In a fast-changing job market, one North Carolina university is helping students through early engagement and long-term support.

A new report revealed more than half of four-year college graduates are underemployed, working in jobs that do not require a bachelor's degree. William Peace University in North Carolina said it is addressing the issue with focused preparation and ongoing assistance.

Jessica Pryor, assistant director of career development and internships at William Peace University, said workforce readiness begins in a student's junior year.

"I think it's important to start early," Pryor emphasized. "You're still learning a lot about yourself and what you like. So, when you start around your junior year, it gives you some time to start building the skills you need. To think about, 'Hey, what experience do I have so far? What kind of experiences do I still need?'"

She pointed out the university blends career prep into the curriculum. Juniors take a class on career basics, learning to create resumes, write cover letters and navigate job hunting. Seniors also take an internship course to gain real-world work experience.

The report showed graduates entering college-level jobs tend to stay employed in such roles for at least five years. Pryor believes long-term support is key, and noted support at William Peace does not end after graduation. She stressed alumni can still get help with everything from crafting resumes and cover letters to job search guidance.

"Finding a job or an internship is a skill and it's often much different than doing the job itself that you're applying for," Pryor emphasized. "When you're writing a resume, a cover letter, if you want to network, or even interview for a job or market yourself, those are all things that we just don't do on a regular basis. Even identifying your strengths and what value you'll bring to the role."

She added some students find job opportunities through the university's local business partnerships. About 96% of the university's traditional undergraduate students are employed or enrolled in graduate programs within a year after graduation.

Student parents at New Mexico's community colleges represent a significant portion of the postsecondary population.

And while the state has taken steps to help them, graduation is an uphill climb.

A study across nine New Mexico higher state education institutions by the research center Child Trends, found most parents pursuing an advanced degree are taking six-to-11 credit hours.

The nonprofit's Senior Research Scientist Renee Ryberg said most have more than one child - which means they're balancing kids, academics and a job.

"Three-quarters of them are working, and to make all that fit in the 24 hours in a day," said Ryberg, "they're going to school largely part-time - 85% are pursuing degrees and certificates."

Ryberg said almost 60% of student parents work at least 30 hours a week.

In New Mexico, three-quarters of student parents are mothers and 33% say they have no formal child care, while the same percentage relies on unpaid relatives or friends.

The National Conference of State Legislatures says without access to child care, many student parents may miss classes and drop out.

Ryberg said community colleges offer students higher educational opportunities with less financial strain, more flexible schedules and smaller class sizes.

Currently, tuition and fees for full-time, in-state enrollment at a public two-year college average about $4,000 per year, compared to $11,000 at a public four-year institution.

Nonetheless, Ryberg said many parents, especially women eventually benefit from a few more years in the classroom.

"If that single mom has an associate's degree, she earns $367,000 more across her lifetime," said Ryberg, "and if she has a bachelor's degree, she earns more than $600,000 more across her lifetime than a single mom with a high school degree."

A recent report on best community colleges by the personal finance site, WalletHub, lists Santa Fe Community College and Southeast New Mexico College as 4th and 5th in the nation.

San Juan college nabbed 15th place among the country's top 20.

Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.




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A new partnership is making it easier for students at Dallas College to transfer to a four-year university.

The college has joined forces with Texas A-and-M University-Commerce, Texas Woman's University and the University of North Texas-Dallas to form the Dallas Transfer Collaborative.

Justin Lonon, chancellor of Dallas College, said a new hub connects all four institutions to a centralized portal, streamlining the transfer process.

"It also provides technology that will allow students to go, 'Hey, you know, here are the courses I've taken at Dallas College,' and here's how those courses will plug into the broad array of programs at these universities," Lonon outlined.

The program is partially funded by the Commit Partnership's Opportunity 2040 Fund, which aims to reduce child poverty in Dallas County by half and double the number of young adults making a living wage.

More than 64,000 students are enrolled in the seven Dallas College campuses. Lonon explained they hope the hub will help more of those students continue their education after leaving community college.

"Nearly half of our students come to us and say they have an intent to transfer but only about one in four does so over a three-year time period," Lonon pointed out. "There can be many reasons for that but what we don't want for there to be institutional barriers between our university partners."

Lonon noted they hope to add more universities to the group and the program will be a model for other universities across the nation.


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Idaho faces a shortage of health care workers. Technology could help the state attract and retain more doctors and nurses.

The Gem State has the fewest doctors per capita of any state in the country.

The up-and-coming health care workforce could benefit from technology's integration into education, especially in rural states like Idaho - said Dr. Teresa Conner, the former dean of Idaho State University's College of Health.

"Recruiting our own and training people in their communities where they've grown up and they love the community," said Conner, "they have ties, and technology's really helping us address that equation of how to get providers into rural communities through, really, the resource they already have - their people."

Conner is now dean of the College of Health and Human Sciences at North Dakota State University.

She said expanded communication technologies help people across vast distances connect, enabling remote learning in rural places.

Conner said another important technology is simulations.

She said while she was at Idaho State University, grant funding from the Idaho Workforce Development Council and Portneuf Health Trust helped expand these tools.

Conner said these are going to be important to health care education.

"One of the great parts about this is it creates a safe failure," said Conner. "So it's okay in a simulation if they get the wrong answer or they fail because no one gets harmed. And then they can debrief and learn from that mistake."

Conner said simulation technology also could help with the biggest bottleneck in health care education, which is the limited number of clinical placements.

She noted that this technology won't replace real-world education, but she said it does provide an opportunity to show students important situations they might not see during their clinical experience.

"Through simulation," said Conner, "we can make sure that students are exposed to a range of different kinds of cases that we want all of them exposed to."

Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.




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