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How to Apply for MS in USAWith over 800,000 international students, the USA is the most prominent education hub in the world. While it is an attractive education destination across all fields and levels of study, international students are drawn mostly toward MS programs.For the MS’s degree, the USA is the most preferable choice and option for Indian students as the United States of America is one of the most developed countries and a job creator center for any aspirant who is willing to settle in the dynamic country as well.The USA has in recent years has evolved immensely and is a center of attraction for students from the entire world as it one of the fastest growing and developing countries. The facilities and luxuries the United States of America offers are what a student looks forward to while choosing a career plan.1. Choose universitiesThe first step while applying for MS in the US is to make a list of universities which offer the candidate's choice of programme. This should be done around the months of May or June of the previous year. Ideally, one should start the process of admission at least 15 months prior to admission. While the US admission cycle has three intakes -- Fall, Spring and Summer -- a majority of the programmes start in Fall i.e., around September.2. Check deadlinesOnce the candidate has made a list of the colleges of his choice, the next step should be to check the deadlines of the specific courses the candidate is applying for. Usually, universities in the US do not have a common deadline for all courses. Therefore, it is necessary to check the individual departments of the universities to know the opening and closing dates for applications to MS in the US. Usually, applications for Fall start around September and close between December-January, though some universities accept applications till February.3. Eligibility: Before going ahead with the application process, it is important to check the eligibility requirements for the MS course in the US. While different courses have different sets of requirements, here are some of the general eligibility criteria required for the programme.Usually, American universities require 16 years of formal education to be eligible for an MS’s course. Since a Bachelor’s degree in countries like India is a three-year program (http://B.Sc, http://B.Com, B.A etc), that sums up to 15 years (involving 10 years of schooling and 2 years’ junior college).4. Exams required: As mentioned, entry to MS courses in the US universities requires the aspirant to appear for standardised tests as set by the university. One should, ideally, register for tests between July and August so that test scores are ready by the time one applies to universities.GRE: GRE is mandatory for almost all MS level programmes in the USA, including management studies. While all universities require GRE general test score, there are some others which also ask the student to take GRE subject tests.TOEFL: TOEFL is an English proficiency test for students from non-native English speaking countries.IELTS: IELTS is also an English proficiency test for students from non- native English speaking countries.MCAT: Students interested in pursuing medical studies in the US have to appear for MCATLSAT: LSAT is for law aspirants5. Arrange application package- This is one of the most important parts while applying for MS in the US. Universities in the USA put heavy weight on the application of the student. Besides academic transcripts, the US universities demand that the student introduce himself through intent statements and references. An ideal MS application package should have the following:SoP - The Statement of Purpose is one of the most vital elements of the application package for admission into MS in the US.LoR - Unlike the SOP, the Letter of Recommendation is an independent assessment of the candidate's potential.Essays - Generally, universities ask for 2-3 essays.Resume - Some universities require the candidate to submit a CV along with the application form.Academic Transcripts - Academic transcripts include all the qualifications that the candidate will list in the application form.Scores - Universities with a requirement of standardized score require results of the tests along with the application.6. Document checklist for MS in the US:Recommendation letters ( minimum 2-3 lectures)GRE/TOEFL/GMAT/IELTS score proofs besides reporting the test scores officially.Academic Transcripts for the qualifications listed in the application form.SOP (How to write a Great SoP for MS in the USA)Work experience certificates, if applicablePhotocopies of passportCertificates for extra-curricular activities mentioned in the application form.WES Evaluation documents, if required by the university.7. Apply: The first thing to keep in mind while applying in any university in the US is the deadline. As mentioned earlier, most of the application dates close by January. Therefore, it is advisable to apply early and not wait for the last date to avoid any last-minute glitch.8. Offer letters: The universities usually take a few weeks to respond to applications. Most applicants receive their acceptance or rejection letter between February and April.In order to fulfill your dreams of studying and settling in America, you first need to apply for admission in an American university/college, receive the offer letter or invite and then head on to the visa process. In order to study in visa, you need to obtain a study visa. The study visa is issued after the student’s visa application gets approved by the university as well as the visa authorities. Check here for: How to Get a Student Visa for USA in 2019?List of Top Universities for MS courses in the USAMassachusetts Institute of Technology, CambridgeStanford University, StanfordUniversity of California, BerkeleyGeorgia Institute of Technology, AtlantaCalifornia