Implementing a Statewide, Transformative Initiative to Expand Access to Credit Bearing STEM Credentials in Ohio

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This project aims to improve and broaden participation in undergraduate STEM education by implementing and investigating efforts to award college credit for industry certification and licensing, as well as for vocational coursework. States and community college systems across the country are exploring higher education policies and models that systematically award college credit for noncredit learning in applied STEM fields. Statewide articulation agreements that award credit for noncredit learning aim to expand access to high quality teaching and learning in credit-bearing STEM programs and to meet the changing education and workforce needs of a diverse set of learners and workers. In addition to opening up access to applied STEM programs, these statewide articulation agreements help students to save time and money on duplicative coursework, and deliver a message that colleges value and support students with different sources of STEM learning. Recognizing the growth in these new initiatives, scarce literature on these efforts, and limited research on nontraditional students, the project team intends to investigate (1) the characteristics, educational aspirations, and priorities of individuals with noncredit STEM learning; (2) the design and effectiveness of strategies for communicating about educational programs and initiatives with populations of nontraditional learners; (3) the experience of students with noncredit STEM learning as they transition into credit-bearing STEM programs. Working closely with the Ohio Department of Higher Education (ODHE), Ohio Technical Centers (OTCs), Ohio community colleges, and industry representatives (e.g., associations), the RAND team intends to build evidence that will inform the implementation and scale-up of a statewide initiative focused on two types of noncredit learning, vocational coursework earned through a statewide network of technical centers and industry certification and licenses. The project intends to conduct a mixed methods investigation that includes both primary and secondary data collection and analyses. First, the team will conduct a literature review and collect data on individuals with noncredit learning and their education and training decisions to inform the design of outreach approaches to these individuals. Then, the team will rigorously test at least one of these outreach approaches by conducting an experimental or quasi-experimental study and analyzing administrative data. Finally, the team will collect and analyze primary and administrative data to better understand how these initiatives are being implemented within institutions, to explore whether individuals with noncredit learning are leveraging these statewide agreements to enroll in college, and to assess how these individuals are progressing with credit-bearing STEM coursework. This project is funded by the Improving Undergraduate STEM Education program that aims to promote and understand innovative and research-based teaching and learning initiatives and the Advanced Technological Education program that supports efforts to improve technician education and the technical workforce in established and emerging STEM fields.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.