Community College Output Keeps Pace in Tech Fields

From K-12 education to community colleges to adult job training, all of these areas contribute to the workforce and economic wellbeing of the region.

Published July 1, 2000

By Frank B. Hicks, Ph.D. and Susan U. Raymond, Ph.D.
Academy Contributors

Dot-com entrepreneurs may be today’s darlings of the trading floor, but a technology-intense economy rests on a much broader base of workers. Of particular, but often unrecognized, importance in educating these workers are the region’s 214 community colleges, serving about 225,000 full-time students each year.

From the point of view of producing associate degree employees with technical skills, the challenge set before community colleges has been significant: Between 1990 and 1997, employment in the computer and data processing services industry grew by 57% in the Tri-State region, and it is expected to lead growth in the coming decade.

But community colleges have managed to keep pace. Over the same 1990-97 period, the number of students earning associate degrees in computer and information sciences each year in the region nearly doubled. The Tri-State region awards more associate degrees in this field than California, which has a significantly larger computer services industry.

In engineering and related fields, the number of degrees since 1993 is declining slightly. However, this is also a reflection of the regional job market. The engineering and architectural services industry, one of the main employers for engineering technicians, has also been shrinking.

Federal Money for Adult Job Training

Federal resources for adult job training available to the region have nearly doubled since 1993. In addition to $311 million in Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) funding, the region receives about $125 million each year in Department of Education funding for vocational and adult education. Of course, the key to the effectiveness of Federal funds is their use. The new federal Workforce Investment Act emphasizes the need for “one-stop career centers.” Connecticut and New Jersey have made considerable strides in establishing such centers, but New York is still finding its footing.

Regional Teacher Training and Pay Compares Well with U.S.

One of the keys to quality education is quality teaching. Although much has been written about the sad state of some of the Tri-State region’s K-12 schools, the region’s teaching corps compares well with teachers in other technology-intense states. All three states score above the national average (which, admittedly, was a D+!) in the national teacher quality report developed and issued by the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation. New York State, with a B-, tied for fifth place nationally.

Considering training of science and math teachers, the three states outperform the nation and many of their economic competitors. Between 80% and 90% of the region’s science teachers in grades 7-12 hold an academic major in science, compared to 70% nationally and only 60% in California. In math, New Jersey lags the nation, but over 80% of math teachers in New York and Connecticut hold majors in math. This compares to 70% nationally and only 50% in California.

While the region’s science and math teachers stand up well to other states, there is still room for improvement compared to other subjects. By the same measure of having a major in the field, the region’s social studies, English, and foreign language teachers are, on average, better trained than their math and science colleagues.

Regionally Competitive

Teacher pay is also relatively competitive in the region. Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey are national leaders in teacher salary, ranking 1-3-4 (Alaska holds second place). Even when adjusted for cost of living differences between the states, all three still remain in the top five.

Regional teacher salaries are closer to the average pay of other professionals holding similar degrees than they are in the rest of the nation as well. Salaries are far more market-friendly than in Texas, for example, where the teaching/non-teaching gap is more than $20,000 per year. Indeed, the gap in Connecticut is only about $7,000.

But over time, the salary gaps worsen. Upward salary potential outside the teaching profession rapidly overtakes wage increases that teachers receive. Nationally, at ages 22-28 the average salary gap for all teachers is about $7,000. By ages 44-50 the gap has tripled, with teachers earning $24,000 per year less than their comparable counterparts. In the labor market, it appears that experience tends to pay more elsewhere.

Also read: Exploring the State and Local Roles in Education

Sources

• National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS); Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York Departments of Labor
• Council of Chief State School Officers, “State Indicators of Science and Mathematics Education 1999”; Education Week, “Quality Counts 2000.”