College Vocational Certificates May Not Help Students In The Labor Market

Provided by Gay Clyburn at Carnegie Foundation

THE NEWEST COLLEGE CREDENTIAL
Short vocational programs leading to a certificate are becoming the kudzu of the educational world. In an economy that increasingly rewards specialization, more and more institutions – from the ones that advertise on late-night cable to the most elite of universities – are offering these programs, typically a package of five or six courses, for credit or not, taken over three to 18 months. Some cost a few thousand dollars, others tens of thousands. Are they worth the paper they’re printed on? Not always. The article was in Education Life in The New York Times.