All Featured Highlights

• May 02, 2013  |  Patrick Reimherr and Julie Strawn CLASP Urges Congress to Make Tax-Based Student Aid More Effective for Low-Income Students In preparation for possible comprehensive tax legislation, the House and Senate tax-writing committees have been reviewing options for reform. CLASP recently participated in briefings for members of the House Ways and Means Committee on reform of family tax benefits and of tax-based student aid. We also submitted written comments to both the House and Senate tax-writing committees,urging policymakers to consider key reforms to tax-based aid Read Online
• Apr 23, 2013  |  CLASP Separate and Unequal: College Board Pell Grant Proposal Tackles College Completion, Solutions Fall Short Last week, the College Board Study Group released its proposal to redesign the Pell Grant program to meet changing student needs. The proposal, Rethinking Pell Grants, which was authored by a 14-member panel of national higher education researchers and leadership, puts forth a plan to restructure the Pell Grant program into two separate and targeted programs based solely on the age of a student: “Pell Y” for younger students and “Pell A” for adult students (defined as 25 and older). We commend the College Board Study Group for recognizing the needs of all students, both young and old(er), as well as recognizing that many students need additional supportive services beyond financial aid to successfully persist and complete their programs. Still, we remain concerned about the implications of a separate and unequal Pell Grant program that threatens to cut benefits for students based solely on age. Read Online
• Apr 15, 2013  |  Center for Postsecondary and Economic Success With All Eyes on Taxes Today, Check Out Our Recommendations on Tax-Based Student Aid Read Online
• Apr 04, 2013  |  Marcie Foster and Julie Strawn The "Golden Opportunity" of Adult Education Reform Across the country, more and more states are changing adult education policy to provide students the education they need to become employed and economically successful in an increasingly knowledge-based economy. Multi-state initiatives, such as Shifting Gears and Accelerating Opportunity, are supporting this shift, as are the U.S. Departments of Education and Labor through guidance and technical assistance. Nowhere is this trend more relevant than in California (known as the "Golden State"), where one out of five adult education students reside and which is newly focusing on restructuring adult education to promote college and career success. Read Online
• Mar 28, 2013  |  Neil Ridley Updated Resource for States: Toolkit on Federal Funding for Career Pathways CLASP announces the release of an updated resource, Funding Career Pathways and Career Pathway Bridges: A Federal Funding Toolkit for States. This toolkit is designed to help interagency state teams identify and facilitate "braiding" of federal resources to build career pathways for adults and out-of-school youth. Read Online
• Mar 28, 2013  |  Neil Ridley and Patrick Reimherr New Study Highlights Importance of Job Training for Low-Wage Workers – And Need for Better Awareness of Training Programs A new study issued by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs, Paths to Opportunity: Perspectives from Lower-Wage Workers and Their Employers, provides a snapshot of worker and employer perspectives on the economic outlook, working conditions, and opportunities for advancement in lower-wage occupations (defined as jobs paying $35,000 or less per year). With recent analyses showing disproportionate growth in lower-wage jobs since the end of the recession, it is essential to understand the dynamics of low-wage work in order to rebuild paths to middle-class jobs. Read Online
• Mar 21, 2013  |  Center for Postsecondary and Economic Success Tax-Based Student Aid Accounts for Nearly Half of Non-Loan Federal Aid, Rivals Pell Grants Tax-based student aid has grown rapidly over the past decade and now represents nearly half of our nation’s investment in non-loan federal aid. The Office of Management and Budget estimates that tax-based aid programs will cost more than $34 billion in FY12 through reduced federal revenues. Similarly, Pell Grant outlays are expected to total $35.6 billion in FY12. Read Online
• Mar 15, 2013  |  Marcie W.M. Foster Murray and Ryan Budgets Offer Divergent Visions for Access to Postsecondary Education and Student Financial Aid This week, two FY14 budget proposals emerged from Congress that presented contrasting paths for education and economic opportunity in the nation. Rep. Paul Ryan’s budget, once again titled Path to Prosperity, echoes similar themes from last year’s House budget, slashing critical higher education investments and cutting access to college for millions of low-income students. These and other draconian cuts are starkly different from Senator Murray’s proposed budget, Foundation for Growth, which improves college affordability and makes smart investments in postsecondary education to ensure that U.S. students and workers have the skills and education needed to support continued economic growth. Read Online
