R01: Why people choose noncredit workforce study

E-019. Rutgers EERC, January 2026. Why Now?.

Method: 83 analyzed interviews, June 2024–July 2025, at LaGuardia (CUNY), Mt. SAC and Northern Virginia. Participants had no prior degree. Participants were selected for the study, not randomly. Recruitment changed during the study.

Learning: Participants weighed affordability, timing, duration, location and delivery format. Goals included immediate employment and further education. Online study suited some; others preferred classrooms. Information came through websites, personal contacts and agencies. [Printed pp. 19–27; PDF pp. 22–30.]

Limits: Urban, workforce-focused, healthcare-heavy sample. Excludes degree holders and ESL-only participants. Includes people who enrolled, not a comparable sample who declined. Does not show how common these needs are at SUNY or establish job outcomes. The appendix's transcript count differs from the analyzed participant count; use 83 for the stated sample.

Confidence: Strong for these accounts; moderate relevance to SUNY workforce discovery.

Coverage: Methods/context, PDF pp. 11–22; findings/conclusion, pp. 23–32; detailed methods, pp. 38–39. Literature review and remaining appendices were not fully reviewed. Retrieved October 26, 2026.