Date of Graduation

5-2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education in Adult and Lifelong Learning (EdD)

Degree Level

Graduate

Department

Counseling, Leadership, and Research Methods

Advisor/Mentor

Grover, Kenda S.

Committee Member

Roessger, Kevin M.

Second Committee Member

Zawisza, Kathryn

Keywords

grant program administration; grant-funded; non-credit education; online education; skills gap; workforce training

Abstract

Grant monies are distributed for the purpose of funding workforce training programs aimed at affecting the skills gap in the United States. While research has shown that these grants are being awarded, there is not a well-established standard for designing and implementing the programs they fund. This study focuses on recording and classifying the lived experiences of grant staff working on a state funded workforce training program in the United States. This study will employ a qualitative case study approach designed to capture and codify, in the words of those most familiar with it, the aspects of the grant program that worked well and those that did not. The primary objective of this research is to provide an account of the experiences of grant staff working on the front lines of a bureaucratic organization over which they have little or no control. The findings of this research will add a unique and valuable perspective to the body of literature surrounding not-for-credit post-secondary education, specifically that which is designed to affect the workforce. In doing so, this research will inform stakeholders at every level in a manner that empowers them to make administrative decisions that will improve the experience of staff and students alike.

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