This story was originally published by Chalkbeat.
DENVER | Low-income students in Colorado will soon be eligible for short-term job training through an expansion of Pell Grants, the federal program that provides need-based aid for higher education.
But it’s unclear whether the new Workforce Pell program will deliver quick access to high-wage, high-demand careers, as its supporters envision.
An analysis by research firm The HEA Group and Open Campus Media found that earnings outcomes vary dramatically across Colorado’s job certificate programs, with about one-third failing to produce higher wages than a high school diploma alone four years after graduation.
Colorado officials soon will decide which certificate programs will be eligible for Workforce Pell. To be included, programs must be accredited, have a documented history in the state, and students must make a higher income than the basic cost of living plus the tuition they paid.
Michael Itzkowitz of The HEA Group said the data his organization compiled should help state leaders understand that helping students get what they need from these types of programs will require plenty of evaluation.
The data shows most graduates from Colorado’s certificate programs earn more than their peers with just a high school degree. But the geographic region, program size, and school students attend factor into the wages they earn, Itzkowitz said.
“I think it’s a pretty good starting point for folks as the state policymakers are wondering what programs do we make eligible for this new program,” Itzkowitz said.
The state will take applications for eligible state Workforce Pell training programs through Aug. 15. Once programs are selected, Workforce Pell is expected to grant students about $2,200 a year for their education.
Already, Colorado leaders have expressed concerns about different program outcomes for students. A Colorado Department of Higher Education spokesperson said state leaders want programs that “ensure Workforce Pell investments actually provide value for learners and employers.”
The HEA data shows numerous examples of what Itzkowitz described as a “mixed bag” in Colorado, with results varying drastically for students.
In the case of a dental support services certificate, a student graduating from Pueblo Community College in the southern part of the state can earn a median salary of $64,622. Meanwhile, someone with that same certificate from Concorde Career College in Aurora, a private for-profit school in metro Denver, earns a median salary of $36,010.
President of Concorde Colleges Kevin Prehn didn’t address the lower pay of some of the schools’ programs, but said in a statement “an incredible amount of research” goes into selecting its programs, and college leaders seek to prop up programs with high growth and wage potential.
In another example of variability within the state, Pima Medical Institute’s graduates have some of the highest wage potential among all nursing certificate programs. The data shows median earnings of about $73,000 a year. The same program at different schools can show annual median wage disparity as high as $20,000. And it’s unclear why these differences exist.
Itzkowitz said the state can also use this data to articulate what it doesn’t want to see.
Programs like cosmetology are popular with students, but the HEA data shows it’s one of the most likely programs to leave students worse off financially.
Itzkowitz said “some institutions will often offer credentials where there aren’t available jobs or enough available jobs within the geographic region that they’re offering, so they’re just pumping out credentials.”
Colorado Mesa University President John Marshall agreed that the issues Itzkowitz flagged are problems that schools should evaluate.
CMU Tech, a division of the college that offers certificates and associate degrees, has several programs that have done a better job of helping graduates earn some of the highest average earnings in the state, the data shows.
Part of the school’s success has been eliminating programs where there is no longer a need, such as an oil field services certificate program the school stopped offering in recent years, Marshall said.
Marshall said finding dedicated professionals to teach these classes also has to be paramount but can be difficult and will affect program quality.
And Colorado Mesa leaders work to market to students about professions they never knew existed instead of funneling them into programs that don’t improve earnings.
Marshall said some of his top programs for earnings might be harder to explain, like machining, but the school is committed to “helping our kids see what the possibilities are, and how that is translating into marketable skills for them.”
Itzkowitz said the challenges schools face with the programs is why he shares a reserved optimism about what’s possible in training more students through Workforce Pell.
“This isn’t the silver bullet,” he said. “As nothing ever is.”
Jason Gonzales is a reporter covering higher education and the Colorado legislature. Chalkbeat Colorado partners with Open Campus on higher education coverage. Contact Jason at jgonzales@chalkbeat.org. Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools.