Short programs and the Workforce Pell outcome test: state and college reports
For the 2026-27 through 2028-29 award years, a Workforce Pell program needs a completion rate and a second-quarter job placement rate of at least 70 percent (34 CFR 690.94(a)(2)(i)). State Eligible Training Provider Lists already publish both rates for thousands of short programs. Each report tests every listing in the Workforce Pell length window against those marks.
36 state reports and 184 college reports, each a PDF with a CSV of every listing. Only reports with at least one rated listing are offered.
State report
$39
- The state against the nation on both marks
- Every listing that meets both, with cost, projected openings and Workforce Pell list status
- Near misses, with the additional completers or employed students needed to reach 70 percent
- Every provider, and each field against the national median
- Programs named in the State Implementation Record that appear on the ETPL
- Appendix of every listing in the window
College report
$19
- Each of the college's listings in the window against both marks, with counts
- The shortfall in completers or employed students where a listing falls short
- State and national medians for each field
- The occupation's projected openings and median wage, and the state Workforce Pell list
- Other providers in the state listing the same fields
- The college's other listings of 52 weeks or fewer, the reason each falls outside the window, nearest first
Four readers, one report
The free sample shows what each reader takes from it. Read the sample; every other report has the same sections.
College official
Workforce dean, continuing education, ETPL coordinator, institutional research
- What you learn
- Every short listing your college and its neighbors hold on the state list, tested against the two 70 percent marks a Workforce Pell program must meet through 2028-29. 9 of the 12 listings in the window are at colleges. Where a listing falls short the report counts the students needed: Construction Foundations, Northwood Technical College, completes 84 percent but places 25 percent, and needs 9 more employed exiters to reach 70 percent. 4 college listings have no published rates at all.
- In the file
- Listings that meet both marks; near misses and the students each needs; the provider table.
- What to do next
- A college report ($19) gives one college’s listings in the window and those just outside it, with the additional completers or employed exiters each one needs.
State official
Workforce board, WIOA administrator, higher education agency, legislative staff
- What you learn
- How your state’s training-provider list holds up as evidence for the Governor’s certification. In Wisconsin, 4 of 6 rated listings (67 percent) clear both marks, against 40 percent nationally. 83 percent reach the completion mark and 67 percent the employment mark, so employment is the binding test. 6 of 12 listings in the window publish too few exiters for one or both rates and have no public record against the test.
- In the file
- “Wisconsin against the nation”; the fields table against national medians; methods and limits.
- What to do next
- State reports cover 36 jurisdictions at $39 each.
Taxpayer
Anyone asking what the public pays for and what it gets
- What you learn
- What the public would pay for, and what it would get. Truck Driving at Northcentral Technical College costs $1,677 in tuition and supplies for 8 weeks; 91 percent of 250 exiters completed and 85 percent were employed in the second quarter after exit. A private provider’s listing for the same occupation costs $5,891 and reaches 60 percent and 54 percent. Private training providers are generally not eligible for federal student aid, so only the first could become eligible for Workforce Pell.
- In the file
- Listings that meet both marks, with cost; the appendix of every listing in the window.
- What to do next
- Read it free. The State Implementation Record at opportunitydata.org shows what each state has approved.
Student
Anyone choosing a short program
- What you learn
- Which short programs near you finish and lead to work. Truck Driving at Northcentral Technical College runs 8 weeks and costs about $1,677. 91 percent of students finished, 85 percent were working two quarters later, and their median earnings in that quarter were $12,265.
- In the file
- The appendix lists every short program on the state list with its weeks, hours, cost and both rates.
- What to do next
- A program that meets both marks still needs state and federal approval before Workforce Pell can pay for it. Ask the college which programs it has submitted.
Find a report
| Report | State | Listings in the window | Rated on both marks | Price |
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Limits. ETPL rates cover all students, not only Pell recipients, and the ETPL completion rate has no 150 percent time limit. The rates describe the ETPL reporting period, before Workforce Pell began; the most recent listing in the national file was added 22 October 2024. The Governor certifies the rates for Workforce Pell from administrative data, and the institution's own submission governs. A report indicates where a program stands; it is not an eligibility determination. Listings with fewer than 10 students in a denominator are shown as not rated.
Licensed for internal use by the purchasing organization. Download links work for 12 months after purchase and serve the latest edition, so a refreshed report is yours at no charge. Questions: info@opportunitydata.org.