Discussion Paper

Non-Credit Workforce Programs at Community Colleges

Abstract: Community colleges differ from four-year institutions in key ways, including how programs are distributed across credit and non-credit academic divisions. While nearly all enrolled students at four-year institutions are in for-credit programs, community college students are much more likely to be in non-credit programs, which are shorter in term and typically focus on skills and credentials that are tied to specific occupations. A growing number of community college students are enrolled in non-credit programs across the Fifth District, but traditional data sources do not capture information on the scale of non-credit academic offerings, or the outcomes of the students enrolled. Data collected through the Richmond Fed's Survey of Community College Outcomes (SCCO) offer new information about enrollment in these programs.

Keywords: non-credit programs; community college; Fifth District;

Bibliographic Information

Provider: Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond

Part of Series: Regional Matters

Publication Date: 2024-02-22