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The Mississippi Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training (MIBEST) program provides pathways into college for adult education students across the state. This brief serves as a supplement to the Urban Institute's original evaluation of MIBEST (Briggs et al. 2022) with an analysis of two factors not explored in the original MIBEST report: the outcomes of student parents and the outcomes of students in different geographic regions. [This brief was prepared for the Mississippi Community College Board.]

Many students in postsecondary education programs face challenges navigating pathways to good jobs. In particular, students who face barriers to success need accessible pathways to economic mobility, but low income and low tolerance for debt present challenges. These students stand to benefit from strategies at all levels of education (and after they enter the workforce) that support their career goals. This report describes results from a survey of career and technical education (CTE) program administrators, with insights about the strategies colleges can use to support students in getting good jobs--jobs that offer pathways to economic stability and long-term upward mobility. A better understanding of these strategies can help educators design CTE programs that ensure students succeed after graduation.

The Mississippi Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training (MIBEST) initiative is a statewide workforce and economic development effort led by the Mississippi Community College Board and implemented in partnership with the state's 15 community colleges. MIBEST concurrently delivers career and technical education and adult education, targeting residents without a high school credential, individuals with low incomes, and other nontraditional students. This evaluation assesses the implementation of MIBEST and program outcomes, including academic and earnings impacts and the program's return on investment between January 2016 and December 2019. Overall, we find positive impacts of participation in the MIBEST program as measured by completion of credits, credential attainment, and earnings impacts. Findings vary by field of study, race and ethnicity, and gender. Earnings impacts are initially negative while students are enrolled in the MIBEST program but improve one year after enrollment. During the second year after enrollment, student quarterly earnings were between $500 and $750 higher than they would have been without MIBEST. We find a positive return on investment, meaning the estimated growth in students' earnings exceeds the philanthropic and government investments in MIBEST.