College as a job advancement strategy: Final report on the New Visions Self-Sufficiency and Lifelong Learning Project.
Fein, D. J., & Beecroft, E. (2006). Abt Associates.
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examining1,043Students, gradePS
Practice Guide
Review Details
Reviewed: January 2020
- Practice Guide (findings for The New Vision Program)
- Randomized Controlled Trial
- Meets WWC standards without reservations because it is a randomized controlled trial with low attrition.
This review may not reflect the full body of research evidence for this intervention.
Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.
Findings
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Community college credit accumulation |
The New Vision Program vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
3.70 |
2.20 |
Yes |
-- | ||
| Show Supplemental Findings | |||||||||
|
College Credits Earned - Excluding New Visions |
The New Vision Program vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
3.30 |
2.60 |
No |
-- | ||
|
College Credits Earned - Including New Visions |
The New Vision Program vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
7.30 |
2.60 |
Yes |
-- | ||
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Average Total Earnings - Year 3 (half) |
The New Vision Program vs. Business as usual |
18 Months |
Full sample;
|
3761.00 |
4295.00 |
No |
-- | ||
| Show Supplemental Findings | |||||||||
|
Average Total Earnings - Years 1 - 2.5 |
The New Vision Program vs. Business as usual |
18 Months |
Full sample;
|
17244.00 |
19545.00 |
Yes |
-- | ||
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Average Quarterly Employment Rate - Year 3 (first half) |
The New Vision Program vs. Business as usual |
18 Months |
Full sample;
|
60.10 |
63.30 |
No |
-- |
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
postsecondary degree attainment |
The New Vision Program vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
2.20 |
1.40 |
No |
-- |
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Average Total Earnings - Year 1 |
The New Vision Program vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
6335.00 |
6909.00 |
No |
-- | ||
| Show Supplemental Findings | |||||||||
|
Average Total Earnings - Year 2 |
The New Vision Program vs. Business as usual |
12 Months |
Full sample;
|
7148.00 |
8341.00 |
Yes |
-- | ||
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Average Quarterly Employment Rate - Year 1 |
The New Vision Program vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
71.80 |
72.60 |
No |
-- | ||
| Show Supplemental Findings | |||||||||
|
Average Quarterly Employment Rate - Year 2 |
The New Vision Program vs. Business as usual |
12 Months |
Full sample;
|
61.30 |
65.50 |
No |
-- | ||
Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.
Sample Characteristics
Characteristics of study sample as reported by study author.
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Female: 94%
Male: 6% -
Urban
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California
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Race Black 31% Other or unknown 5% White 34% -
Ethnicity Hispanic 31%
Study Details
Setting
In August 1998, the Riverside Community College (RCC) and Department of Public Social Services (DPSS) collaborated to implement the New Visions program. The program served 1043 young adults with a high school diploma or equivalent preparation, who had access to classrooms, offices, and computer laboratory on the college’s main Riverside City campus. The program provided 24 weeks of preparatory studies at RCC, followed by short sequences of regular college courses providing training for a specific job. New Visions participants attended classes for 12 hours a week, in addition to working at least 20 hours a week in an unsubsidized job.
Study sample
Demographically, White (33.6 percent), Black (31.2 percent), and Hispanic (30.8 percent) students accounted for similar shares of the sample. A majority of members in the sample earned a high school diploma (71 percent) or its equivalent (21 percent). Less than half (41 percent) reported some prior college experience, less than one-third reported having been enrolled at the college previously, and 18 percent reported having completed at least one course. The majority (94 percent) were female, many (45 percent) had children under age three, and 35 percent had three or more children. A majority (53 percent) had never married, and only 11 percent were living with a spouse. Nearly half the sample had received welfare for three or more of the five years before random assignment. A majority (87 percent) were working, and only four percent said they had not worked at all in the past two years. A substantial proportion (43 percent) reported working 30 hours a week or more in their current or last job. Average hourly wages were $6.42, and less than one in five respondents reported earning $8 or more an hour.
Intervention Group
The New Visions program was designed to embody state-of-the-art instructional innovations in its core courses, provided intensive counseling and supportive services, and created a highly supportive learning community. The program provided 24 weeks of preparatory studies at RCC, followed by short sequences of regular college courses providing training for a specific job. New Visions participants attended classes for 12 hours a week, in addition to working at least 20 hours a week in an unsubsidized job. The program was implemented in three phases. In Phase 1, DPSS employment service counselors help participants find unsubsidized jobs providing at least 20 hours of work per week. In Phase 2, case managers encourage participants to enroll in one of a variety of employment and training programs available in the community. Participants were required--consistent with TANF policies--to spend a total of at least 32 hours per week (35 hours for two-parent cases) in work and training activities. In Phase 3, the program offered extended services to support job retention and advancement after participants exit the welfare rolls.
Comparison Group
Their control group counterparts were not allowed to participate in New Visions but were encouraged to participate in other education and training activities offered in the community and college courses offered by Riverside that were part of the New Visions program.
Support for implementation
None described.
An indicator of the effect of the intervention, the improvement index can be interpreted as the expected change in percentile rank for an average comparison group student if that student had received the intervention.
For more, please see the WWC Glossary entry for improvement index.
An outcome is the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that are attained as a result of an activity. An outcome measures is an instrument, device, or method that provides data on the outcome.
A finding that is included in the effectiveness rating. Excluded findings may include subgroups and subscales.
The sample on which the analysis was conducted.
The group to which the intervention group is compared, which may include a different intervention, business as usual, or no services.
The timing of the post-intervention outcome measure.
The number of students included in the analysis.
The mean score of students in the intervention group.
The mean score of students in the comparison group.
The WWC considers a finding to be statistically significant if the likelihood that the finding is due to chance alone, rather than a real difference, is less than five percent.
The WWC reviews studies for WWC products, Department of Education grant competitions, and IES performance measures.
The name and version of the document used to guide the review of the study.
The version of the WWC design standards used to guide the review of the study.
The result of the WWC assessment of the study. The rating is based on the strength of evidence of the effectiveness of the intervention. Studies are given a rating of Meets WWC Design Standards without Reservations, Meets WWC Design Standards with Reservations, or >Does Not Meet WWC Design Standards.
A related publication that was reviewed alongside the main study of interest.
Study findings for this report.
Based on the direction, magnitude, and statistical significance of the findings within a domain, the WWC characterizes the findings from a study as one of the following: statistically significant positive effects, substantively important positive effects, indeterminate effects, substantively important negative effects, and statistically significant negative effects. For more, please see the WWC Handbook.
The WWC may review studies for multiple purposes, including different reports and re-reviews using updated standards. Each WWC review of this study is listed in the dropdown. Details on any review may be accessed by making a selection from the drop down list.
Tier 1 Strong indicates strong evidence of effectiveness,
Tier 2 Moderate indicates moderate evidence of effectiveness, and
Tier 3 Promising indicates promising evidence of effectiveness,
as defined in the
non-regulatory guidance for ESSA
and the regulations for ED discretionary grants (EDGAR Part 77).