The Career and Technical Education CoLab (CTE CoLab) aims to reduce disparities in academic and career outcomes for historically marginalized students—especially students who are Black, Latinx, or Indigenous—enrolled in online and hybrid postsecondary career-focused programs.
Funded by ECMC Foundation, the CTE CoLab is a hub for research and knowledge building on critical issues affecting students from historically marginalized groups enrolled in online, career-focused programs. Through a practitioner-driven community of practice of community and technical colleges, the CoLab identifies and elevates for the field program and policy changes that show promise for closing equity gaps and ensuring all CTE students can thrive in the classroom and their careers.
CTE CoLab Webpage and Toolbox
The CTE CoLab Toolbox contains evidence-informed research, resources and videos for practitioners, policymakers, and researchers interested in advancing equity and inclusion in online career-focused education. The toolbox continues to be updated over the course of the initiative.
College Community of Practice
Twelve community and technical colleges have participated in the College Community of Practice to date. Phase one of the initiative, which ran from June 2021 through April 2023, involved colleges identifying and starting to implement equity-centered approaches to online teaching and learning in their credit-bearing CTE programs. In October of 2023, the CoLab launched phase two, “CTE CoLab: Scaling Change in Postsecondary CTE,” to support four of the colleges in continued implementation of strategies for advancing racial equity and scaling practices across their CTE division or their broader institutions. Learn more about our partners here.
Related Research
Racial and Ethnic Equity Gaps in Postsecondary Career and Technical Education: Considerations for Online Learning – This report describes racial and ethnic disparities in student outcomes in online credit-bearing postsecondary CTE programs, and features findings from a variety of sources and a preliminary framework of strategies for advancing equity.
Practice Insights to Advance Racial Equity in Online Postsecondary Career and Technical Education – This report describes findings from strategies implemented in phase one of the CTE CoLab initiative, including increasing student supports, centering equity in online instruction delivery, and engaging with employers. It documents the equity action planning process, strategies the college programs participating in the CTE CoLab implemented to support students, and recommendations informed by lessons learned along the way.
Data Insights to Improve Racial Equity in Online Postsecondary Career and Technical Education – This report summarizes research findings from phase one of the CTE CoLab initiative. This brief contextualizes issues of racial equity and online/hybrid learning in postsecondary CTE, provides insights on racial equity gaps in CTE student outcomes from national and CTE CoLab data, and suggests strategies on how to address these gaps.
Contact Information
For more information about this initiative, please email [email protected].