2015 Education Needs Assessment

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2015 Education Needs Assessment 2015 A partnership among Keystone College, King’s College, Lackawanna College, Luzerne County Community College, Marywood University, Misericordia University, Penn State Wilkes-Barre, The Commonwealth Medical College, University of Scranton & Wilkes University EDUCATION NEEDS ASSESSMENT April 2015: Wayne Pike Workforce Alliance (WPWA) contracted with The Institute for Public Policy & Economic Development at Wilkes University to conduct an assessment of the education and training needs of parents/guardians, students, recent graduates and business and industry in Wayne and Pike Counties as synthesized with existing resources and opportunities. Table of Contents Table of Contents .......................................................................................................................................... 1 Executive Summary ....................................................................................................................................... 2 Research Methods & Limitations .................................................................................................................. 3 Wayne County Profile ................................................................................................................................... 6 Pike County Profile ...................................................................................................................................... 23 Survey Analysis ............................................................................................................................................ 41 Student Survey Analysis .......................................................................................................................... 41 Recent Graduate Survey Analysis ........................................................................................................... 50 Parent/Guardian Survey Analysis ........................................................................................................... 61 Business & Industry Survey Analysis ....................................................................................................... 73 Survey Analysis Summary ....................................................................................................................... 83 Analysis and Recommendations ................................................................................................................. 85 Appendix ..................................................................................................................................................... 91 Parent/Guardian Survey Introduction and Consent for Minor Children ................................................ 91 Recent Graduate Survey Introduction .................................................................................................... 92 Student Survey Copy ............................................................................................................................... 94 Recent Graduate Survey Copy .............................................................................................................. 103 Parent/Guardian Survey Copy .............................................................................................................. 114 Business & Industry Survey Copy .......................................................................................................... 125 Page | 1 Executive Summary The purpose of the study was to analyze data from Wayne & Pike County with regard to demographics, economy, occupations, and business composition and synthesize it with primary data collected through surveys of students, recent graduates, parents/guardians, and employers. This data was compared to existing education and training offerings. The assets and liabilities were evaluated and as a result, opportunities or recommendations were prepared in order for Wayne and Pike Counties to move towards an equitable secondary system with a career readiness program, career and technical training, and postsecondary opportunities. A collaborative effort to develop a cohesive secondary education program, workforce training, and higher education system is required. This will maximize opportunity and employment for Wayne & Pike County residents and employers and aid in business attraction. The profile data shows that both counties have some business diversification, but are mainly focused on tourism related industries. Much of the resident workforce commutes out of the area to work. Healthcare and Social Assistance has been a growing industry cluster and is likely to continue to grow; this is in line with statewide and national trends. Currently, the local economies are fairly healthy. Unemployment is moderate and incomes tend to be in the middle class or upper middle class range— over 25 percent have incomes of $75,000 or more. However, about another 25 percent have incomes below $25,000 in Wayne County. Moreover, in Pike County nearly 37 percent were above $75,000 and 18 percent below $25,000. Those considered living in poverty and those relying on social assistance are less than the Commonwealth’s average. Students were asked to identify the highest education level attained by their parents/guardians. The data was positive with nearly one third indicating their parents/guardians had a college degree or better. The dropout rates are very low. All of these are positive signs that most children in the cohort are likely to continue to some level of postsecondary training. The parent/guardian survey indicated that they would like to see additional high school and college/university programs within the counties. The two favorite college/university programs are a technical/vocational school and a community college. Recent graduates indicated they would have participated in career and technical programming in high school. Many are currently attending postsecondary education institutions. They indicated they are unlikely to return to Wayne and Pike County upon graduation or even to complete their current degrees. While program interests were similar, costs and career placement services were more of a concern to this cohort. There are nearly 20 percent of the surveyed students without post-graduation plans. This demonstrates a need for early career readiness programming. Students interested in postsecondary programs also ranked sports very high on their list of attributes for postsecondary institutions. Interests like criminal justice, nursing, biology, and engineering were common. Criminal justice and police science were actually mentioned in the parent/guardian, student, and recent graduate survey. Further, there was interest in entrepreneurship programs by all of the cohorts. Business and industry have some unmet workforce training needs. Not necessarily postsecondary degrees or technical credentials or certification, but generally more soft skills as well as the Microsoft Page | 2 Office programs, basic bookkeeping and accounting, and office and secretarial skills. Further, there are opportunities for seminars, certificate programs in health and safety practices, business fundamentals, and sustainability. Wayne and Pike County school districts have many assets. Most have career and technical programming, dual enrollment, and other career initiatives. Not all is consistent amongst all the school districts. In an effort to develop parity, it is recommended that the school districts work to develop consistent programming in all districts. The efforts to create a Career & Technical School should continue. In the meantime, however, perhaps the districts can work together to create a regional virtual school. There could be several programs offered at each location and students bused to the schools with the desired programming. Therefore, no new facility would be needed and because of the collaboration, there could be new programming and more equity amongst the districts. Further, there needs to be a central repository of education and workforce training programs. An Internet search revealed that postsecondary offerings could only be found on the respective school’s websites. Enrichment and workforce training were found on newspaper sites, chamber sites, etc. A central repository within WPWA and marketed to residents and businesses will facilitate the search and serve as a major tool to market ongoing education and training. There are several postsecondary opportunities in Wayne and Pike County. Lackawanna College, Lake Region is a local facility. Based in Hawley, Lackawanna College offers a number of courses in business, criminal justice, education, hospitality, human services, liberal studies, physical therapy assistant, communications, computers, environmental, and sports management. Some programming allows for two complete years of the program onsite. Luzerne County Community College, located at Honesdale High School, offers nursing and biology classes during the fall and spring. They do have a registered nurse (RN) program with Wayne Memorial Hospital. The main employment clusters do include Healthcare and Social Assistance in both counties. Obviously not all disciplines mentioned in the survey results are addressed with corresponding programming. Based upon concentrations of interest by the parents/guardians, students, and recent graduates, there are opportunities to expand programming. Research Methods & Limitations Five electronic surveys were distributed to four major cohorts in the four school districts
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