Institute of Technology, PasadenaUniversity of Illinois, Urbana, ChampaignCarnegie Mellon UniversityUniversity of Michigan, Ann ArborUniversity of Texas, AustinCornell UniversityCost of MS in the USA for Indian studentsAs education abroad is expensive for Indian students, there are some international courses that are less expensive than most of them. For example, if you are thinking of applying for a post-graduate MS degree abroad (e.g. MBA / MS), the expenses of MS in the USA are prominently less expensive than the cost of the best MBA in America.Nevertheless, this is in relative terms. One needs to be updated on the different cost features that sum up the total expenses of an MS degree.The average application fee for most of the top MS’s program in America is $75 (4,500 Rupees). Moreover, if one hasn’t planned the goals of MS’s institutes well and combined them during the GRE test (students are allowed 4 free universities) students are charged $27 (~INR 1,800) to forward the score to each additional MS University.The average cost of MS in the USA in a government-funded university is undoubtedly less as compared to that of the private institutes. When one takes into consideration the state universities, the average cost of MS in the USA varies from $20,000 to $30,000 for the entire two years.If the cost is converted to the Indian rupee, considering the current value of dollars, MS fees in the USA in a state university will cost you Rupees 13 lakhs – 20 lakhs for the entire 2 years.Apparently, the average cost of MS in the USA for private universities will vary from $25,000-$50,000. If we Convert it to Indian currency, students are supposed to pay approximately in the range of Rupees 17 lakhs – 33 lakhs for MS in private universities.What is the Application Fee for MS in the USA?Accordingly, TOEFL grants 4 free institutions. The fee for sending one’s TOEFL score to additional MS universities is $20 (INR 1,300). If one has registered for TOEFL iBT, they can avail of the TOEFL Value Pack Premium pack which grants one the test material, five additional marks report and a $35 (INR 2,300) discount for upcoming registrations.Assuming, you are sending 10 MS applications, at an average application fee of $122 [$75 + $27 + $20] per MS university, you are staring at a total expense of $1,220 (~INR 80,000).Why Study MS in the USA?If you are in a fix, whether or not to choose an MS course in the USA. Here is a list of factors you must consider to make an informed decision.Being one of the world powers, USA is the most preferred destinations for international students. An MS degree from the USA, that too from a top university will give you a boost academically and professionally, as the degree is globally recognized and desired.Along with that is the fact that it has the most modern teaching aids and exceptional faculties that make most of the American universities become world leaders in their own space.America has great work opportunities and employment environment that everyone wished for.There are citizenship and residency options, open for consideration as well.Overall, an MS from the USA is a great deal up for grabs if you have the opportunity, as it is an excellent learning and working environment, ideal for studying as well as settling down.What are the Top Universities for MS in the USA for Indian students?1. Lehigh University2. Fitchburg State University3. University of Central Arkansas4. New Mexico Highlands University5. Mississippi Valley State University6. California State University San Bernardino Campus7. Loyola University Chicago8. Sonoma State University9. San Diego State University10. North Seattle Community CollegeSince you are here, you may also check How to Get Scholarship for MS in the USA for Indian Students?Hope it helps!!

A United States aircraft carrier group is one of the most secure entities on the planet.What I feel is most misunderstood is that carriers never travel alone. There are numerous ships always traveling around a carrier to ensure its safety against a number of possible enemy threats. This is to ignore many layers of satellite, missile, and ground based defenses. Together, they create many layers of protection for the fleet against a vast array of dangers which the carrier could one day face. Together, through an overlapping mesh of threat deterrent systems, they function at the highest level of defense that technology can provide.A carrier battle group (CVBG) consists of an aircraft carrier (designated CV) and its large number of escorts, together defining the group ... CSG or CVBG normally consist of 1 Aircraft Carrier, 1 Guided Missile Cruiser (for Air Defense), 2 LAMPS (Light Airborne Multi-Purpose System) Capable Warships (focusing on Anti-Submarine and Surface Warfare), and 1–2 Anti Submarine Destroyers or Frigates.[2]That said, they aren't invulnerable by any stretch of the imagination. Its doubtful that anyone could out fight a carrier in the ocean through the use of fighters or bombers, such as the iconic Battle of Midway in World War II. Because of its many layers of defense, most other systems built by rival carriers would not be a major threat to the ships. Instead, I would envision the threats coming from newer technologies few people are talking about currently. The first of these, is the hypersonic cruise missile systems.HypersonicsHypersonics have made a lot of news in the last few years, as progresses in the scramjet have made it possible to travel at speeds never before imagined. In 2011, the United States tested a hypersonic missile with speeds exceeding Mach 6 and are capable of creating missiles and aircraft which could one day reach Mach 20, more than 15ooo miles per hour. China, Russia, and even India have invested much work into the creation of hypersonic weapons systems like the Chinese Wu-14 and the Indian Shaurya.Current U.S. missile defense sensors and interceptors are designed primarily to hit ballistic missile warheads that travel in predictable flight paths from launch, through space and into ground targets. China surprised U.S. intelligence agencies last year by conducting three flight tests of the Wu-14 in January, August and December. The vehicle traveled at speeds up to Mach 10, or nearly 8,000 miles per hour. U.S. intelligence agencies assessed the Wu-14 to be a nuclear delivery vehicle designed to break through U.S. defenses. In addition to China, Russia and India are working on hypersonic strike vehicles.To put the capabilities of these weapons in perspective, the Indian Shaurya clocked in at a speed of about Mach 7.5. That means that in its test, it could cover the distance of San Francisco, California to Phoenix, Arizona in roughly the same time as a TV commercial break. A test for an American system this year may see the distance of California to Hawaii covered in the same amount of time. What this means for warfare is a highly unpredictable, impossibly fast moving weapons system that will test every technological capability in our arsenal, but push for an era of threat deterrent systems most of us aren't even ready to conceive of yet.The threat of hypersonic missiles means that, in spite of the numerous defenses, something that fast will simply be able to outrun any defenses or tracking systems that can be produced. With a system like that, it is feared that a missile could be created that could deliver a nuclear warhead, one which would explode over the carrier group. Add to this that, in the future, these systems may be able to be deployed from submarines, allowing the missiles to be launched from virtually anywhere.To counter the threat of hypersonic missiles, a new generation of counter ballistics is being developed. The push towards solving the hypervelocity problem has devised even more radical new systems, which not only give the United States added defense against hypersonics, but also give the military additional capabilities, as well.One of these defense systems is the electromagnetic railgun. The railgun uses focused electrical energy to create a magnetic field that pushes a ballistic projectile at speeds around mach 7. A hypervelocity weapon itself, the projectiles have the capabilities of intercepting incoming cruise and ballistic missiles of both the extreme speed and conventional variety. What's more, the weapon can be used to attack not only incoming missiles, but also land targets, as well. On top of this, the weapon system surpasses older conventional naval guns in range and utility. While modern weapons can fire a projectile around 13 nautical miles, the railgun can be fired as far as 110 nautical miles, and it does this without the use of dangerous munitions which would need to be stored on ship and handled by crew members. Because the entire bulk of the missile systems doesn't need to be used, assault ships armed with rail technology can store hundreds more railgun rounds than they could conventional missiles. One last benefit that the railgun offers? It costs about 100x less to operate than any other alternative. That's a game changer.Submarine WarfareNew generations of submarines are now capable of operating undetected like no other generation of subs before. They've proven themselves in combat trials to be capable of greeting the carrier fleet from beneath the surface with frightening stealth and capabilities.The Gotland-class submarines of the Swedish Navy are modern diesel-electric submarines, which were designed and built by the Kockums shipyard in Sweden. They are the first submarines in the world to feature a Stirling engine air-independent propulsion (AIP) system, which extends their underwater endurance from a few days to weeks.[2] This capability had previously only been available with nuclear-powered submarines.In 2004, the Swedish government received a request from the United States of America to lease HMS Gotland – Swedish-flagged, commanded and manned, for a duration of one year for use in antisubmarine warfare exercises. The Swedish government granted this request in October 2004, with both navies signing a memorandum of understanding on March 21, 2005.[5][6] The lease was extended for another 12 months in 2006.[7][8][9] In July 2007, HMS Gotland departed San Diego for Sweden.[10]HMS Gotland managed to snap several pictures of the USS Ronald Reagan during a wargaming exercise in the Pacific Ocean, effectively "sinking" the aircraft carrier.[11] The exercise was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the US fleet against diesel-electric submarines, which some have noted as severely lacking.[12][13]Advances in submarine technology left US naval shipbuilders and commanders rather embarrassed. As yet, that was their purpose in taking part in the war games. The fleet was again challenged in 2006 when a similar vessel, one of the Chinese Song-class attack submarine quietly surfaced within nine miles of the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk. The vessel was close enough to strike with one of its 18 homing torpedoes. None of the ships escorting the Kitty Hawk within the carrier strike group detected the Song until it breached the surface.The 2004 exercises validated many concerns for the aging fleet, and the 2006 shot across the bow cemented them. Still, in light of the last decade since, many of these concerns we've had about the new generation of subs have left many fears sunk. For instance, ships like the Song and the Gotland were not meant for deep sea operations. Their revolutionary systems, while novel, limit their range. They are short range ships that do not possess the range for true "blue water" operations, exactly what the aircraft carrier was engineered to do. They were, instead, designed for missions nearer to their home ports in the North Sea and the waters surrounding China in primarily defensive roles. This allows ships like the modern carriers to maneuver out of