Missouri Workforce Diploma Program: Requirements and Opportunities

Many adults possess valuable knowledge and skills despite not having completed high school. The Missouri Workforce Diploma Program addresses this by providing a pathway for Missouri residents over the age of 21 to earn an accredited high school diploma while simultaneously developing employability and career technical skills. This program aims to equip individuals with the necessary credentials and skills to enhance their career prospects and contribute to the state's economy.

The Need for Workforce Diploma Programs

Approximately 9.3% of Missourians over the age of twenty-five lack a high school diploma or its equivalent. This demographic often faces limited job opportunities, lower income, and a higher poverty rate compared to those with a high school diploma or some postsecondary education. Recognizing this disparity, the Missouri Workforce Diploma Program offers a second chance for adults to achieve their educational goals and improve their economic standing.

Program Overview

The "Workforce Diploma Program" is established within the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). It is designed to assist students in obtaining a high school diploma and developing employability and career technical skills. The program can be delivered in campus-based, blended, or online formats, offering flexibility to accommodate various learning preferences and schedules.

The program aims to address the needs of both individuals and the state's workforce. By linking high school diplomas to industry-recognized credentials, the program facilitates adult education that is targeted toward filling the workforce needs of the state. This approach ensures that graduates are equipped with the skills and knowledge that are in demand by employers, increasing their chances of securing meaningful employment.

Eligibility Requirements

To be eligible for the Missouri Workforce Diploma Program, students must meet the following criteria:

Be twenty-one years of age or older.
Be a resident of Missouri.
Not have already earned a high school diploma.

Approved Program Providers

The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) plays a crucial role in overseeing the Workforce Diploma Program. Each year, DESE issues a request for qualifications (RFQ) to identify and approve program providers. These providers must meet specific qualifications to ensure program quality and effectiveness.

Qualifications for Approved Program Providers

To become an approved program provider, entities must meet the following qualifications:

Accreditation: Be an accredited high school diploma-granting entity, holding active accreditation from one of the seven United States regional accreditors.
Experience: Have a minimum of two years of experience providing adult dropout recovery services. This includes sourcing, recruitment, engagement, learning plan development, active teaching, and proactive coaching and mentoring.
Assessment and Evaluation: Provide academic skill intake assessments and transcript evaluations to each student. These assessments help determine a student's current skill level and identify any areas that need improvement.
Learning Plan Development: Develop a learning plan for each student that integrates graduation requirements and career goals. This ensures that students are on track to earn their high school diploma while also developing the skills and knowledge needed for their desired career path.
Course Catalog: Provide a course catalog that includes all courses necessary to meet graduation requirements.
Remediation: Offer remediation opportunities in literacy and numeracy, as applicable. This helps students who may be behind in these areas to catch up and succeed in their coursework.
Employability Skills Certification: Offer employability skills certification, as applicable. This helps students develop the soft skills that are essential for success in the workplace, such as communication, teamwork, and problem-solving.
Career Pathways Coursework: Offer career pathways coursework, as applicable. This allows students to explore different career options and gain hands-on experience in their chosen field.
Industry-Recognized Credentials: Provide preparation for industry-recognized credentials or stackable credentials, a technical skills assessment, or a combination thereof. This gives students a competitive edge in the job market and increases their earning potential.
Career Placement Services: Offer career placement services, as applicable. This helps students find employment after graduation.

Once the department confirms that an interested program provider meets all the qualifications, the provider becomes an approved program provider. The department announces the approved program providers before October sixteenth annually, with authorization for the approved program providers to begin enrolling students before November fifteenth annually. Approved program providers maintain approval without reapplying annually if they have not been removed from the list.

Program Components

The Workforce Diploma Program encompasses several key components designed to support student success:

Academic Skill Intake Assessment: A criterion-referenced assessment of numeracy and literacy skills to gauge a student's academic standing.
Transcript Evaluation: A review of credits earned in previous high schools to determine remaining graduation requirements.
Learning Plan: A documented plan outlining the courses or credits needed for each student to complete the program and meet graduation requirements.
Adult Dropout Recovery Services: Support services to recruit, engage, and retain eligible students, including learning plan development, active teaching, and proactive coaching and mentoring.
Coaching and Mentoring: Proactive communication and direct relationships between program providers and students to facilitate progress and prepare students for future endeavors.
Employability Skills Certification: A certificate earned by demonstrating professional nontechnical skills.
Career Pathways Coursework: Courses aligned with the skill needs of industries in the state or region.
Career Placement Services: Services designed to assist students in obtaining employment, such as career interest self-assessments, resume development, and mock interviews.
Industry-Recognized Credentials: Education-related or work-related credentials that verify an individual's qualifications or competence.
Technical Skills Assessment: A criterion-referenced assessment of an individual's skills required for an entry-level career or additional training in a technical field.

Funding and Payment Structure

The Workforce Diploma Program operates on a performance-based funding model. Approved adult education providers are only paid when students achieve academic and employability milestones. The department pays approved program providers for the following milestones:

Completion of each half unit of high school credit.
Attainment of an employability skills certification.
Attainment of an industry-recognized credential, technical skills assessment, or stackable credential.
Attainment of an accredited high school diploma.

However, no approved program provider shall receive funding for a student if they receive federal or state funding or private tuition for that student. No approved program provider shall charge student fees of any kind unless the student chooses to obtain additional education that is not included in the state-funded program. Payments are subject to appropriation.

Approved program providers submit monthly invoices to the department for milestones met in the previous month. The department pays providers in the order in which invoices are submitted until all available funds are exhausted. The department provides a written update to approved program providers each month, including the aggregate total dollars paid and the estimated number of enrollments still available.

Reporting and Accountability

To ensure program effectiveness and accountability, approved program providers must report specific metrics to the department annually, including:

The total number of students who have been funded through the program.
The total number of credits earned.
The total number of employability skills certifications issued.
The total number of industry-recognized credentials, stackable credentials, and technical skills assessments earned.
The total number of graduates.
The average cost per graduate.
The graduation rate.

Approved program providers must also conduct and submit to the department the aggregate results of a survey of each cohort who graduated from the program. The survey includes data collection elements such as employment status, hourly wages, access to employer-sponsored health care, and postsecondary enrollment status.

The department reviews data from each approved program provider to ensure that each is achieving minimum program performance standards, including a minimum fifty percent average graduation rate per cohort and an average cost per graduate per cohort of seven thousand dollars or less. Any approved program provider that fails to meet the minimum program performance standards is placed on probationary status. Failure to meet the standards for two consecutive years results in removal from the approved program provider list.

Workforce Diploma Program Fund

The "Workforce Diploma Program Fund" is created in the state treasury. It consists of grants, gifts, donations, bequests, or moneys appropriated under this section. The fund is a dedicated fund, and moneys in the fund are used solely as provided in this section. Any moneys remaining in the fund at the end of the biennium do not revert to the credit of the general revenue fund. The state treasurer invests moneys in the fund, and any interest and moneys earned on such investments are credited to the fund.

Additional Resources and Support

Missouri offers a variety of resources to support adults seeking to improve their education and career prospects. The Missouri Adult Education and Literacy (AEL) Program provides assistance to adults seeking basic skills. Missouri Career Education combines academics and occupational skill training. MissouriConnections.org helps Missouri citizens determine their career interests, explore occupations, establish education plans, develop job search strategies, and create resumes. Career training and assistance programs are available to help workers, unemployed workers, and employers further their skills and practice safe working practices.

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