A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

The Emergence of Tech-Prep at the State and Local Levels - 1995

Articulation Of Secondary And Postsecondary Programs

Articulation agreements are specifically required under the Perkins legislation as a key component of any Tech-Prep program receiving a Title IIIE grant. Articulation agreements promote coordination between secondary and postsecondary institutions to eliminate unnecessary redundancies in course work across institutions and, where possible, to facilitate collaboration on curriculum development and ongoing working relationships. Because such agreements have been in place in many localities for years before the Tech-Prep legislation, they have often served as a starting point for implementation of Tech-Prep.

Articulation agreements take a variety of forms. General agreements between secondary and postsecondary institutions involve only the broad principle of cooperation and collaboration, or the general concept of the transfer of credit. They often are the starting point for developing specific articulation agreements that focus on particular occupational specialties. Specific agreements may include details on the specific conditions for transfer of credit or other matters, such as joint teaching arrangements or guarantees of space for students entering particular postsecondary programs. Ideally, the agreements articulate secondary and postsecondary programs, to create comprehensive pathways with increasing specialization and skill levels. However, some agreements focus more narrowly on articulating individual courses offered at both the secondary and postsecondary levels, either as a substitute for or a first step towards articulation of programs.

Regardless of the form of the agreements, articulation has several advantages for both students and participating institutions. By encouraging students to earn college credits while in high school, articulation can promote entry into postsecondary programs. By eliminating duplication of course content across secondary and postsecondary institutions, and by granting advanced placement in postsecondary programs, articulation can help students to complete their postsecondary program in less time. Eliminating course redundancy allows students to take more advanced courses as part of their postsecondary degree or certificate program, and to enter employment at a higher skill level. Finally, postsecondary institutions may benefit from increased student enrollments and the opportunity to reduce the number of remedial and lower-level classes they must offer.

Questions designed to document articulation efforts were an important element of the national Tech-Prep survey. We asked consortium coordinators whether secondary and postsecondary institutions that were members at the time of the survey had signed any articulation agreements before the Tech-Prep consortium had been established, and within the two years preceding the survey. Coordinators were also asked to record the number of postsecondary institutions that have articulation agreements with the secondary schools in the consortium, the occupational specialties that were articulated, and the broad career categories into which each specialty fell.

Many states had a track record of articulation before their implementation of Tech-Prep

Articulation existed in many communities before Tech-Prep consortium development (Table VII.2). In 17 states, at least 80 percent of the consortia reported having articulation agreements before Tech-Prep. In 38 states, more than half of the consortia had pre-existing agreements. Rural consortia were less likely to have pre-existing agreements (44 percent) than were either urban or suburban consortia (about 70 percent), probably because access to community colleges is more limited in rural areas.

Older grantees were more likely than recent grantees to have had pre-existing articulation agreements among consortium members (62 percent compared with 52 percent). This result accords with the NAVE finding that many districts that received early Title IIIE grants had implemented Tech-Prep or components of it before receiving grant funds (NAVE 1994, p. 359). Because articulation is a key and easily defined component of Tech-Prep, and Title IIIE grants generally were awarded competitively, districts and colleges that had pre-existing articulation agreements may have been most likely to receive Tech-Prep funding in the early cycle of the grant program.

TABLE VII.2
Consortia With Articulation Agreements Signed Prior To Tech-Prep
Implementation And Within The Last Two Years (1991-1993),
By State
Percentage of Consortia With
State Number of
Consortiaa 		Articulation
Agreements Signed
Before Tech-Prep		 Recent Articulation
Agreements Signed
In Last Two Years
Alabama 27 26 67
Alaska 2 0 50
Arizona 15 67 80
Arkansas 13 38 100
California 44 91 73
Colorado 13 54 69
Connecticut 9 67 67
Delaware 1 100 100
District of Columbia 1 0 100
Florida 16 81 94
Georgia 46 26 76
Hawaii 4 100 50
Idaho 6 50 83
Illinois 28 82 71
Indiana 13 85 46
Iowa 5 60 100
Kansas 6 83 67
Kentucky 38 16 82
Louisiana 12 33 100
Maine 6 67 67
Maryland 15 93 87
Massachusetts 9 78 100
Michigan 37 76 57
Minnesota 18 28 67
Mississippi 14 21 86
Missouri 12 67 83
Montana 3 0 67
Nebraska 6 67 100
Nevada 3 0 100
New Hampshire 2 50 100
New Jersey 15 80 87
New Mexico 10 20 70
New York 26 46 73
North Carolina 42 48 81
North Dakota 1 100 0
Ohio 13 85 46
Oklahoma 10 40 70
Oregon 7 71 71
Pennsylvania 18 67 72
Rhode Island 1 100 100
South Carolina 16 100 88
South Dakota 4 25 25
Tennessee 14 43 64
Texas 25 76 100
Utah 8 75 75
Vermont 4 50 75
Virginia 21 81 48
Washington 15 80 33
West Virginia 11 91 64
Wisconsin 12 92 83
Wyoming 3 67 67
Puerto Rico 1 0 100
Virgin Islands 1 0 0
Total 702 59 74
SOURCE: Inventory of Local Tech-Prep Planning and Implementation, fall 1993

a Based on Survey repondents.

Recent Tech-Prep activity reflects continued emphasis on articulation

During the first several years of Tech-Prep funding, consortia made substantial efforts to develop or update articulation agreements. Many consortia in states in which articulation agreements had not been developed before Tech-Prep, (for example, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, and New York), did so between 1991 and 1993 (Table VII.2). Consortia that had pre-existing agreements (for example, those in California and Maryland), continued to sign agreements, either to develop articulation in new occupational specialties, or to expand to include new consortium members (or both). Consortia in the south were least likely to have had pre-existing articulation agreements, but were most likely to have developed agreements recently.

Most of the recent articulation activity has been in occupational fields related to business and mechanical/industrial trades (Figure VII.4). Of the 527 consortia with articulated specialties, 434 (82 percent) reported articulation of at least one course or program related to business. Nearly 65 percent of the consortia (341 of 527) reported an articulated specialty that would fall within the areas of mechanical, industrial, practical art, or trade. 

                                 FIGURE VII.4       NUMBER OF CONSORTIA REPORTING SPECIFIC ARTICULATION AGREEMENTS,                   BY BROAD CAREER AREA OF THE AGREEMENTS     BROAD CAREER AREA           Agriculture =========>98   Bus./Office/Mkting. =========================================>434      Engin./Technical ============================>301  Health/Hum. Services =========================>278      Mech./Industrial =================================>341                       +--------+--------+---------+---------+---------+                      0        100      200       300       400       500                                        NUMBER OF CONSORTIA  SOURCE: Inventory of Local Tech-Prep Planning and Implementation, Fall 1993

Many postsecondary institutions are involved in articulation efforts

In the majority of Tech-Prep consortia, secondary school members currently have articulation agreements with at least one postsecondary institution. Approximately 30 percent of the consortia have specific articulation agreements with more than one postsecondary institution. Consortia that had signed specific articulation agreements reported a total of 979 postsecondary institutions as partners in these agreements. This figure represents about half of all postsecondary institutions that were reported as members of those consortia.5

Although we did not ask consortium coordinators to report the types of postsecondary institutions involved in articulation agreements, it appears that most are community, technical, or junior colleges. Such institutions represent the vast majority of postsecondary consortium partners. Moreover, discussions with state and local Tech-Prep coordinators suggest that articulation with four-year colleges and apprenticeship programs is much less common. If all, or most, of the 979 postsecondary institutions reported as articulation partners are two-year colleges, then Tech-Prep has affected most of the nation's community colleges.6 However, some postsecondary institutions develop articulation agreements with districts or schools in multiple consortia. We suspect, therefore, that the sum of the number of postsecondary institutions with articulation agreements reported by consortia is not an unduplicated count and that the actual number of postsecondary institutions involved in articulation is somewhat lower.

Granting credit is the most common provision of articulation agreements

Specific articulation agreements usually stipulate the objectives, requirements, and activities of the arrangement between secondary and postsecondary partners. Establishing the conditions for granting college credit is the most common provision. Of the 702 Tech-Prep consortia, 556 (almost 80 percent) had developed agreements identifying the secondary courses or competencies for which postsecondary credits could be granted, or that would enable students to skip prerequisites or introductory courses at the postsecondary level (Table VII.3). The in-depth studies confirm that the goal of many articulation agreements is to grant college credit for courses or course sequences that cover material comparable to courses offered at the postsecondary institutions.