range for most of their purposes, limiting the threat of the new silent running submarines. Added to this reduction in threat is the fact that China has slowed its purchasing of new subs, further limiting its naval presence in the coming era of warfare and its threats to the United States Navy. In the interim decade, the US Navy has also been updating its systems, particularly in the form of the new Gerald R. Ford class super-carrier to replace many of the Nimitz ships. The new carriers are loaded with new technologies, many developed with insights gleaned from the missions against new technology submarines.Cyber WarfareCyber Warfare is the unappreciated threat to all military defenses. Many people talk about it as being something terrifying, but few people understand the nature of the threat posed to the US Military, or any other military for that matter.Cracking has become a major sector of cyber warfare. An example would be the Stuxnet virus, made famous for its approach to disabling Iranian nuclear refinement operations. Joel Brenner, a Senior Counsel at the National Security Agency, in his book America the Vulnerable, describes why Stuxnet was so incredible. It was a worm, a self-replicating virus, which utilized not just one, but four previously unknown vulnerabilities in Microsoft operating systems to spread itself throughout a worldwide infection. Once spread, it sought out particular Siemens centrifuges, like those used by the Iranians to refine Uranium, and bring them down. This virus baffled engineers for months, unaware that random system outages were really the result of advantage sabotage from outside the country. What it showed was the threat to even extremely powerful and well defended military systems. More perplexing, the Stuxnet virus, Brenner postulates, could have only have been created by one of a very few groups who would have had the technological capability to create it, that being the national governments of either United States, Russia, China, Israel, or one of a few members of the European Community. It goes way beyond the capability of the midnight hacker savant or the college computer science nerd out for kicks. This was deliberate and ingeniously engineered attack conducted by nations.He continues in his book to describe the threat posed by China. China is a special case in that, besides a cyber warfare branch of the People's Liberation Army, China also has the added asset of tens of thousands of nationalistic, "Patriot Hackers". These individuals form a community of cracker groups which focus on exploiting all international information vulnerabilities from corporate, to military, and even personal. This core group of international hackers has been responsible for countless patent thefts and billions in lost research and development to the benefit of Chinese corporations, but is also responsible for compromising classified information worldwide. China's hacker community is distinctly different from that of nations like the United States, which, if a pattern could be set, would be better described as anarchistic and anti-government, and even those in Russia, who are much more geared to cyber crime for profit. China's hackers, instead work together alongside, or at least to the benefit of, China's national government. All this while still be officially "unaffiliated" with the government for diplomatic and legal reasons. Effectively, the Chinese have a clandestine cyber national guard, growing in capabilities and there isn't really a thing the world can do about it.From Cyber-warfare 'is a growing threat'Future state-on-state conflict, as well as conflicts involving non-state actors such as al-Qaida, would increasingly be characterised by reliance on asymmetric warfare techniques, chiefly cyber-warfare, Chipman said. Hostile governments could hide behind rapidly advancing technology to launch attacks undetected. And unlike conventional and nuclear arms, there were no agreed international controls on the use of cyber weapons."Cyber-warfare [may be used] to disable a country's infrastructure, meddle with the integrity of another country's internal military data, try to confuse its financial transactions or to accomplish any number of other possibly crippling aims," he said. Yet governments and national defence establishments at present have only limited ability to tell when they were under attack, by whom, and how they might respond.The US Defence Department's Quadrennial Defence Review, published this week, also highlighted the rising threat posed by cyber-warfare on space-based surveillance and communications systems."On any given day, there are as many as 7 million DoD (Department of Defence) computers and telecommunications tools in use in 88 countries using thousands of war-fighting and support applications. The number of potential vulnerabilities, therefore, is staggering." the review said."Moreover, the speed of cyber attacks and the anonymity of cyberspace greatly favour the offence. This advantage is growing as hacker tools become cheaper and easier to employ by adversaries whose skills are growing in sophistication."From: Navy Battles Cyber Threats: Thumb Drives, Wireless Hacking, & ChinaSome of those vulnerabilities are forehead-smackingly simple, once you know where to look. “You can walk around any ship, most aircraft, and you can find either USB ports or serial ports that were put there for maintenance,” said Leigher. “They were done for good engineering reasons” — to download diagnostic data, for example — “but the engineer wasn’t thinking about computer security.” What if an enemy agent under cover as a contractor or even as a civilian on a good-will tour slipped a virus-loaded thumb drive into one of those ports? What if the bad guy simply tricked a sailor into doing it for him?From: Page on ali-cle.orgU.S. computer experts playing the part of foreign hackers managed to shut down all communications among the