Postsecondary partners often play key leadership roles in Tech-Prep, but changes in postsecondary programs are less clear. Articulation agreements are often reported to involve revision of postsecondary courses, but evidence from the in-depth study sites suggests that articulation affects secondary courses much more often than postsecondary curriculum offerings, at least in the early program years. Promotion of cooperation between secondary and postsecondary partners continues to be identified as a primary staff development issue. Reporting on Tech-Prep students is so far quite limited. Several factors explain this.
Some consortia are still in the planning stage.
Some consortia have defined participation but lack the resources or leverage to collect the data from consortium members. Urban areas may be underserved by Tech-Prep. Although urban consortia have the potential to serve many students, so far they have low rates of reported participation in Tech-Prep. Tech-Prep has, in accord with the Title IIIE legislation, focused most heavily on school components. More than 150 of the 702 consortia that responded to the survey said they require some kind of workplace experience for Tech-Prep students, and about another 200 consortia make them available.