The data collection and initial research were conducted through the auspices of the National Center on the Educational Quality of the Workforce at the University of Pennsylvania, on behalf of the National Assessment of Vocational Education. Robert Zemsky, Co-Director of the Center, Jo Anne Saporito, and Margaret R. Hoover managed this phase of the research. Nevzer Stacey, the U.S. Department of Education's project officer for the Center, and David Boesel, then Director of the National Assessment of Vocational Education, provided oversight on behalf of the sponsoring agency.
The National Center for Research in Vocational Education's investment in the preparation of this volume was endorsed by the NCRVE's late director, Charles Benson, and by E. Gareth Hoachlander, President of MPR Associates, Inc. Karen Levesque of MPR Associates and an anonymous reviewer of a draft of the manuscript provided valuable insights and suggestions for improvement that are reflected here.
Liping Chen, Database Manager in The Jacob France Center, Merrick School of Business, University of Baltimore, prepared the data sets that were used to create the tables and figures that are contained in this volume. The graphics were designed and prepared by Lyn Zhao and Rudee Laohakittikul. Michele Kraus assisted in the preparation of the final document. Kristy Wilson Axness, Communications and Research Manager in the Center, provided exemplary oversight of the complex interagency agreements and financial arrangements that arose in the data collection and research phases.