Most Recent Publications

Strategies for Success: Promising Practices from the 2004 Winners of the MetLife Foundation Community College Excellence Award (April 2006)
MetLife Foundation created the Community College Excellence Award to celebrate institutions that are helping low-skilled youth and adults to enter college&mdash... read more
An Innovative Approach to Developing Entry-Level Workers (2006)
Changing demographics and shortages of skilled workers are forcing many health care companies to find new sources for employees and innovative approaches to rec... read more
By the Numbers: State Goals for Increasing Postsecondary Attainment (February 2006)
When it comes to improving the outcomes of public higher education, do states know where they are trying to go and have they a plan for how and when they will g... read more
Building a Portfolio of High Schools: A Strategic Investment Toolkit (February 2006)
Educators have come to realize that helping all high school students achieve a common result—the skills, knowledge, and personal qualities to succeed in p... read more
Making Performance Accountability Work: English Lessons for U.S. Community Colleges (February 2006)
In the United States, efforts to use performance accountability as a way to drive improvement in public higher education institutions and systems have yielded m... read more
Achieving the Dream State Work Plans (2006)
While Achieving the Dream primarily focuses on institutional change among participating community colleges, public policy innovation is integral to the initiati... read more
Building Support for Student Success: A Framework for Achieving the Dream's State Policy Work (December 2005)
Achieving the Dream aims to bring about significant changes in state policies—including regulations, laws, funding and incentives, administration an... read more
"Our Success Is Our Graduates": Case Study of Year Up: A Career Advancement Model for Low-Income Young Adults (December 2005)
This case study was prepared in conjunction with The Right Jobs: Identifying Career Advancement Opportunities for Low-Skilled Workers, a guide for workforc... read more
Speech: Preparing for Postsecondary Education: Dual Enrollment as a High School-to-College Access and Success Story (October 2005)
Joel Vargas delivered the keynote address for Washington State’s 2005 Running Start Conference, “Dual Enrollment: Strategies for Student Success: Ad... read more
From the Entry Level to Licensed Practical Nurse: Four Case Studies of Career Ladders in Health Care (September 2005)
Fueled by government funding and increased employer investment in “grow your own” strategies to address the severe shortage of nurses, a handful of ... read more