HOUSE EDUCATION COMMITTEE
PUBLIC HEARING
SELECT SUB COMMITTEE ON TECHNICAL EDUCATION AND CAREER READINESS

Friday, September 16, 2016
10 a.m.
Steamfitters Union, 420 Hall, 14420 Townsend Road, Philadelphia PA 19154

Testimony by: Uva Coles, Vice President, Institutional Advancement & Strategic Partnerships, Office of Institutional Advancement & Strategic Partnerships, Peirce College

Located in Center City, Philadelphia, Peirce College (“Peirce” or “the College”) is a private, not-for-profit, postsecondary institution offering bachelor and associate degrees in Business, Health, Information Technology and Legal Studies, and master’s degree programs in Organizational Leadership & Management and in Healthcare Administration.

Peirce is fully accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.   The College’s Paralegal Studies program is approved by the American Bar Association; the Business Administration and Accounting programs are accredited by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP); and its Health Information Technology program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education (CAHIIM).

While there are numerous academic institutions throughout the Philadelphia area, few have targeted and successfully supported the non-traditional student for over 150 years. Even fewer have understood the fundamental connection between education and economic prosperity as Peirce has.

Founded in 1865 to assist returning Civil War veterans in their transition to a new commercial economy, Peirce has been educating the Philadelphia region’s workforce by offering working, adult students career-related degree programs. Over 75% of our students live in Philadelphia. They are, in essence, representative of Philadelphia’s diverse labor force. In fact, 70% of our working adults are African Americans and more than 72% of them are women.   Many of our students are from working-class backgrounds for whom a college education was not feasible immediately after high school. Life experience has taught these adults that higher education has a direct impact on their future success and opportunity to upskill, attain relevant credentials, and transition from a life-sustaining job to building a career pathway.

Therefore, despite an array of challenging obstacles, these adults have chosen to further their education and obtain a college degree. It is a brave and sometimes difficult decision that Peirce understands well. Peirce has committed to becoming the first choice for career-oriented, non-traditional college students seeking high quality teaching and service. And this commitment is timely and relevant as the need for an educated workforce continues to be amplified.

In Philadelphia 51% of job postings require a college degree (2013)1, but only 1 in 4 Philadelphians have one. Philadelphia faces dire statistics relative to education: 45% of Philadelphia youth drop out of high school, only 23% of Philadelphians age 25 and over hold a bachelor degree or higher, and Philadelphia ranks 92nd out of 100 major cities in college degrees attained2.

Economics and education are linked. Businesses in the Knowledge Economy require more highly skilled, educated workers. After analyzing employee earnings, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) found that a Bachelor’s degree increases lifetime earnings 66% or on average $1+ million over a lifetime. Among both males and females, higher unemployment rates correspond with lower levels of education attainment3.

Peirce’s core student base is the working adult learner who understands the interplay between education and economics. Further, this adult learner has determined that attaining a college degree is of critical importance. Peirce is responsive to this student and to her needs in a way that is markedly different from the numerous academic institutions in the Philadelphia area. This difference is evident in the College’s expression of that commitment—optimal flexibility and unparalleled guidance and support which working, adult learners require to successfully attain a college degree. Peirce’s adult learners have chosen to attain a college degree and Peirce is focused on making that attainment an affordable and accessible reality for all students. This focus has earned Peirce numerous distinctions. For instance, in June 2015, US News and World Report noted that Peirce College boasts the highest percentage of minority students enrolled in online bachelor’s degree programs in the nation. Peirce also ranked fifth in the country for highest percentage of students enrolled over the age of 25.

In addition to its commitment to making college degree attainment accessible to all, Peirce also differentiates itself from other institutions of higher learning with its unwavering focus, innovation and market-based responsiveness. Peirce led the way in educational innovation throughout its history by recognizing and responding to the needs of the business and regional communities, and creating programs to provide graduates the education necessary to succeed in the workforce. Today, we continue to face and address our community’s needs. In addition to campus instruction, Peirce began offering its entire curriculum in both online and on campus formats in 2000. In 2016, the College launched its Competency Based Education (CBE) bachelor’s program in Information Technology, affording working adults with ample work experience but lacking a credential, the opportunity to earn academic credit for lived experience based on successful demonstration of competency mastery. Additionally, in 2016 Peirce also launched its Peirce Fit® modality allowing students to select, on a week to week basis, how they wish to participate in class—on campus or online—depending on their preference as well as life demands. It is the College’s belief that Peirce will be the only institution in the region, if not the country, to offer this optimal flexibility across its entire curriculum, thus providing students even greater opportunities to tailor their learning experiences based on their respective needs and preferences. CBE and Peirce Fit® are tools that companies can include in their practices for optimal workforce planning and talent management. They are win-win capabilities that meet the needs of adult learners and their employers by increasing accessibility and expedience and removing potential barriers to degree attainment.

