Access, Achievement, Completion, and "Milling Around" in Postsecondary Vocational Education.

Overview & Synopsis

This study analyzes the results of the increased access of students to postsecondary vocational education, especially in two-year colleges, in terms of completion rates and job placement. Data examined include the following: (1) initial enrollments in higher education; (2) fields of study in postsecondary education; (3) progress through institutions of higher education and the tendency to drop out; (4) completing credentials; (5) the special problems of dropout and completion of minority students; (6) the nature of transfers among institutions; (7) course enrollments and credits earned by noncompleters; (8) late entrants into higher education; (9) employment during postsecondary education; (10) postsecondary vocational institutions compared; and (11) vocational students in postsecondary education. The study found that although access to postsecondary education has expanded, some of the increased enrollment may serve no purpose if students are "milling around" without clear goals. However, the study concludes that it is still unclear how to interpret many of these results--are students who fail to complete credentials really dropouts, are they experimenters who have learned that higher education is not for them, or have they learned what they needed for employment? (In addition to 16 tables in the text, the document includes an appendix of technical notes and 48 tables comprising the greater part of the report. (KC)