• Mar 14, 2013  |  Center for Postsecondary and Economic Success Large Share of Tax-Based Student Aid Goes to Higher Income Families To maximize the nation’s investment in student aid, we must target resources to low- and modest-income families -- those most likely to respond to incentives to enroll in and complete college. Unfortunately, tax-based student aid provides substantial support to individuals who are already highly likely to attend college and so may have little effect on access or completion for these students. In 2013, the Tax Policy Center estimates that 25 percent of the benefits of American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC) will go to families making more than $100,000 per year; 29 percent of the benefits of the Lifetime Learning Credit (LLC) will go to families making more than $75,000; and almost half of the benefits of the Tuition and Fees Deduction will go to households with annual incomes of $100,000 or more. Read Online
• Mar 12, 2013  |  Marcie Foster New York’s Move to Abandon the GED® is a Game Changer New York State made headlines last week after it announced it would be dropping the GED® as its high school equivalency exam—a move that can only be defined as a “game changer” in adult education. Instead, the state will be working with CTB/McGraw Hill to develop an alternative exam, the Test Assessing Secondary Completion (TASC), which New York believes will keep costs low and allow its Education Department to continue to serve adults and youth seeking to earn a high school equivalency diploma and gain greater economic mobility. New York’s shift to the TASC is one of the most significant developments in adult education in decades. Since 1942, the GED® has been synonymous with high school equivalency in the U.S. and widely recognized by potential candidates, employers, and postsecondary institutions. Read Online
• Mar 11, 2013  |  Neil Ridley, Kisha Bird, and Marcie W.M. Foster House Workforce Bill Moves Forward Amid Rising Tensions Last week the House Education and Workforce Committee voted to advance a bill that restructures a range of federal workforce programs, including the Workforce Investment Act (WIA). Tensions ran high during the legislative mark-up session and the hearing that preceded it, signaling a decline in the bipartisan spirit that has animated most reauthorization efforts in the past. Read Online
• Mar 05, 2013  |  Center for Postsecondary and Economic Success Tax-Based Student Aid Quadrupled – Largely Unnoticed – Over the Past Decade Read Online
• Feb 28, 2013  |  Center for Postsecondary and Economic Success Financial Pressures Drive Down College Completion - CLASP RADD Chart Series Continues Confronted with high costs and unmet financial need, low- and modest-income students and their families face a difficult choice: work more while in college, borrow more, or do both. When students cannot afford college, it not only limits access to higher education and drives up debt, it also increases (sometimes significantly) the time it takes to earn a degree and/or ultimately complete a credential. Read Online
• Feb 26, 2013  |  CLASP Tax Policy Center’s Elaine Maag Highlights CLASP’s Recent Paper on Reforming Tax-Based Aid Read Online
• Feb 22, 2013  |  Center for Postsecondary and Economic Success College Costs Rising Four Times Faster Than Income, Two and a Half Times Faster Than Pell Read Online
• Feb 21, 2013  |  CLASP New C-PES Report Calls for Consolidating Tax-Based Student Aid, Using Metrics to Improve College Choices and Completion Read Online
• Sep 11, 2012  |  Abigail Newcomer and Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield Benefits Access for College Completion Benefits Access for College Completion (BACC) will test innovative approaches to increase the number of students earning postsecondary credentials in seven community and technical colleges across the country. BACC will help colleges develop and institutionalize scalable and sustainable organizational and funding policies and practices that connect low-income students to an array of public benefits, such as food assistance and health insurance. Read Online
• Jun 19, 2012  |  CLASP The Fight to Save Pell Grants Pell Grants, the federal program that makes postsecondary education and job training possible for nearly 10 million Americans, has become a primary target of cuts in budget and deficit debates. Read Online
• Aug 31, 2012  |  CLASP Alliance for Quality Career Pathways Read Online
• Mar 23, 2012  |  Abigail Newcomer More to Learn about the Needs of Children Receiving TANF A significant share of families receiving TANF cash assistance are "child-only," yet we know very little about how well this assistance meets the needs of the children receiving it. Families receive child-only benefits for many reasons, and each type of case has different implications for the family and the services it may need. A new brief released by the Administration for Children and Families explores what we know about families receiving child-only benefits, and outlines the research that is required to fully understand them. What's clear is there is no one policy solution for meeting these children's needs and more research is needed on the outcomes various policies would have for children. Read Online
