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Noncredit short-term programs at community colleges yield modest earnings gains for students and increase their likelihood of employment, but gains vary based on field and gender differences, according to a new study published in Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis , a journal of the American Educational Research Association.

The study, conducted by researchers at the Strada Institute for the Future of Work and E&E Analytics, tracked the earnings and employments of more than 128,000 students who enrolled in noncredit job training courses at Texas community colleges between fall 2011 and fall 2014, using administrative data from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and the Texas Workforce Commission.

The study found that within two years of

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