While there is no “one-size-fits-all” solution to providing equitable access to high-value CTE opportunities, education leaders must pay attention to how they connect CTE pathways to local employer needs and provide transfer opportunities to four-year institutions. Critically, they must pay attention to which students are accepted or counseled into which CTE programs.
For example, during the fiscal crisis of 2007–2009, adults with bachelor’s degrees and work experience entered community college CTE programs to retrain, beating out first-time and less-experienced students who had their hearts set on nursing, IT, or other demanding technical programs.
A number of community colleges take care to mount programs that prepare students both for entry into the workforce and for transfer.
For example, the biotechnology engineering program at Bunker Hill Community College was designed to meet specific needs of the Greater Boston workforce. Upon completion, students are eligible for design and manufacturing positions in private industries, academic research institutions, and hospitals locally and nationwide. The courses also meet transfer requirements, so without repeating courses, students can enter four-year colleges as juniors and increase their salary and employment options.
That’s great, but entering engineering or other STEM-related programs isn’t just stating your major at admission. Students must pass a skills placement test or complete remediation along with general education requirements and, in this case, chemistry, biology, physics, and calculus. These are challenging courses, and if the college does not offer well-designed academic supports and clear advising at the point of enrollment, students may be discouraged.
Students need to have adequate knowledge of the hoops they need to jump through and the grades required to actually be accepted into the major, let alone complete it. And early failure can end STEM aspirations.