim is to foster equitable educational and economic outcomes.

This study offers new insights about value community colleges provide and the range of needs that they serve. It examines recent community college students' motivations for enrolling, and their self-reported perceptions of the value of their education and training experiences, and the degree to which they acheived their goals for enrolling.

To better understand Gen Z’s unique perspectives, Gallup and the Walton Family Foundation have partnered to gather opinions directly from members of Gen Z and to track those opinions and experiences over time. This nationally representative, multiyear study of thousands of members of Gen Z between the ages of 12 and 26 gives policymakers and researchers an invaluable resource for not only understanding this generation’s needs, but for making data-driven decisions to address them.

This short tool offers persuasive arguments that shows how youth apprenticeships benefit both young career seekers and businesses alike. For employers, it demonstrates how apprenticeships can fill labor gaps across industries, and act as a reliable source of nationally credentialed, ready-to-work job candidates. Youth are offered access to paid work-based training in high-growth fields and the significant earnings potential.

This is a report containing the results of a study on new approaches in higher education, funded by the Charles Kock Foundation.

This report looks at how people make decisions regarding higher education through “Jobs-to-be-Done” theory which interrogates and exposes the real reasons people make personal choices, from buying a milk shake to make life-changing decisions. The analysis based on this theory, provides important insights, both for college-bound students and their families, but also institutions of higher education, many of which might be tooling themselves to perform the wrong job.

The third installment of this annual survey series tracks the wellbeing, education, and future outlook of Generation Z, based on responses from nearly 3,800 13- to 28-year-olds. Key findings include a widening life-evaluation gap between Gen Z students and adults, record-high levels of classroom engagement, and persistent disparities linked to teacher quality and school experience. The report also examines reading habits, chronic absenteeism, cellphone policies in schools, and Gen Z's growing sense of preparedness for the future.

The Catalyze Challenge set out to answer two core research questions: was it successful in catalyzing new innovation and, if so, what type? It employs a three-stage review process involving a collective effort to identify unique, groundbreaking career-connected models that are heavily invested in the communities they serve. The key takeaways that are explored in depth throughout this report.