Peirce places great emphasis on connecting students and graduates with workforce opportunities. Accordingly, Peirce has built a reputation as an institution of higher learning which promotes career progression by focusing on workforce skills that are relevant to the job market. To this end, in 2016, the College built its Employer Relations strategic capability which connects its unique strengths and assets to the needs of business, nonprofit, and government.

This kind of workforce alignment is paramount as, historically, there has been a prevalent gap between the workforce needs of business and industry and the skills and career readiness of college graduates. The gap is further widened with adult learners who, depending on their academic backgrounds, may present in college environments with digital, literacy, and math skills deficits, which can adversely impact not only college performance but also workplace performance. Peirce’s Employer Relations strategy aims to glean workforce development needs from employers’ perspectives and to use those learnings to support the College’s development of academic curriculum, career development programs, and student support services. This work is done through consultative and participatory relationships with relevant stakeholders including Peirce College’s advisory boards, external employers, and partners like the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce.

Peirce College is an active member of the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia’s Education and Talent Action Team (ETAT). Through its partnerships with educators, employers and civic organizations, ETAT provides the opportunity to put forth a pro-growth education agenda that promotes accessible career pathways and increased education to ensure Greater Philadelphia benefits from an educated and skilled workforce. Greater Philadelphia is rich in creative, entrepreneurial and innovative talent eager to contribute to, and grow, our regional economy. ETAT’s efforts focus on working with collaborative partners to create a competitive advantage for the region. It does so by supporting innovative efforts to address current and future workforce demands; advocating for policies and investments that provide and enhance access to post-high school training; and telling the story of what makes Greater Philadelphia an attractive to place to learn, work and engage. For Peirce, this kind of alignment is critical to ensure that graduates are well prepared to meet workforce needs.

Peirce’s focus on workforce alignment is holistically designed to address all student needs. While Peirce’s average student age is 35, Peirce also serves 18-24 year-olds through its innovative Year Up partnership program. A national non-profit boasting strong outcomes in bridging the opportunity gap for 18-24 year olds, Year Up offers a Professional Training Corps (PTC) program where partnerships with colleges like Peirce recruit and offer participants disconnected from education and workforce a year-long experience that yields academic credit (18-24 credit hours at Peirce) and a six month internship with a corporation. Through the Year Up partnership, which launched in fall 2013, Peirce has been able to serve a more “traditional-aged” student who requires added personal support, academic guidance, and who can, after program completion, be better prepared for workforce given their one year immersion in market-relevant, career readiness skills. Of equal importance, the program at Peirce enables students to complete a full academic year without having to incur financial debt. Further, students are optimally supported by integrated student service programs managed by Peirce. At Peirce, Year Up participants follow IT or Business tracks that are focused on providing workforce solutions to sponsoring companies.

Peirce also partners with other institutions that serve traditional students, providing these young adults the opportunity to onboard onto college while completing their high school diploma or GED. Partnerships with Penn Medicine and YouthBuild Philadelphia are great examples of this work and also afford participants the benefit of customized college onboarding programs and exposure to career readiness skills.

Finally, the College also partners with non-profit organizations like Clarifi and the Urban Affairs Coalition (UAC) to support students both within and beyond classroom walls. With Clarifi, students receive access to financial literacy within their first year or freshman seminar course. The goal is to help students make more informed financial decisions around loan borrowing.   The partnership with UAC places students in experiential work study roles where they can practice their 21st century skills, and receive career guidance and mentorship. These are just a few examples of Peirce’s approach to educating students holistically thereby ensuring graduates are well supported, informed and career-ready.

The mission of Peirce is to equip adult learners, in a personalized, student-centered environment, to achieve their goals and successfully fulfill workforce needs. In 2015-2016, Peirce served approximately 2,300 students in fulfillment of this mission. Of these students, 65% were first generation degree seekers; 67% were low income; 85% received financial aid and 67% were Pell Grant eligible. In supporting these remarkable and courageous students toward degree attainment, Peirce is also fulfilling its historic commitment to drive our city and region toward becoming better—better educated, better equipped for workforce opportunities, better positioned for economic growth and development, and better able to achieve their personal and professional goals. Peirce takes full pride in its 151 year history of doing this vital, mission-driven work and looks forward to doing so for yet another 151 years—with continued steadfast focus on workforce alignment.

1 The State of Black Philadelphia, Duane C. Ingram, Editor In Chief, Urban League of Philadelphia, 2013

2 Shaping an Educated City, Two Year Report on the Mayor’s Education Goals, 2010, Mayor Michael A. Nutter’s Office of Education

3 U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Higher Education: Gaps in Access and Persistence Study, August 2012