Urban seeks to explore how career pathways can help close equity gaps.

Urban researchers have taken on lead evaluator roles for various federal grant programs and have provided support to cohorts in major philanthropic efforts focused on improving career outcomes for students in community colleges and training programs.
 

RECENT ANALYSIS AND INSIGHTS

Urban researchers:

• led the national evaluation of the first three rounds of the Department of Labor Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) grants, documenting and assessing the grants’ implementation and outcomes and synthesizing evidence from third-party evaluations. Urban also partnered on the fourth-round evaluation led by Abt Associates.
• collaborated with Abt Associates to conduct evaluations of the Administration for Children and Families in the US Department of Health and Human Services Health Profession Opportunity Grants.
• led a Workforce Alignment Study producing briefs and fact sheets, including a workforce alignment framework, a report on the value of short-term credentials, and a visioning document summarizing key ideas from an event envisioning the future of postsecondary education.
• conducted a mixed-methods evaluation of the Mississippi Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training (MIBEST) initiative, finding positive program effects on participants’ credits accumulation, credentials attainment, and income.