U.S. Pacific fleet, and could have shut down the entire western half of the U.S. power grid.Having said all this, it is plausible a group of hackers which are well enough organized and with enough backing could comprise our carrier's systems. It is possible that infected equipment could be installed on the ships themselves, since it is economically impossible to produce all the technologies built for these ships in government controlled factories, nor even, all in the United States. Foreign manufacturing produces gateway points for hardware to be slipped in with infected files that could then reproduce throughout the vessel's internal secured networks and systems. If this were to happen, it is possible that these ships could be brought down through their own control systems, hypothetically locking up their systems, halting their communications, melting down their reactors, crashing them into the rocks, or just causing them to float dead in the water. This is broadly hypothetical, but has precedent.In the 1980's Russia had poor abilities to produce microchips and the soviets worked to steal technology from the West, decades aheads of them technologically speaking. Because of a defector, the United States was able to know what it was Soviet spies were after. The Americans allowed flawed microprocessors to be stolen and their programs copied. These were made so well that they passed an initial inspection, only break down chemical and manufacturing facilities and overpower turbines in the Trans-Siberian pipeline. When soviet spies stole plans for gas-line pumps, they were unaware that it was intentionally designed to pump with much more pressure than the pipes were ever meant to handle. William Safire of the New York Times in 2004 was the first to break this story 25 years later. In his words, "The result was the most monumental, non-nuclear explosion and fire, ever seen from space."While this is purely hypothetical, all the necessary ingredients are in place for the possibility of cyber-threats from other nations, or even cyber-terrorism. For that reason, the United States military created the US Cyber Command. On June 23, 2009, the Secretary of Defense directed the Commander of U.S. Strategic Command to establish a sub-unified command, United States Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM). Full Operational Capability (FOC) was achieved Oct. 31, 2010. The Command has three main focus areas: Defending the DoDIN, providing support to combatant commanders for execution of their missions around the world, and strengthening our nation's ability to withstand and respond to cyber attack. I couldn't find a video. I don't think they want me talking about it.SummaryI don't think that anyone out there thinks the aircraft carrier is almighty. It's vulnerabilities are well known. While these vulnerabilities are at the center of many debates within military circles, they aren't enough to mean that the carrier is dead. The truth is that the carrier will live on, so long as there is a need for them which outweighs their costs and the risks to use them.Frankly, many involved in the debates taking place today over the future of the carrier don't consider the big picture of why the ships exist at all. They are quick to note the massive costs of these floating cities, and the potential loss of life if one were sunk. The best can list off a few times when vulnerabilities in the system have been discovered. This, however, doesn't mean the sky is falling and that the end of American blue water dominance is nigh. What is equally important is understanding how even the new technologies have vulnerabilities themselves, and to realize that other new technologies are being equipped to counter them warfare's endless waltz.That said, of all the people who say that the costs are too high, I never hear anyone offer the only real thing that could serve as a true threat to the carriers; a better alternative. Show me a better method for giving the military the ability to utilize strong diplomacy to preserve peace and I will agree with you, the air craft carrier needs to be a museum. An example of this would be the recent parking of a floating runway off the coast of Yemen to deter Iranian support of rebels, thus preventing an escalation of the Iran/Saudi proxy wars. This is what the carriers do and why we will need them in the future.This is why, in spite of the costs and the risks, the Navy is currently in the process of replacing their Nimitz class supercarriers with the new Gerald R. Ford class housing improvements to the technology suite and boasting a lighter crew requirement. In light of super death nuke missiles moving at 10,000 miles an hour and an army of Chinese hackers, people often view tactics as old as a war that ended 70 years ago as outdated. What all the vulnerabilities showcase is that only the most powerful nations in the world have the means to create the threats necessary to put the United States' carrier fleet at risk. For those willing to even try, no attack being guaranteed. of course, would surely have resigned themselves to nothing less than the beginning of World War III. I'm not saying that the fleet can't be defeated through some means known or as yet uncreated. I'm just saying that anyone who wants to sink a few very powerful ships are going to need to be able to follow it up with something far, far more intensive, because even if you can take down the Navy's aircraft carrier fleet, all of them, you then must deal with the rest of the Navy, along with the US Air Force, Army, and the United States Marine Corps. Good luck with that.If this answer interested you, you may also enjoy Jon Davis's answer to What is the future of war?Thanks for reading!For more answers like this check out On War by Jon Davis and follow my blog War Elephant for more new content. Everything I write is completely independent research and is supported by fan and follower pledges. Please consider showing your support directly by visiting my Patreon support page here: Jon Davis on Patreon: Help support in writing Military Novels, Articles, and Essays.

