Absence of conflict of interest.
Citation
The New Growth Group, LLC. (2016). Cuyahoga Community College Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College Career Training grant: Final report. Retrieved from https://www.skillscommons.org/bitstream/handle/taaccct/9890/Tri-C%20Final%20Report.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
Highlights
- The study’s objective was to evaluate the impact of the TAACCCT-enhanced Additive Manufacturing (AM) programs or courses on education outcomes.
- Using data from the College Student Information System, the authors conducted a nonexperimental study to compare the educational outcomes of students who were enrolled in AM programs to a matched comparison group.
- The study found a significant association between AM program participation and increased credit hour accumulation.
- The quality of causal evidence presented in this report is low because the authors did not ensure that the groups being compared were similar before the intervention. This means we are not confident that the estimated effects are attributable to the TAACCCT-enhanced Additive Manufacturing programs or courses; other factors are likely to have contributed.
Intervention Examined
The TAACCCT-enhanced Additive Manufacturing Programs
Features of the Intervention
The U.S. Department of Labor's (DOL) Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) program provided $1.9 billion in grants to community colleges to improve skills and support employment in high-demand industries, notably manufacturing, health care, information technology, energy, and transportation. Through four rounds of funding, DOL awarded 256 TAACCCT grants to approximately 800 educational institutions across the United States and its territories.
In 2012, Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C) in Ohio was awarded a TAACCCT grant to train workers in high-demand, technical occupations in Additive Manufacturing (AM) to meet evolving workforce needs in Northeast Ohio. Tri-C leveraged the grant to streamline AM programs and create stacked credentials to improve program completion and meet local employers' needs. This involved developing five new Certificate of Achievement programs, creating a new one-year Certificate program, and enhancing an existing Associate degree program. Tri-C redesigned its assessment and placement processes for these programs and embedded developmental math, reading, and writing skills into them. If students were unprepared for the embedded content, Tri-C established a technology-enhanced accelerated bridge program to help students develop these skills. Tri-C also incorporated new technology into this grant-enhanced programming to more effectively assess students’ career interests, assist with career coaching and academic advising, identify students that are struggling in the various programs, and ensure that students are awarded for prior learning credits, if applicable. Lastly, the program developed partnerships with local one-stop shops to help TAA-eligible students with resume development, job placement, and other employment-based services.
Features of the Study
The study used a nonexperimental design to compare the outcomes of students who participated in the AM program to students who did not. Students in the treatment group were enrolled in the 3D Digital Design and Manufacturing Technology program. Due to low enrollment, the treatment group was expanded to include students who enrolled in AM courses. Students in the comparison group were enrolled in the Computer Numerical Control (CNC) Machining and Composites Manufacturing program, a program that was comparable to the treatment program in terms of program length, number of students enrolled, and student demographics. The authors matched AM participants to similar nonparticipants using propensity scores developed from demographic information. Study participants included 204 students in the treatment group and 171 in the comparison group. Using data from the College Student Information System, the authors conducted statistical models to assess differences between the groups in program completion and credit hour attainment.
Findings
Education and skills gain
- The study found that participating in the grant-enhanced AM programs/courses was significantly related to credit hour accumulation, with students in the treatment group attaining and average of eight more credit hours than students in the comparison group.
- The study found no significant relationship between participating in the grant-enhanced AM programs/courses and program completion.
Considerations for Interpreting the Findings
Although the authors conducted propensity score matching, they did not account for baseline education outcomes as required in the protocol. These preexisting differences between the groups—and not the grant-enhanced AM program—could explain the observed differences in outcomes. Also, the authors noted that the definition of “grant participant" for the treatment group was expanded to include any students enrolled in grant-enhanced AM courses, not just those enrolled in the grant-enhanced AM programs. This shift occurred at the end of Year 3 of the grant and complicated isolating the impact of the intervention since students in the treatment group experienced varying levels of the intervention. Therefore, the study is not eligible for a moderate causal evidence rating, the highest rating available for nonexperimental designs.
Causal Evidence Rating
The quality of causal evidence presented in this report is low because the authors did not ensure that the groups being compared were similar before the intervention. This means we are not confident that the estimated effects are attributable to the TAACCCT-enhanced Additive Manufacturing programs or courses; other factors are likely to have contributed.