• Mar 23, 2012  |  Vickie Choitz, Julie Strawn, and Marcie Foster FAQs on How the Loss of Ability to Benefit Options in Federal Student Aid Affects Those without a High School Diploma After July 1, 2012, newly enrolled college students without a U.S. high school diploma or secondary school equivalent will no longer eligible for federal student aid, due to the elimination of the "Ability to Benefit" (AtB) options by Congress in December 2011. The loss of AtB options threatens the economic mobility of low-skilled adults and youth seeking postsecondary credentials to improve their job prospects. Furthermore, the loss of AtB is particularly harmful to minority students and non-English speakers with a high school diploma in their home country. This brief outlines the provision and why the AtB policy is essential for maintaining access to education and training for low-income, low-skilled students. Download PDF
• Jan 23, 2012  |  Marcie Foster Resources for Developing Workforce Innovation Fund Grant Applications The Workforce Innovation Fund (WIF) is a grant competition that will provide state workforce agencies and local workforce boards (or consortia of these groups) a total of $98.5 million to invest in service delivery strategies and/or system-level reform that improve employment and educational outcomes for workers, create efficiencies in the workforce system, and foster strong cooperation across education, training, and human services systems. CLASP has long supported system-level reform and has gathered resources for those applying for funding under the Workforce Innovation Fund Read Online
• Sep 20, 2011  |  CLASP American Jobs Act: New Work and Learning Opportunities for Low-Income, Unemployed Adults and Youth This CLASP analysis of the American Jobs Act examines provisions specifically aimed at those workers most affected by the recession as well as those struggling even before the economy turned sour. In particular, it looks at the $5 billion Pathways Back to Work Fund, which includes three elements that would create work and learning opportunities for thousands of disadvantaged individuals across the country. Read Online
• Nov 17, 2011  |  Marcie Foster The Adult Education and Economic Growth Act (H.R. 2226) The Adult Education and Economic Growth Act (AEEGA) was introduced in the House of Representatives in June 2011 by Rep. Ruben Hinojosa (TX-15). The bill (H.R. 2226) would amend the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) to encourage the use and availability of career pathways for low-skilled adults, strengthen the focus of adult education on postsecondary and career success, increase the number of adult education students receiving marketable postsecondary credentials, and modernize the adult education system to meet the needs of 21st century jobs. Although AEEGA could substantially improve WIA - particularly the Title II provisions that govern adult education - it could be strengthened by incorporating stronger provisions that promote better alignment between WIA Titles I and II, including a shared system of accountability. Download PDF
• Nov 17, 2011  |  Vickie Choitz and Julie Strawn CLASP Testimony for the Record on Nontraditional Students On Sept. 30, 2011, the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance held a hearing on higher education regulations and nontraditional students. CLASP submitted comments focusing on the primary barriers to access and persistence for nontraditional students and promising strategies and policies and the role of the federal government in helping nontraditional students in overcoming the barriers. Download PDF
• Mar 04, 2011  |  Marcie Foster, Julie Strawn, and Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield Beyond Basic Skills: State Strategies to Connect Low-Skilled Students to an Employer-Valued Postsecondary Education Having a postsecondary education—broadly defined as a credential beyond a high school diploma—continues to be one of the most important factors in getting a good job and advancing in the workforce. Critical federal programs, such as funding for student aid and job training, can help lower-skilled adults and youth access postsecondary education, but important policy choices that support their success and completion can be made at the state and local levels. Beyond Basic Skills describes strategies that state policymakers can use to strengthen connections between basic skills education and postsecondary education to help lower-skilled adults and out-of-school youth attain the postsecondary credentials they need to advance in the labor market. Read Online
• Jan 20, 2012 TANF Education and Training Resources Due to a combination of TANF work participation rate requirements, various federal regulations, and a general "work first" approach, many states have provided few opportunities for TANF recipients to participate in education and training. However, some states have bucked this trend by creating successful education and training programs in spite of limits imposed by federal rules. This page includes resources that highlight innovative state strategies, opportunities, and CLASP federal policy recommendations on education and training within the TANF program. Read Online
