Elizabeth Smith, a stay-at-home mom of six in southern Vermont, recently re-enrolled in school when the Community College of Vermont made an offer she couldn't refuse: $3,500 a semester deposited in her bank account, no strings attached.

The Vermont school and other two-year institutions from Maine to Florida are now shelling out money, sometimes in tandem with employers, to enroll students in training programs that prepare them for certain in-demand jobs.

For many students, transferring between community colleges and four-year institutions is sometimes the only path to a bachelor’s degree. Unfortunately, that path becomes less effective when credits completed at a community college are not applied to a degree program at a four-year institution. 

Three higher education associations are working on a project to break down those barriers.

Photo: Valerie Plesch/The Wall Street Journal

Last spring, Dina Sosa Cruz sat with her parents and sister in the family’s living room and reviewed her options: a full academic ride to the University of the District of Columbia, or an apprenticeship in the insurance industry. 

The college route meant at the end of four years the 22-year-old would have a degree, some debt, and no work experience. The apprenticeship would leave her with a two-year degree, money in the bank, and training in a profession that appealed to her.