![]() ![]() Enrollment declined even more for older adult learners, with a nearly 23% decline in first-time enrollment among 21-24 year-olds, a 16.5% decline for 25-29 year-olds, and about a 24% decline for learners over 30. The National Student Clearinghouse reported a substantial drop in first-time undergraduate enrollment for the fall 2020 semester, with a 9.5% enrollment decline at public two-year colleges. While historically a poor economy has resulted in higher rates of pursuing postsecondary education and training, this has not been the immediate case in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to direct benefits to the adult workers who complete a stacked credential, developing and promoting stackable credential opportunities to existing graduates could offer one avenue for community college systems to offset enrollment declines experienced this year. ![]() Indeed, Black stackers’ third most-common field of study is child care, while white graduates’ next most common field of study is engineering technology. Most stackers of both races complete degrees in health and business, and within these fields there are few and smaller differences in the labor market returns to stacking by race, meaning the overall differences we observe are driven by racial differences in the returns to stacking in other fields of study. Part of this appears to be driven by the fields that individuals pursue. While we find no evidence of significant differences in returns for male and female stackers, we do find higher returns for white stackers than for Black stackers. The most common stacks are in health or business, and individuals who complete a stack in health or business have especially high returns-a 5 and 10 percentage point increase in employment and $640 and $760 quarterly wage increase, respectively. We find that adults who completed a stacked credential are 4 percentage points more likely to be employed, compared with 77% of non-stackers, and earn about $570 more each quarter relative to the $7,970 earned by non-stackers (a 7% wage increase). In a recent paper along with our colleague Kelli Bird, we use data from the Virginia Community College System (VCCS) merged with state unemployment data to provide the first causal evidence we know of on how stacking affects working adults’ labor market outcomes. In Virginia, we estimate about 8% of community college graduates who first complete a workforce-oriented credential return for and complete a second degree in the same field as their first within three years of their initial graduation. Seventeen states have allocated funding to colleges to develop stackable credentials pathways, and 10 states require that their community college systems offer and advertise stacking options. Stacking credentials has emerged as an increasingly popular higher education policy to support students who want to develop career skills but may not have the flexibility in their work and family schedules to commit to a longer-term program. The short-term certificate enables the graduate to immediately gain work experience in the field and the second credential helps them advance along that career ladder. For example, a student might complete a short-term certificate in cyber security one term and later return to apply some of those credits to earn an associate degree in information systems technology. Even before the pandemic, many community college students completed two or more credentials-referred to as “stacking” credentials. ![]()
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