Forging New Pathways: The Impact of the Breaking Through Initiative in Michigan

“Breaking Through community colleges around the country have used four strategies as a framework for creating programs customized to local needs. Some colleges serve recently unemployed factory workers; some focus on entry into health care professions. Others seek to develop programs for English language learners or GED students” (p.1). This study "seeks to determine which, if any, Breaking Through practices have survived state and federal funding cuts and are still evident in Michigan colleges today. MCSS conducted a statewide survey and revisited four of the colleges profiled in previous publications. The study also looked more closely at two additional colleges that have experimented with Breaking Through-type programs" (p.3). (Abstractor: Author)

Recommendations: • “Enhance the capacity of colleges to align career pathway curricula with trends in local and regional labor markets and effectively engage employers to ensure that college programs result in credentials of value” (p.12). • “Increase alignment and student mobility between noncredit and for-credit offerings to create authentic career pathways” (p.12). • “Increase the ability of colleges to provide upfront and ongoing guidance to students, including assistance with career identification, career specific advising, academic acceleration, and career placement services” (p.12). (Abstractor: Author)

• Last Updated:
• Created:
• Resource Publication Date: 2012
• Author(s): Schanker, Jennifer B.; Taylor, Judith C.
• Organizational Author(s): Jobs for the Future; Breaking Through; Michigan Center for Student Success
• Funding Source: Kresge Foundation
• Resource Availability: Publicly available
• Posted by: Wesley Peterson
• Posted in: Workforce System Strategies