Advance CTE Making Good on the Promise Part 4
Making Good on the Promise: Part 4
Expanding Access to Opportunity
Equitable access to Career and Technical Education means more than making programs available. Learners must also be able to enter, participate in, and benefit from high-quality CTE programs that align with their education and career goals.
Expanding Access to Opportunity, the fourth brief in Advance CTE's Making Good on the Promise series, examines barriers that can prevent learners from participating in high-quality CTE and identifies strategies for expanding meaningful access.
Availability Does Not Always Mean Access
A CTE program may be available in a community but still be difficult for some learners to access. Transportation, cost, scheduling, admissions practices, awareness, family responsibilities, disability-related needs, and other conditions can affect whether a learner can realistically participate.
Identify Barriers to Participation
Access barriers can occur before enrollment, during participation, or as learners transition between secondary education, postsecondary education, training, and employment. These barriers may affect learner groups differently and may vary by program, institution, or location.
Common Areas to Examine
- Geography and transportation: Can learners reasonably travel to the programs available to them?
- Program availability: Are high-quality programs available across communities and geographic areas?
- Cost and resources: Do fees, equipment, transportation, child care, or other expenses create barriers?
- Awareness and advising: Do learners know which opportunities exist and how to access them?
- Academic preparation: Do learners have access to the preparation and supports needed to enter and succeed in programs?
- Admissions and entry requirements: Do prerequisites, selection processes, waitlists, or other requirements create unintended barriers?
- Learner supports: Are accommodations and other supports available for learners with disabilities, family responsibilities, or other needs?
Consider How Resources Are Distributed
High-quality CTE programs often require specialized equipment, facilities, instructors, credentialing opportunities, and work-based learning experiences. Differences in local resources can affect which opportunities are available to learners.
When reviewing programs, consider whether resources are being directed toward the learners, programs, and communities where they can have the greatest impact on access and success.
Examine Barriers to Entry
Program requirements and selection practices should be reviewed regularly to determine whether they are necessary for learner success and whether they affect some learner groups differently than others.
Consider prerequisites, application processes, grades, attendance expectations, transportation requirements, scheduling, program fees, and other conditions that may influence who is able to participate.
Access Includes the Supports Needed to Participate
Learners may need different types of support to participate fully in a program. Depending on local needs, these supports may include:
- Transportation assistance;
- Child care or other family supports;
- Academic and tutoring support;
- Accommodations and accessible learning environments;
- Career advising and navigation;
- Financial assistance for program-related costs; and
- Connections to community and support services.
Consider This in Your CLNA
As you examine access to CTE programs, consider:
- Who can access the program? Look beyond enrollment totals to determine which learner groups are and are not participating.
- What barriers exist? Examine transportation, scheduling, program costs, entry requirements, awareness, accommodations, and other local conditions.
- Where are opportunities located? Consider whether geography or program availability creates differences across the consortium.
- What supports do learners need? Use data and stakeholder input to identify supports that can improve participation and persistence.
- What can be changed? Identify policies, practices, partnerships, and resource decisions that can reduce barriers and expand meaningful access.
From Access to Opportunity
Expanding opportunity requires identifying the conditions that prevent learners from participating and then addressing those barriers through program improvement, partnerships, learner supports, and thoughtful use of resources. The goal is not simply to make CTE available, but to ensure that learners can meaningfully access and benefit from high-quality opportunities.