As more adults pursue nondegree pathways for skill development and career advancement, and with the enactment of Workforce Pell in July 2025, which authorizes Pell Grants for training programs as short as 150 hours or eight weeks, the need for clear definitions and reliable data on noncredit education has become increasingly important. Establishing a standardized system will be key to turning these data into actionable information that helps New Jersey maximize the benefits of Workforce Pell.
A new research report from the New Jersey Statewide Data System (NJSDS), Noncredit Education in New Jersey: Definitions, Data Systems, and Workforce Pell Readiness:
- Explores how national agencies, institutions, and research organizations define noncredit education;
- Examines New Jersey’s noncredit education data infrastructure, including reporting practices, ongoing initiatives, and opportunities for enhancement or extension;
- Assesses New Jersey’s readiness for Workforce Pell;Highlights promising practices from other states; and
- Offers recommendations to strengthen New Jersey’s approach.
The report was written by Ann Obadan, Ph.D., Iman Basit, and Kristine Joy Bacani.
About NJSDS
The New Jersey Statewide Data System (NJSDS), formerly the New Jersey Education to Earnings Data System (NJEEDS), is the State of New Jersey’s centralized longitudinal data system for public administrative data. Through coordination with partnering state agencies, NJSDS is a large statewide interagency and intergovernmental platform where data from participating agencies are securely stored to expand access and analysis to improve governance efforts, policymaking, and performance of public initiatives.
NJSDS aims to help the public and stakeholders make data-informed decisions to improve public policies and practices for New Jersey residents. This includes facilitating longitudinal and linked-data research, providing statistical data, and publishing reports on the NJSDS website. NJSDS is a collaboration between four New Jersey state agencies, each sharing individual-level data. The system is owned by the State of New Jersey and operated by the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.