• Sep 09, 2010  |  Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield Comments on Department of Education Proposed Regulations on Gainful Employment Download PDF
• Aug 23, 2011  |  Julie Strawn Farther, Faster: Six Promising Programs Show How Career Pathway Bridges Help Basic Skills Students Earn Credentials That Matter Students forced to complete a long sequence of remedial or English language classes before they can begin their postsecondary program rarely earn college certificates or degrees. This brief highlights six promising programs that show how career pathway bridges help lower-skilled students move farther and faster along college and career paths through dual enrollment in linked basic skills and occupational certificate courses. Because creating such bridges requires collaboration across college silos, they can also transform the way colleges operate. Download PDF
• May 09, 2011  |  EVENT RESOURCES Developing America's Workforce: Learning from 40 Years of Workforce Development Policy and Practice to Inform the Next Generation While employers are beginning to hire again, structural problems in the labor market will continue to keep unemployment levels high in the coming years and limit economic mobility for low-income workers. This high-level bipartisan discussion focused on lessons we can draw from the last four decades of workforce policy to help the nation effectively navigate its immediate and long-term labor market challenges. Read Online
• Sep 27, 2010  |  Vickie Choitz and Marcie Foster Five Strategies to Help Low-Income Adults and Youth Attain Community College Credentials Download PDF
• Sep 15, 2010 Webinar: Helping Low-Income Adults and Disadvantaged Youth Earn Credentials and Build Careers: Leading Foundations Speak about Policy Priorities Read Online
• Sep 07, 2011  |  Marcie Foster Adult Education and Family Literacy Week: September 12 - 18, 2011 Adult Education and Family Literacy Week is September 12 - 18, 2011. Learn about how you can help spread the word about the importance of an adult education system that prepares low-skilled adults for postsecondary education and family-sustaining careers Read Online
• May 18, 2010  |  Vickie Choitz, Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield, Marcie W.M. Foster, Linda Harris, Elizabeth Lower-Basch, Neil Ridley, Julie Strawn Funding Career Pathways and Career Pathway Bridges: A Federal Policy Toolkit for States This toolkit is designed to help interagency state teams identify and facilitate "braiding" of federal resources to design and develop career pathways and bridges into them for adults and out-of-school youth. The toolkit also will help state teams identify state policy barriers to using federal resources for career pathways and bridges and, ideally, address them. Read Online
• Nov 22, 2010  |  Vickie Choitz Webinar: Dollars and Sense - Using Federal Resources to Fund Career Pathways and Bridges Since career pathways initiatives intentionally bring together programming and services from a variety of state systems, states must often "braid" together federal funding sources to develop and sustain these efforts. To help states navigate the federal funding landscape, CLASP's Center for Postsecondary and Economic Success has released a new revised edition of Funding Career Pathways and Career Pathway Bridges: A Federal Policy Toolkit for States. Read Online
• Sep 01, 2010 Announcing the Center for Postsecondary and Economic Success Download PDF
• Mar 23, 2010  |  Thomas Hilliard and Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield Summary of Key Postsecondary Education and Training Provisions in the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 Download PDF
• Mar 22, 2010  |  Evelyn Ganzglass, Andrew Reamer, Brandon Roberts, Whitney Smith, Rachel Unruh Recommendations for Incorporating Postsecondary and Workforce Data into Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems Read Online
• Dec 10, 2009  |  Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield and Thomas Hilliard Recommendations to Refocus WIA Title II on Career and Postsecondary Success Download PDF
• Dec 10, 2009  |  Evelyn Ganzglass Proposal to Create Career Pathways State Policy Leadership Grants Program Download PDF
• Oct 29, 2008  |  Linda Harris and Evelyn Ganzglass Creating Postsecondary Pathways to Good Jobs for Young High School Dropouts This paper advocates expansion and better integration of efforts to connect high school dropouts between the ages of 16 and 24 to pathways to postsecondary credentials that have value in the labor market. The paper highlights examples of innovations in policy, program delivery, pedagogy in adult education, youth development and dropout recovery, and postsecondary education that should be built upon in developing more robust and successful dropout recovery and postsecondary education policies and practices to open the door to higher wages and career opportunities for this population. The authors urge federal officials, governors, school administrators, college officials, workforce leaders and employers to provide leadership in building the supports and pathways at scale to bring dropout youth back into the education and labor market mainstream. The paper was prepared for the Center for American Progress. Download PDF
