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What is a Workforce or Transfer program?
- As a part of the Unlocking Opportunity Network, we are categorizing our programs as Workforce if they prepare students to enter the workforce directly after completion. These credentials are often an associate in applied science (AAS) or a certificate (credit and noncredit) that allow students to transition from MCCC into the workforce.
- We are categorizing our programs as Transfer if they are designed for transfer to a 4-year institution. These are often associate in arts (AA), associate in fine arts (AFA), and associate in science (AS) degrees.
- While some Workforce programs also prepare students for transfer and vice versa, all programs are classified in one of the categories.
What are the High, Medium, and Low Wage thresholds for the workforce programs?
- High-Wage Threshold $54,496 and higher
- Medium-Wage: $54,495 – $36,196
- Low-Wage Threshold: $36,195 and less
How were the High, Medium, and Low Wage classifications established?
- After identifying which programs were Workforce programs, Academic Affairs aligned an occupation for each Workforce program.
- We used Lightcast to find the median income for each occupation across the service area. (Lightcast is a subscription resource that provides labor market data at local and national levels).
- If the median income for the program aligned occupation was at or above the Living Wage ($54,496), then that program falls in the High Wage classification. If the median is at or below the Low Wage threshold ($36,195), then it is a Low Wage program, and if the median falls between, then it is a Medium Wage program.
How did you establish the Living Wage?
- We first assessed our Workforce student population and the family structure. We found that 68.14% (1,754/2,574) of our workforce students, who completed a FAFSA for AY 2024, were “Single, with no dependents” (SND).
- We use the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Living Wage Calculator to find the Living Wage for each county. Once we had that, we then created a weighted living wage, based on our workforce students’ home counties, to find an overall Living Wage for our service area. Our service area includes the five counties where most of our students reside: Montgomery, Berks, Bucks, Chester, and Philadelphia
What is the Low Wage Threshold?
- The low wage was established by identifying the 20 largest occupations in our service area, regardless of educational attainment. Then, we identified the occupations that required a high school diploma/equivalent or no formal credential. We calculated a weighted wage based on the median wage and the number of jobs for each occupation.
How did you establish the Family Structure?
- The MIT Living Wage Calculator, recommended by MontcoWorks and Aspen, utilizes family structure to determine a Living Wage. To determine which family structure to utilize for this calculation, demographic and family structure data were compiled for the student population enrolled in the 2024-2025 academic year.
- Since the Living Wage threshold was only needed for determining classifications of Workforce categorized programs, the data was filtered to look at only students enrolled in Workforce categorized programs for the 2024-2025 academic year.
- There were 15,298 enrolled students within the 2024-2025 academic year.
- Of those, 3,944 (25.80%) were enrolled within Workforce categorized programs.
- Of these 3,944 students, 2,574 (65.26%) filled out a FAFSA application for that academic
year.
- Of these 2,574 students:
- 1,754 (68.14%) were single, no dependents.
- 517 (20.09%) were single with dependents.
- Of these 2,574 students:
- Of these 3,944 students, 2,574 (65.26%) filled out a FAFSA application for that academic
year.
- Of those, 3,944 (25.80%) were enrolled within Workforce categorized programs.
- 87 (3.38%) were married, no dependents.
- 216 (8.39%) were married with dependents.
- Since the majority of students within Workforce categorized programs for the 2024-2025 academic year that filled out a FAFSA were single with no dependents, this family structure was selected to be utilized alongside the MIT Living Wage Calculator and enrolled student geographical data to determine the Living Wage Threshold.
What is our Service Area?
- Our service areas include Montgomery, Berks, Bucks, Chester, and Philadelphia County. These counties are the five counties where the majority of our students reside.
What is the difference between a program in the Competitive Admission/Preselection labeled Pre-Clinical and the non Pre-Clinical High Wage version?
- The unduplicated student headcount of some health sciences programs is split into two classifications: pre-clinical students and students in the clinical portion of the program. Those in the pre-clinical are categorized as Competitive Admission/Pre-Selection, and those in the clinical portion are categorized as High Wage. Aspen encourages this view of students to be able to see the difference between the students’ interest and availability of seats in the clinical component of the program.
What is an Upskilling program?
- We use the Aspen Institute’s definition, “Programs that help completers develop and document skills of value in the labor market (such as through industry certification) but may not by themselves (i.e., absent degrees or job experience) enable students to secure or advance to better-paying jobs.”
What is an Unclassified program?
- We use the Aspen Institute’s definition, “Programs whose value for employment or further education is not clear or (for program enrollment analysis) students who are not currently in a program.”
What is the difference between High Transfer and Low Transfer?
- We established the transfer classifications by identifying 3 cohorts of students who
started during the 2017-2018, 2018-2019, or 2019-2020 academic years. Utilizing the
National Student Clearinghouse (NSC), we identified within each cohort, how many students
earned an associate degree from MCCC, how many transferred to a 4-year institution,
and then how many earned a bachelor’s degree, within 6 years of starting at MCCC.
- We then aggregated the data from the 3 cohorts by their associate degree program.
- After grouping by program, we calculated the bachelor attainment rate for MCCC graduates who transferred. Then, using each program's bachelor attainment rate, we calculated the median bachelor attainment rate. The bachelor’s degree was not necessarily in the same discipline as the associate degree; any bachelor’s degree attainment counted as completing the bachelor’s degree.
- The median bachelor attainment rate for MCCC students who transferred was 57.62%
What is the population used for the data?
- For the initial submission to Aspen in December, we included students that were enrolled for Fall 2025. We are working on adding additional terms for comparison.
What is the APYS (Academic Program Yearly Snapshot)?
- Academic Program Yearly Snapshot (APYS) is an internal planning and evaluation tool that provides a structured, annual snapshot of key performance metrics, allowing for data-informed monitoring of program strengths and opportunities.
- With the help of a data dashboard, providing key metrics at the program level, through the APYS, users can review and reflect on indicators such as enrollment patterns, student retention, time to completion, credits earned at graduation, and other program outcomes.
- To learn more about the APYS and how it can best be used for improvement planning, reach out to your divisional dean or program coordinator.