Articulation agreements also involve curriculum development or realignment (Table VII.3). In 300 to 400 consortia, articulation agreements provided for changing the competencies that are covered in postsecondary courses that are components of an occupational sequence (43 percent), or that are covered in secondary courses (53 percent). Changes in postsecondary courses are most likely aimed at upgrading the level of skills covered to take account of anticipated improvement in students' preparation in high school. In 59 percent of all consortia, articulation agreements specified collaboration between the partners to identify a sequence of required and elective courses or competencies at the secondary and postsecondary levels to create a four-year program of study. This finding may provide some indication of the extent to which consortia are working towards program articulation.

TABLE VII.3
Extent and Scope of Articulation Agreements
Consortia Postsecondary Institutionsa
Specific Articulation Agreement Provisions Number Percentage Number Percentage
Establishing Conditions for Granting Credit 556 79 871 46
Revising Postsecondary Courses 300 43 455 24
Revising Secondary Courses 373
53 582 31
Granting Advanced Standing in Apprenticeship 88 13 125 7
Providing Joint/Exchange 126 18 168 9
Defining Secondary/Postsecondary Course Sequences 417 59 672 35
Ensuring Tech-Prep Graduates Slots in Postsecondary Schools 180 26 244 13
SOURCE: Inventory of Local Tech-Prep Planning and Implementation, fall 1993.

NOTE: This table provides two alternative measures of the prevalence of particular provisions in articulation agreements. First, it shows how many consortia there are where agreements include each provision. Second it shows how many postsecondary institutions are involved in agreements including each provision. The two differ largely because the number of postsecondary institutions in a consortium often exceeds one.

aThe denominator used in calculating the percentage is the sum of the reported number of community and technical colleges, four-year colleges and universities , proprietary schools, and registered apprenticeship programs in each consortium reporting an agreement in the specified category.

Articulation often focuses on courses, rather than on programs

Although many consortia may have program articulation as their objective, current articulation agreements appear to link individual courses rather than comprehensive programs of study. Five hundred and twenty-seven consortia have articulated at least one occupationally oriented course or program; coordinators in these consortia provided many titles of programs or courses for which articulation agreements had been developed. Their lists suggest that articulation of courses rather than of programs of study may predominate. However, there also appeared to be some confusion in reporting of the specific areas of articulation.

The national survey asked consortium coordinators to list the "occupational specialties" for which specific articulation agreements had been signed, and to identify the broad career area into which each specialty could best be classified. By occupational specialty we meant the postsecondary degree or certificate for which the Tech-Prep program was preparing participating students. Ideally, students who are in Tech-Prep plan a four-year program that includes specialized technical education at the postsecondary level. Therefore, we were interested in determining the extent to which consortia were articulating defined occupational programs.

However, there was clearly some ambiguity about the term "occupational specialty," as few coordinators reported a title that indicated a specific certificate or degree program at the postsecondary level. Despite the intent of the survey question, many coordinators appeared to list all courses or programs for which articulation agreements had been signed, including both occupational-technical and academic subjects.7

Recent research has noted that many Tech-Prep consortia have so far pursued articulation of courses, rather than programs of study (NAVE 1994; and Ascher and Flaxman 1993). The national survey results confirm this finding. The titles of many reported "occupational specialties" were too narrow to reflect a program theme at either the secondary or postsecondary level. Examples include Suspension and Steering, AC Circuits, Keyboarding, Machine Shop, Financial Records, Teacher Assisting, and Turf Grass Operations. Some titles clearly reflected a course numbering system or hierarchy, such as Office Procedures I and II, Electronics I, Introduction to Business, Introduction to Spreadsheets. Some titles were very general and identical to familiar introductory vocational courses (for example, Health Occupations, Principles of Business, and General Technologies).

Whether other responses pertain to courses or programs is often unclear. Many occupational titles listed by consortium coordinators are common vocational courses, but possibly represent a degree or certificate program at the postsecondary level. The titles do not allow us to distinguish between simple articulation of vocational courses and articulation of sequences of academic and technical courses with an occupational focus. More than three thousand articulation agreement titles were recorded by consortium coordinators. Among the most frequently reported titles of articulation were Marketing, Welding, Drafting, Electronics, Horticulture, Accounting, Office Systems, Child Care/Early Childhood Education, Machine Tool Technology, Automotive Technology, Nursing, and Office Systems.

5 By "postsecondary institutions," we mean the sum of the reported number of community, junior, and technical colleges; four-year colleges and universities; proprietary schools; and registered apprenticeship programs in each consortium.

6 The NAV reports that in spring 1992, there were 992 public two-year institutions (typically what we refer to as community colleges).

7 Articulation agreements for academic courses, such as chemistry, physics, and algebra, were eliminated from the calculations.
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