Millions of adults lack the level of education and training needed to get jobs that pay well, provide benefits, and offer opportunities for advancement. Research shows that people with postsecondary education earn more over their lifetimes and have lower-than-average unemployment rates.Increasingly, more states and localities are implementing career pathways programs to help adults navigate a path to jobs that pay well in their communities. Career pathways programs aim to improve the education and earnings of low-skilled adults by providing well-articulated training steps tailored to the local job market and accompanied by guidance and other supports. Career pathways programs focus on promising approaches to basic skills instruction and occupational training that lead to credentials for in-demand jobs. The programs also emphasize assessment, academic and non-academic supports that adults need to complete their programs, and connections to employers.The key components of a career pathways program include:Series of clearly defined and connected levels of education that build upon one other and lead to successively higher credentials and employment opportunities in growing occupations.Multiple entry and exit points.Comprehensive and intensive interventions to address the learning and life challenges facing adults.Strong connections to the local labor market and employer needs.Career pathways programs involve a range of industries and target populations. The pathway steps and associated credentials vary widely, too. Initial steps may include basic skills and training from a 6th grade level to high school. The next steps provide training geared to jobs requiring some training and education, but less than a four-year degree, such as occupational certificates and associate degrees. Higher levels incorporate bachelor’s degrees and advanced credentials. The programs are designed so students can enter and exit at multiple points along the pathway. Programs also tailor interventions and services to meet the needs of the targeted populations.Current Research and EvaluationThe U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families (ACF) has a number of ongoing evaluations to determine the effect of career pathway programs on participant educational attainment, employment, and earnings, especially for low-income individuals, including recipients of Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF). Information on the ACF portfolio of career pathways projects, including the ones profiled here, can be found online.The Pathways for Advancing Careers and Education (PACE) EvaluationThe Pathways for Advancing Careers and Education (PACE) evaluation is the first-ever randomized trial of career pathways programs, featuring nine of the country’s innovative programs operated by community colleges, community-based organizations, and workforce agencies in 18 sites across 12 states (see map). The PACE impact study is testing whether these nine programs improve educational attainment, employment, and earnings among individuals who were assigned at random to a group that could access the program compared to a group that could not. Abt Associates, in partnership with MEF Associates, is conducting the study. Findings on the impact of the nine programs will be available starting in mid-2016.The nine programs in Pace are:Carreras en Salud, Instituto del Progreso Latino (Chicago, Ill.): Launched in 2005, Carreras en Salud (Careers in Health) is a career pathway program in nursing occupations for low-skilled and limited English proficient Latinos that leads participants from a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) degree to Pre-Licensed Practitioner Nurse (LPN) to LPN and ultimately to Registered Nurse (RN). Instituto designed Carreras en Salud to address both the academic and nonacademic needs of low-skilled Latinos. The training program provides a pre-college contextualized curriculum that moves students along an academic, career, and social ladder towards higher paying jobs.Workforce Training Academy Connect, Des Moines Area Community College (Des Moines, Iowa): DMACC’s Workforce Training Academy Connect (WTA Connect) program targets students with low skill levels who would not typically be eligible to enroll in vocational training certificate courses. The program aims to accelerate entry into vocational training by enabling students to pursue basic skills and occupational training simultaneously. The program packages vocational education in high-growth, high-demand sectors with basic skills remediation, psychosocial skills development, and advising, all at no cost to the participant. After completing the foundational components of the program, WTA Connect participants enroll in certificate courses in a variety of fields including health care and manufacturing.Patient Care Pathway Program, Madison College (Madison, Wis.): Madison College’s Patient Care Pathway Program (PCPP) provides accelerated entry into college-level programs in health for those with skill levels too low to meet entry requirements. PCPP offers two tracks depending on the student’s skill level: Patient Care Academy 1 (PCA 1) for students interested in a one-year health care diploma program or with skills too low to enter Patient Care Academy 2 (PCA 2); and, PCA 2, which allows students to meet all the prerequisite requirements in math, chemistry and communications for the two-year health degree programs in one semester. Both Patient Care Academies integrate developmental coursework with health program prerequisites and contextualize the developmental courses for the health field. All PCPP participants take classes as a cohort and had access to a dedicated advisor.Pathways to Healthcare Program, Pima Community College (Tucson, Ariz.): The Pathways to Healthcare Program trains low income Pima County residents, 18 years or older, for careers in high-demand healthcare fields. The program works closely with One Stop centers to recruit students, offering training in 16 different healthcare professions based on personal preference and test scores. The length of training can be as short as the five-week Nursing Assistant training, or up to two or three years for any of the associate degree programs (Clinical Research Coordinator, Health information Technology and Pharmacy Technology). Once enrolled in the Pathways program, students have access to a variety of supportive services including case management, remedial or developmental education if needed, a dedicated Pathways advisor, and a dedicated Pathways One-Stop Center case manager who works with them to find employment upon completion of training.Bridge to Employment in the Health Care Industry, San Diego Workforce Partnership (San Diego, Calif.): The Bridge to Employment in the Health Care Industry program assists participants in selecting a healthcare training program, provides advising and support services, and teaches job readiness skills. Participants receive individual training accounts (ITAs) to help pay for training; program navigators arrange for other financial supports, including funding for uniforms, certification fees, transportation, and child care.College Prep Academy, Valley Initiative for Development and Advancement (Lower Rio Grande Valley, Texas): Serving four counties in southern Texas, Valley Initiative for Development and Advancement (VIDA) funds training for people pursuing an occupational certificate or an Associate’s degree in allied health, manufacturing, information technology, business, education, and specialized trades. For those assessed with skills below college level, VIDA offers an accelerated bridge program, the College Prep Academy, to build reading and math skills. The program directly provides financial support to help cover needs like tuition gaps, childcare, transportation, licensing expenses, and financial emergencies. Weekly group or individual meetings with VIDA counselors aim to assist participants in addressing academic, personal, and professional issues.Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training Program, Washington State Community and Technical College System (Across Washington State): The Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training (I-BEST) program operates in all 34 of Washington’s community and technical colleges. I-BEST is a multi-occupation program that concurrently provides basic skills or ESL instruction and job training in a range of credit-based, occupational training programs along with counseling and other supports. I-BEST provides contextualized classroom instruction with two instructors in specified classes -- one instructor for basic skills and one for occupational content. Students also receive academic advising, supplementary academic and non-academic skills instruction, and tuition assistance if existing financial aid is not adequate. Three colleges are participating in the PACE evaluation:Bellingham Technical College (Bellingham, Wash.) : The I-BEST programs included in PACE are nursing assistant, automotive technology, welding, and electrical foundations. Everett Community College (Everett, Wash.): The I-BEST programs included in PACE are Nursing Assistant Certified (NAC), Sustainable Office Skills (SOS), and welding. Whatcom Community College (Bellingham, Wash.): One I-BEST program is included in PACE, clerical assistant.Health Careers for All, Workforce Development Council of Seattle-King County (Seattle, Wash.): The Health Careers for All program offers career exploration and planning, advising, and support services from navigators provided through a community-based organization. The program offers training at three levels—foundational, entry and advanced—providing multiple entry and exit points. Participants also receive job search assistance and continue to receive advising and support when they start working to assist with needs that arise and help determine future career options. Training is funded through ITAs, and WDC also directly purchases classes from colleges for cohorts of students.Year Up (PACE sites are Atlanta, Bay Area (San Francisco and San Jose), Boston, Chicago, National Capital Region (Greater Washington, D.C.), New York City, Providence, and Puget Sound (Seattle)): This intensive, one-year program provides high school graduates and GED recipients between the ages of 18-24 with a combination of hands-on skill development and corporate internship opportunities. The first six months of the program focuses on technical and professional skill-building, while the second six months focuses on applying these skills through corporate internships. An onsite social worker helps students access supports like housing assistance, affordable dental/medical services, and child care. The program provides financial support, including weekly performance-based stipends of up to $260 throughout the year. Students can also earn college credits for their participation (typically a maximum of 18-23 credits). After graduation, students continue to receive support and build their professional networks through Year Up’s Alumni Association.Additional PACE ResourcesOverview of PACEImproving the Economic Prospects of Low-Income Individuals through Career Pathways Programs:The Pathways for Advancing Careers and Education Evaluation: This policy brief from March 2014 presents a framework to describe the career pathways approach and the theory of change that guides the evaluation. It describes the nine programs in the PACE evaluation, and concludes with the study’s research questions and data sources.Pathways for Advancing Careers and Education Evaluation Design Report: This report from November 2014 documents the key research