Education & Employment Research Center (EERC)

Our Mission

The Education and Employment Research Center (EERC) is a nonprofit research organization based in Rutgers University’s School of Management and Labor Relations. EERC’s research examines the intersection between education and work with the goal of being an evidence-based resource for policy and practice. Our work focuses on issues of equity and quality in education and training for students and workers, the institutions that serve them, and the broader economy, in the context of the ever-changing labor market.

Areas of Focus

Noncredit Education and Non-degree Credentials

Community colleges are hubs of innovation, particularly in workforce education, and our research covers a range of these efforts. Among those are: quality in noncredit programs, career pathways development in varied sectors (information technology, health care, and manufacturing), and a range of college reforms including developmental education reform, online learning, and credit for prior learning. Key projects in this area include:

• State Noncredit Data Project
• Student Perspectives in Noncredit Workforce Education
• Non-degree Credentials Research Network
• Noncredit Research Collaborative
• Credential Information Label
• Quality in Community College Noncredit Education
• Mapping the Non-degree Credential Quality Landscape
• Review of the Evidence on Noncredit Education
• Non-Degree Credential Quality: A Conceptual Framework to Guide Measurement
• A Review of the Literature on Informal Learning

Student Choices and Pathways

How students make decisions about education and careers, and what information and resources they need and use to persist, has important implications for efforts to support students in navigating these pathways. Key projects include:

• Community College S-STEM Network

• Student Voices Informing Practice in Noncredit Workforce Education

• Pathways into Careers in Information Technology: Community College Student Decision Making About Academic Programs and Jobs
• Post-Graduate Earnings, Job Security, and Major Choice Survey
• Pathways to Science and Engineering Professions: Persistence and Career Choice
• STEM Pathways Analysis

Education and Labor Market Connections

Connections among colleges, employers, workforce systems, and economic development entities are essential to create programs that promote labor market success. Key projects in this area include:

• Hidden Innovation Infrastructure
• Noncredit Data Readiness Study
• Using Labor Market Information to Improve Program and Credential Quality
• Evaluating an Apprenticeship Program in Advanced Manufacturing
• Higher Education Labor Market Alignment Framework

STEM and Technician Education 

Pathways in STEM and technician education offer crucial preparation for essential roles in the economy. Our research addresses STEM education in community colleges and four-year institutions. Key projects in this area include:

• Community College S-STEM Network
• Hidden Innovation Infrastructure
• Pathways to Science and Engineering Professions: Persistence and Career Choice
• Pathways into Careers in Information Technology: Community College Student Decision Making About Academic Programs and Jobs
• EU Research Study on Vocational Education: International Perspectives on Preparing Technicians for the Future of Work
• STEM Pathways Analysis

 Community College Innovation

Community colleges are hubs of innovation, particularly in workforce education, and our research covers a range of these efforts. Among those are: quality in noncredit programs, career pathways development in varied sectors (information technology, health care, and manufacturing), and a range of college reforms including developmental education reform, online learning, and credit for prior learning. Key projects in this area include:

• Quality in Community College Noncredit Education
• The Equity Role of Community Colleges in Career Preparation
• Community College and Workforce Evaluations

Our Approach

Our research is grounded in a deep understanding of theoretically based disciplines and a commitment to the needs of current policy and practice. We apply this knowledge base to our work to generate informed and rigorous analyses of current issues at the intersection of education and employment, bridging the divide between theory and practice, rooted in a commitment to promoting quality and equity in education.

We build networks designed to connect our research to policy and practice, bringing stakeholders together to share information and resources. Much of our work is conducted in collaboration with a wide range of education, government, philanthropy, business, and workforce development partners from across the country. Only in collaboration can we use our research to move practice and policy forward.

We evaluate with an awareness of the complexity of policy and program implementation. We use flexible strategies when conducting evaluations to ensure that the process supports and informs project work and develops as projects change.