Research Associate
Division of Continuing Studies | Liberal Arts & Applied Studies
Dr. Bañuelos studies community colleges, for-profit colleges and regional public universities that serve working adults and their local economies. Her training is in qualitative and historical sociology, and she has worked as an academic research librarian. She has taught students aged 18 to 80, and has a special interest in helping students of all ages develop information literacy skills and comfort with university resources.
Talks:
Thinking Critically About Labor Market Information and Community College Program Design
In this talk, Dr. Bañuelos examines growing pressure for community colleges to design programs using labor market information (LMI). She presents research on the pros and cons of LMI, and the decisions analysts make when assessing labor market fit. She also discusses the limits of LMI in addressing racial disparities.
Why Do For-Profit Colleges Exist?
Have you ever wondered how for-profit educational corporations, like the University of Phoenix, came to be? Are you interested in discussing what their existence means for higher education more broadly? In this talk, Dr. Bañuelos tells the origin story of modern for-profit colleges and examines the policies that continue to support this model.