questions, structure, study components and data sources of the Pathways for Advancing Careers and Education (PACE) evaluation.Health Profession Opportunity Grants (HPOG) programAuthorized by the Affordable Care Act, the Health Profession Opportunity Grants (HPOG) program provides education, training, and supportive services to TANF recipients and other low-income individuals to help them get jobs in the healthcare field.In 2010, ACF awarded 32 five-year grants to government agencies, community-based organizations, post-secondary educational institutions, and tribal-affiliated organizations to conduct these activities in 23 states. HPOG aims to meet the dual policy goals of demonstrating new ways to increase the supply of healthcare workers while creating well-paid career opportunities for low-income, low-skilled adults. As of June 2015, nontribal grantees enrolled more than 37,000 people in 49 programs.ACF is funding multiple studies to examine the HPOG Program, including ones focused on program performance reporting, implementation and effects:HPOG Implementation, Systems, and Outcome (ISO) Evaluation Design and Performance Reporting. The HPOG ISO project has two parts. The first part developed an evaluation plan for HPOG and the second part built and maintains a management information system to track grantee progress for program management and accountability and to record participant data for use in the evaluation. This project produces the HPOG Annual Reports (see below).HPOG National Implementation Evaluation (NIE). The NIE includes an in-depth examination of HPOG grantee program design and implementation, a systems analysis of networks created by HPOG programs (e.g., among grantees, employers, and other partners), and a quantitative descriptive analysis of HPOG program outputs and outcomes. All 27 nontribal grantees are included in this analysis.HPOG Impact Study. The HPOG Impact study uses an experimental design to examine the effect of the HPOG program on participants’ educational and economic outcomes. This evaluation aims to identify which components of HPOG programs (e.g., types of support services, program structure, and training areas) contribute to participant success. The 20 grantees that are not part of the tribal evaluation, the University Partnership Research Grants, or the PACE evaluation are included in the HPOG Impact Study.Evaluation of Tribal HPOG. A separate evaluation has been designed for the five tribal grantees, given the unique contexts in which these programs operate. This evaluation focuses on implementation and outcomes and will offer lessons about diverse programmatic approaches to health professions training programs serving tribal populations.The HPOG Year 4 Annual Report shows that through the end of the fourth year, in September 2014, the majority of HPOG participants were single moms whose incomes fell below $20,000 at the start of the program. Almost half of participants had incomes below $10,000. More than 80 percent participated in a healthcare training course, with one-third enrolling in courses for nursing assistant, aide, orderly or patient care attendant. Other common courses include training for licensed and vocational nurse, registered nurse, medical records and health information technician, and medical assistant.The Year 4 Annual Report also reveals that many participants experienced positive outcomes (future reports from the HPOG Impact study will analyze the extent to which HPOG caused those outcomes). Sixty-five percent of those who began a course of training completed with many others still engaged in coursework. Nearly three-quarters (73 percent) of those who completed a course and exited the HPOG program were employed after leaving the program. More than 60 percent were employed in the healthcare field upon program exit. Nearly all participants (96 percent) also received some form of academic or personal support including tuition assistance, child care or transportation assistance, or employment placement support.HPOG Grantee LocationsOverview of HPOGHealth Profession Opportunity Grants: Year Four Annual Report (2013-2014): This report from June 2015 summarizes program operations and participant activity and outcomes from HPOG’s inception through the fourth year of grantee activities.Interim Outcome Study Report: National Implementation Evaluation of the Health Profession Opportunity Grants (HPOG) to Serve TANF Recipients and Other Low-Income Individuals and Interim Outcomes Summary Brief : This report from September 2014 (and summary brief from August 2015) provides interim results on the key outcomes of HPOG healthcare training completion and employment, as well as on participants’ pre-training activities and receipt of support services and employment assistance. This study includes 27 HPOG grantees and the report provides information about the first 12 months of HPOG participation for 8,634 individuals.Health Profession Opportunity Grants (HPOG) Impact Study Design Report: This report describes the research design of the HPOG Impact Study. The study is designed to answer questions about overall HPOG program effectiveness and explore how variations in program services affect program impacts, including identifying which elements of career pathways programs contribute most to advancing the labor market success of participants.Training TANF Recipients for Careers in Healthcare: The Experience of the Health Profession Opportunity Grants (HPOG) Program:As of April 2015, approximately 15% of HPOG participants were receiving TANF benefits at intake. This report explores two questions: How did HPOG participants receiving TANF benefits at intake differ from other low-income HPOG participants in characteristics, participation, and program outcomes? And why did TANF recipient participation levels vary across HPOG programs, and what are the implications for promising strategies to increase TANF recipient participation?