• Sep 24, 2008  |  Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield and Julie Strawn Congress Expands Student Aid and Supports Innovation in Student Success, Basic Skills and Workforce Partnerships On August 14, 2008, President Bush signed into law P.L. 110-315, Higher Education Opportunity Act, the long-awaited reauthorization of the Higher Education Act of 1965. This piece summarizes the key provisions that will influence postsecondary access and success for nontraditional students, including year-round Pell Grants and new pilot programs championed by CLASP for Student Success Grants, Business Workforce Partnerships, and basic skills Bridges from Jobs to Careers programs. Download PDF
• Mar 12, 2008  |  Amy-Ellen Duke and Julie Strawn Overcoming Obstacles,Optimizing Opportunities: State Policies to Increase Postsecondary Attainment for Low-Skilled Adults This paper, by Amy-Ellen Duke and Julie Strawn, provides an overview of state policies that can be most successful in helping lower-skilled adults enter and succeed in college and careers. The paper introduces a series of state policy reports developed as part of Breaking Through, a national project that is helping community colleges identify and develop institutional strategies that can enable low-skilled adult students to enter into and succeed in occupational and technical degree programs at community colleges. Download PDF
• Dec 18, 2007  |  Amy-Ellen Duke Statement Prepared for the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance; Community College Symposium Community colleges play a critical role in increasing economic opportunity for adults by helping individuals move out of dead-end, low-wage jobs into careers that can support a family. In a statement prepared for a symposium on issues effecting community colleges hosted by the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance, Senior Policy Analyst Amy-Ellen Duke focuses on two areas integral to the success of low-income adults at community colleges--policies to support student success and improve developmental education--and highlights successful programs across the country. Download PDF
• Feb 21, 2007  |  Christopher Mazzeo, Brandon Roberts, Christopher Spence, and Julie Strawn Working Together: Aligning State Systems and Policies for Individual and Regional Prosperity Julie Strawn of CLASP coauthored this new report, from the Workforce Strategy Center, which asserts that the current systems are not working effectively to produce the kinds of knowledge workers need for our new economy. The paper examines state policy and system improvements that would enhance the ability of workers to gain skills to advance to better jobs and the ability of employers to find skilled workers. These improvements include increasing access to postsecondary education and training; enabling current students to succeed and complete marketable credentials; increasing transitions between literacy, language, and postsecondary education and training programs; incorporating employer demand and state economic priorities in educational planning; expanding the capacity of postsecondary institutions; and measuring program results. Download PDF
• Mar 28, 2011  |  Neil Ridley and Evelyn Ganzglass Responding to the Great Recession: How the Recovery Act Boosted Training and Innovation in Three States Two years after the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act or ARRA) became law, Congress is preparing to take up reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA). With its one-time infusion of resources, the Recovery Act nearly doubled federal funding for adult, dislocated worker and youth programs under WIA during 2009-2010 and set national priorities for the public workforce system's response to what is now being described as the Great Recession. The lessons from Recovery Act implementation should inform WIA reauthorization as it proceeds. This report examines the response of three states and local areas to the urgency of the recession, additional funding and the opportunities and challenges afforded by the Recovery Act. Download PDF
• May 24, 2011  |  CLASP Student Success Stories from the Shifting Gears Initiative The map links to testimonials from students and staff about how state programs developed under the Shifting Gears initiative have enabled adults to access postsecondary education, upgrade their skills, and obtain better family-sustaining jobs. To learn more about the policies that each state is pursuing under the initiative, visit the Shifting Gears web site. Read Online
• Apr 21, 2010  |  CLASP TANF Education and Training Resources This page provides resources that highlight innovative state strategies, opportunities, and CLASP federal policy recommendations on education and training within the TANF program.It also includes a series of policy briefs that describe programs in Arkansas, Kentucky, Maine, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania that allow TANF recipients to participate and succeed in education and training programs. Read Online