Summarizes outcomes, promising practices, barriers and policy changes evaluated in six Illinois Bridge Programs, designed to help adult learners transition into postsecondary education for training and credentialing necessary for high-demand middle-skill jobs.
"This report summarizes the evaluation of bridge demonstration programs conducted during Phase One of Shifting Gears in Illinois, an initiative designed to address low-skilled adults’ attainment of postsecondary credentials and employment in high-demand occupations. It includes selected program and student outcomes data and provides the reader with some detail about college context, program goals, students served, promising practices, barriers, and policy changes. The six sites selected for this report demonstrated student outcomes or developed implementation models that showed promise for replication and lessons that could be of value for colleges or other institutions interested in creating adult bridge programs for similar populations. Both qualitative and quantitative results from the six sites are included" (p.4). (Abstractor: Author)