A National Perspective: Jacqueline Woods Community College Liaison U.S. Department of Education

UPDATE: From your perspective as a national education leader, what are the significant changes (if any) in the federal vocational legislation (i.e., Perkins III)? And how do the changes in Perkins III impact community colleges?

Woods: The major changes in Perkins that affect community colleges center around two areas: 1) accountability requirements and reporting; and 2) the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) requirement regarding post-secondary participation in the one-stops. Vocational postsecondary education systems will need to implement an accountability system whereby they can report annually on all of the core indicators. They must determine measures for these indicators, baseline figures and goals.

UPDATE: What is the potential impact of Perkins III on the linkages between secondary, 2-year, and 4-year education (e.g., Tech Prep)?

Woods: Perkins III affects the linkages between secondary, 2- and 4-year education by funding Tech Prep programs to provide non-duplicative sequences of courses in career fields. Perkins III provides opportunities for all educational sectors to come up with continuity in curriculum and strengthen learning outcomes along the continuum. It also requires that the programs provide work-based learning experiences for its participants, which involves working with business and all aspects of industry.

UPDATE: What challenges do you believe community colleges will have in establishing a comprehensive accountability system?

Woods: The challenges lie within the technical side of establishing a comprehensive accountability system. For indicators that were not previously measured, it will be difficult to establish baseline data from which performance goals can be developed. There must be data elements that provide information not only when the students are in the system, but also when they exit the system. Additionally, federal and state privacy issues relating to student identifiers will become a challenge to be dealt within the new legislation.

UPDATE: What issues arise when the Perkins III measures are applied to special populations?

Woods: This question is particularly important to a state as highly diverse as Illinois which ranks among the top five states in ESL enrollment. When considering special populations, the issues and challenges that arise relate to the monitoring of these students. With the implementation of Perkins III, states will have to examine how these measures are applicable and devise new ways of assessing the performance of special populations. Special populations include individuals with barriers to educational achievement such as limited English proficiency; individuals with disabilities; economically disadvantaged families (e.g., those including foster children); those preparing for non-traditional training and employment; single parents (including single pregnant women); and displaced homemakers.

UPDATE: What other observations can you make regarding Perkins III, Illinois community colleges and the future of vocational-technical education in the state?

Woods: Perkins III allows the colleges to see the ‘glass as half-full rather than half-empty.’ Although the accountability issues will require additional data collection that has not been done prior to the legislation, it will also allow the colleges to document their successes better than ever before. Furthermore, those colleges that are successful using the new regulations will be able to strengthen their ties to other educational entities, business and other social service agencies by being able to coordinate services rather than duplicate them. No other institution is as experienced as community colleges at weaving together academic and career program activities. Community colleges often emerge as the primary facilitators in their communities because of their flexibility and capabilities as these comprehensive programs are established.

Ms. Woods gratefully acknowledges insights contributed by Jennifer Hartman and Jon Weintraub, OVAE Policy Analysis staff members.

A State Perspective: Richard Miguel, Illinois State Board of Education

UPDATE: From your perspective as a state education leader, what are the significant changes (if any) in the federal vocational legislation (i.e., Perkins III)? Why are these changes significant?

Miguel: The most significant change in Perkins III is the emphasis on accountability. Illinois must enter into a performance contract with the U.S. Department of Education, indicating specific levels of student attainment on key core indicators of performance. Failure to meet these performance levels may result in the state losing all or part of its federal funds. Although not necessarily new to federal job training legislation, this level of accountability is new for federal education legislation.

UPDATE: What challenges do you believe Illinois community colleges will have in meeting these new accountability demands?

Miguel: The colleges will have to align their Perkins III performance indicators with those of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA). Whereas the Perkins III legislation provides a great deal of flexibility in implementing an accountability system, WIA does not. This will mean the colleges may lose some flexibility as they attempt to align the accountability requirements of these federal programs. Both Perkins and WIA call for statewide reporting of data. This means that colleges will have to adhere to common definitions, performance measures, accountability cohorts, data collection methods, and the like if they are to produce meaningful data at the state level.

UPDATE: Perkins III requires initial determination of performance indicators and measures, but requires that enhancements be made to the system in the future. What specific performance indicators and measures will Illinois community colleges be able to implement quickly, and what ones will take more time?

Miguel: Illinois will be able to immediately implement performance indicators related to degree and certificate completion, continuing education and employment, and participation in and completion of non-traditional programs. From our deliberations on postsecondary core indicators, the representatives of the colleges would like to see Illinois develop or acquire assessments that can demonstrate the impact that programs are having on helping students acquire technical skills and academic skills beyond the basics.

UPDATE: The National Assessment of Vocational Education (NAVE) indicated that, by and large, the previous Perkins II measures were not incorporated into local policy and practice. Many states struggled with them as well. Knowing this, how successful do you predict the new Perkins III accountability requirements will be?

