| This study concerns the effectiveness of community college economic development programs, blending statistical analysis and structural equation modeling with interpretation using the methods of similarities and differences to glean insight and qualitative information from individual colleges. Statistical data comes from public sources: community college enrollments, budgets, demographics and TOP codes, as well as regional/local labor market information, UI wage levels, economic/production factors and demographics. College data can be partitioned by college, district, and region, which correlates to labor/economic data through relative weights. Three paths in the structural equation model provide the analysis.; The study is oriented within organic systems theory, drawing from research in equity and fiscal policy, change strategies in organizational development, leadership as a collective practice, and organizational adaptation. The study bridges to research in holistic and heuristic local economic development, Smithian economic development models in which incremental and infinite economic growth include technology and productivity, causality models in which education predicts economic growth and in which economic growth predicts education, and problems in reciprocal causality in structural equation modeling.; Effectiveness is measurable relative to factors in each local/regional economy, with market share weights reflecting the relative strength of the instructional efforts and economic development programs, showing progress in emerging technologies driving developments in learning outcomes and program strategies. The study supports further statistical modeling for aggregate measures and offers guidance for districts in effectiveness evaluation. |
