Let's focus on employment impact

Many community colleges are facing financial difficulties and are questioning how they can improve their outcomes. However, the outcomes they typically measure do not always align with the needs and desires of their community. One desired outcome that communities often have for their local college(s) is to provide stronger employment opportunities for community members. This encompasses various specific goals, such as creating accessible pathways to employment, ensuring quality wages, and offering benefits like insurance and retirement plans. Unfortunately, many colleges do not measure their impact on employment in the community. Metrics like fill rates and completions do not indicate anything related to employment, and although some programs briefly track graduate employment, it is not consistently monitored. However, community colleges could use existing metrics to assess their impact on employment at three levels: 1) student (previous, graduate) employment, 2) response to workforce demand, and 3) community socioeconomic conditions. The main reason why more community colleges do not track their impact on employment is due to policy. Funders of community colleges typically focus on inputs and outputs rather than impacts. This funding structure shapes institutional practices. I wonder what would happen if state and federal funders shifted their focus to the impact of strong community employment. They could adopt a results-based approach, similar to the recent shift from fee-for-service to value-based-care in healthcare. This change could encourage colleges to find new ways of operating and achieve better outcomes.