Data Spotlight: Shifting Trends in College Completions

Recent economic unrest has caused many people to rethink career paths and education choices. But even before the Great Recession began, substantial shifts were starting to occur in national college completions.
Since the early 2000s, there’s been a spike in health care degrees, large dips in computers and engineering technology, and slowdown in the education field. [...]

EMSI Study Shows Michigan CC Has $86.7M Impact

Glen Oaks Community College in Centreville, Mich., contributed $86.7 million in added income to the south central Michigan economy in FY 2009, according to new EMSI impact study. GOCC released details of the study, which highlighted the higher earnings for students and increased output of businesses as a result of the college.
Glen Oaks students enjoy [...]

Video Resources for Jobseekers

The Wall Street Journal has released a batch of videos oriented to jobseekers. Here are three we found useful.
1. A discussion on basing career decisions on industry growth (the three hot sectors mentioned are health care, biotech, and pharmaceuticals):

2. Here’s advice on searching for financial jobs:

3. Here’s one on teaming with career counselors:

Remember, with EMSI’s [...]

From a Textile Mill to a Vineyard: a CC Success Story

It’s common these days to hear about economically devastated cities or regions still searching for faint glimmers of hope. But that’s not necessarily the case in Mount Airy, NC, a small town dominated by textile mills and tobacco fields and still well known as the inspiration for Mayberry on The Andy Griffith Show.
To be sure, [...]

Helping Community Colleges with Retraining Efforts

Illustration by Mark Beauchamp
An outstanding news story from today’s “Morning Edition” on NPR highlighted the struggle that faces many community colleges and workforce boards: Companies want new workers but can’t find people with the right skills, and lots of people are looking for new careers but aren’t qualified for the jobs that exist. The solution [...]