Miguel: Illinois is one of the few states that took the Perkins II requirements to heart to build a performance-based accountability system. For that reason, it is one of the few states that is ready to implement the Perkins III accountability requirements, which essentially requires an information system that includes individual student records with social security numbers, linked to a number of educational and employment data bases. Fewer than 10 states have the capacity to do this at this time. Fortunately Illinois is among this elite group.

A Local Perspective: Rita Fischbach Illinois Central College

UPDATE: From your perspective as a local leader, what are the significant changes (if any) in the federal vocational legislation (i.e., Perkins III) for area community colleges?

Fischbach: The accountability issues, the non-targeting of programs and the emphasis on non-traditional students, will influence how federal monies are spent. More specifically, Illinois community colleges need to integrate the Perkins III changes with the North Central Accreditation as well as Illinois Community College Board improvements. Since all students can be served, not just targeted program students and special populations, we need to determine the best way to ensure the success of our students.

UPDATE: What challenges do you believe Illinois community colleges will have in meeting these new accountability demands?

Fischbach: There are some specific actions that Illinois community colleges must take to respond to Perkins III. The purpose of the legislation should be refocused. This will allow educators and administrators to provide better support services for all vocational students. In addition, community colleges need to collect data that is not being gathered at present to develop processes that will allow institutions to document success (i.e., placement rates, certificate and degree completion rates, academic and technical achievement).

UPDATE: What particular group of community college students will the Perkins III measures applied to?

Fischbach: It is not clear which community college student group in particular will be subject to Perkins III measures. Hopefully, we can include the noncompleters who enter employment with a couple of courses. There is a possibility that programs will be broken up into many small pieces in order to have completers, but this is not the goal of the legislation. It is essential that the current Perkins measures are incorporated into the WIA plan, and the whole community should be working together.

Another Perspective: Frankie Santos Laanan Coast Community College District Costa Mesa, California

UPDATE: From your perspective, what are the significant changes in the Perkins III legislation? Why are these changes significant?

Laanan: The new Act eliminates several programs that were authorized, but never funded under the 1990 Act. For example, the new Act eliminates the authorization of a state council on vocational education. Numerous references to technology use in the classroom, teacher training in technology, and distance learning, are included. Several references to the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) are also found in the new legislation. Perkins III also contains stipulations to enhance coordination between vocational education and job training programs. The Act also no longer requires states to have a sex equity coordinator or a committee of practitioners. Of the four core indicators included in the new Act, "completion of vocational and technical programs that lead to nontraditional training and employment" is also new.

UPDATE: Although you have greater familiarity with California community colleges, California and Illinois face similar challenges. How do you see the changes in Perkins III impacting Illinois community colleges?

Laanan: The state of Illinois will need to develop valid performance levels for the core indicators. The challenge will be to operationalize the core indicators so they can be readily measured and reported by the state’s data system. Perkins III does not require states to set aside funds for a gender equity coordinator; however, states may use Perkins funds for this purpose. The new version is now termed "nontraditional training and employment." Because specific federal dollars are not earmarked to address the gender equity issue, colleges will have to decide whether or not to allocate funding support for gender equity programs at the local level. Another change that will impact Illinois community colleges is the need for institutions to develop partnerships with business and industry (at the local and state level). The need for collaboration and coordination between educational institutions and industry will impact the efforts to follow-up former students in the world of work. One of the most difficult challenges for community college coordinating boards is the ability to account for their students in the workplace. The ability to collect information from students and their employers to evaluate program effectiveness or employer satisfaction will be a methodological challenge in the years to come.

UPDATE: What specific performance indicators and measures will Illinois community colleges be able to implement quickly, and what ones will take more time? How do you see advancements being implemented on a state and local basis over time?

Laanan: The measures (or core indicators) that Illinois community colleges can implement quickly include student attainment of vocational, technical and academic skills proficiency; acquisition of secondary or postsecondary degrees or credentials; and retention in postsecondary education. The performance indicators that could take more time include placement in employment; completion of vocational and technical programs that lead to nontraditional training and employment.

UPDATE: What other observations can you make regarding Perkins III and the future of vocational-technical education in the state?

Laanan: The central goals of this new legislation are to improve student achievement and prepare students for postsecondary education, further learning, and careers. Educating and training Illinois residents to possess technical skills, as well as transferable skills, to compete in a competitive state and national economy should be a primary goal. It will only be to Illinois’ benefit to have a productive and highly skilled workforce. Like any piece of federal legislation, the support for vocational education at the state and national level will depend on the effectiveness of programs and positive results achieved by vocational graduates.

Conclusion

In conclusion, much of what the leaders had to share regarding the new Perkins amendments provides insight into what issues and concerns have been incorporated into policies and practices affecting community colleges. In terms of the future of Perkins III and two-year institutions, the overwhelming recommendation of our experts is that state plans should articulate program effectiveness through the use of core indicators, as well as provide demonstrations of vocational-technical education student performance and improvement. Though these requirements will not be implemented easily, they are necessary to build a better system of vocational-technical education at all levels.

References

Rahn, M. L. & Holmes, P. (1999). Accountability systems: Performance standards and assessment. Center Point, (4) 1-10. National Center for Research in Vocational Education: Berkeley.