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 \nUnderstanding Pathways to Enrollment in Community College Noncredit Workforce Programs  \nKatherine Hughes, Nicole Sandelier Boyd, Maria Luz Espino, Michelle Van Noy  \nJanuary 2026  \nAbout the Authors  \nKatherine Hughes is a senior research consultant with the Education and Employment Research Center at the Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations.  \nNicole Sandelier Boyd is a researcher at the Education and Employment Research Center at the Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations.  \nMaria Luz Espino is a researcher at the Education and Employment Research Center at the Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations.  \nMichelle Van Noy is the Director of the Education and Employment Research Center at the Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations.  \nAcknowledgments  \nThe authors are grateful to the many people who facilitated and contributed to the research and this report. The research could not have been conducted without the support and collaboration of individuals at the three colleges. In particular, Sunil Gupta, Chandana Mahadeswaraswamy, Hannah Weinstock, and George Schreiner of  \nLaGuardia Community College; Madelyn Arballo and Shannon Rider of Mt. San Antonio College; and Steve Partridge, Silvana Barretto, Keila Louzada, and Jennifer Merrill of Northern Virginia Community College were immensely supportive of the work.  \nWe thank Eliza Peterson, our former colleague who left EERC to become a classroom teacher, for her instrumental work in designing the study and coordinating data collection. And we appreciate our EERC colleagues Tracy Cangiano and Melissa Quaal for their help with preparing the report for release. We also thank Mark D’Amico of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte for advising the project and providing helpful comments on thereport and Wendy Sedlak of Lumina Foundation for her support and feedback on the report. Angel Butts of The Word Angel, LLC, provided excellent editorial assistance, and Optim Communications was a great partner in developing communications content.  \nFinally, we thank the students who agreed to be interviewed and shared their stories and struggles, which were often poignant. We are rooting for them.  \n.  \nTable of Contents  \nIntroduction ............................................................................................................................. 1  \nThe Need for Qualitative Understanding ............................................................................................................... 2  \nOverview of Relevant Literature .............................................................................................. 4  \nStudents Enrolled in Noncredit Workforce Programs ......................................................................................... 4  \nStudents’ Enrollment Goals ........................................................................................................................................ 5  \nMethods .................................................................................................................................... 8  \nStudy Context ........................................................................................................................... 9  \nInstitutional Profiles ...................................................................................................................................................... 9  \nState Noncredit Funding Landscape ..................................................................................................................... 10  \nProgram Participation by Institution ....................................................................................................................... 11  \nProgram Field Distribution by Institution .............................................................................................................. 13  \nFindings .......................................................","cbCaipib94ZPgN9u","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaipib94ZPgN9u","pdf",695763,48,"English","# Introduction\n## The Need for Qualitative Understanding\n## Overview of Relevant Literature\n## Methods\n## Study Context\n## Findings\n## Conclusion\n## References\n## Appendix A. Detailed Methodology\n## Appendix B. Program Description for Study Participants by Institution\n## Appendix C. Field and ESU/VESL Enrollment by Institution","[{\"question\":\"What question does the report address about community college noncredit workforce programs?\",\"answer\":\"The report explores why enrollment in these noncredit workforce programs happens now and how students follow pathways to enrollment.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the study support its findings?\",\"answer\":\"It uses qualitative methods based on students’ enrollment goals, interview insights, and a defined study context covering institutions and funding landscape.\"},{\"question\":\"What enrollment considerations does the report emphasize?\",\"answer\":\"It emphasizes that pathways can be nonlinear and interrupted, students have diverse goals, and cost is key in shaping enrollment decisions.\"}]","Why Now? Understanding Pathways to Enrollment in Community College Noncredit Workforce Programs - Final Report | PDF",121]