Career & Technical Education and Postsecondary Data Partnership (PDP) Tools
SDP-CTE Diagnostic Toolkit
Institutions are increasingly offering Career and Technical Education (CTE) credentials aimed at helping students succeed in the workforce. Given that postsecondary CTE programs are increasingly serving students who have not historically been served by higher education, it is especially important to know more about the outcomes of students participating in these programs.
Two companion resources accompany the SDP CTE Diagnostic Toolkit: The SDP-CTE PDP Extension Tool and the Transfer Guidebook, which are both build on the same PDP data infrastructure but serve different topics and roles:
- The SDP-CTE PDP Extension Tool is a code-based tool that transforms AR files into ready-made analyses for pathway completion questions.
- The Transfer Guidebook is a non-technical companion framework that guides practitioners in interpreting transfer and mobility patterns using that same PDP data (dashboards and AR files) and prompts brainstorming around future analyses or interventions.
The SDP-CTE Diagnostic is intended to provide analyses that will help leaders at community and technical colleges develop and pursue strategic inquiries into patterns of student success. This document’s primary audience is analysts looking to provide actionable information to institutional leaders. While we offer proposed questions, visualizations, and variable definitions throughout the Diagnostic, it is meant to be a flexible framework that supports a careful examination of factors contributing to students’ success outcomes. In other words, you should tailor the analyses, operationalizations, and analyses to fit your needs and context. This Diagnostic is structured around four questions that are critical to answer for institutions seeking to improve their students’ success:
- Are students more likely to complete some pathways than others? Are pathways equitably supporting students with different levels of academic preparation and students of different demographic characteristics to successful outcomes?
- Are students dropping or transferring out of some pathways more than others? Where do they go?
- Are there some required or “gateway” courses that are getting in the way of completion for some pathways?
- What credit accumulation patterns set students up for longer-term success? How many students are following these patterns?
The narrative document introduces the Diagnostic: background, goals, terms, overviews of analyses, example visualizations, and suggestions for further reading. The technical guide accompanies the main narrative document. Analysts should refer to the technical guide for more details about how to execute the analyses: data decisions to make, data specifications, model considerations, practice interpreting statistical output, and more. Learn more about the need for this tool and our expansion into support for using R.
How Has the Toolkit Been Used?
- Institutional researchers at community colleges used the toolkit’s suggested analytic framework to predict the difference in probability that students would complete high-skill, high-wage pathways versus low-wage pathways. The analyses were disaggregated by income and race/ethnicity so the college can strategically allocate resources for the students who most need support.
- Another community college used the toolkit to better understand student completion rates. They expected to find high rates of completion for every credential because the college auto-awarded micocredentials as students pursue an Associate's degree. However, institutional researchers observed low completion rates, even for the short-term, auto-awarded credentials. The toolkit helped institutional leaders understand existing completion rates and how to better support students.
- Other community colleges used to toolkit to push their thinking about what kinds of data their institutions should be collecting so they can answer questions about student success across different pathways. For example, after completing the toolkit, one community college began collecting information about students’ goals in terms of degree/credential attainment when entering the institution so the college could better align standards of success with student aspirations.
The SDP PDP Extension
To enable postsecondary institutions to better understand patterns in student outcomes, the Strategic Data Project (SDP), in collaboration with ResearchEd, launched a free tool for institutions participating in the Postsecondary Data Partnership (PDP), a national effort to help postsecondary institutions understand student academic progress and success through data collection facilitated by the National Student Clearinghouse®. Participants receive analysis-ready files and dashboards detailing key performance indicators, including credit accumulation, gateway course completion, retention, persistence, and credentials. The PDP also provides data on part-time and transfer-in students, detailed demographics, and course information to identify support needs and track academic progress.
Beyond Transfer Rates: A Toolkit For Understanding Student Pathways & Progress
Transfer data can reveal far more than who leaves or arrives. When viewed through a student progression lens, transfer patterns can help institutions understand students’ educational pathways, identify barriers and supports, and examine how policies and practices shape progress toward students’ goals.
BEYOND TRANSFER RATES: A Toolkit For Understanding Student Pathways & Progress is a practical guidebook for higher education practitioners seeking to strengthen transfer pathways, improve student success, and advance continuous institutional improvement. Because transfer spans enrollment management, advising, academic affairs, student success, and other areas, the toolkit promotes collaborative inquiry across institutional roles. It includes guiding questions and evidence-informed practices that can help institutions:
- Identify transfer trends and patterns using multiple sources of evidence
- Interpret what transfer patterns reveal about students’ educational pathways and institutional practice
- Engage cross-functional partners in collaborative inquiry
- Apply evidence-informed strategies to strengthen transfer pathways and student progression
- Advance continuous institutional improvement centered on student success
Transfer is a common part of today’s college experience. Students transfer for many reasons—including academic and career goals, financial or personal circumstances, and geographic relocation. For some, transfer is a disruption; for others, it is an intentional step toward their goals. This guidebook helps institutions look beyond enrollment gains and losses to better understand and support students at every stage of their journey.
A key feature of this guidebook is that it does not require the institution to work through the questions in order; rather it is intentionally designed to allow the user to begin with the guiding questions that are of more importance to them.
This resource was developed in partnership with ResearchEd, with generous support from the Gates Foundation.