Every morning before dawn, 20-year-old Carly Pison leaves her home in Lincoln Place for a four-hour round trip on public transit to the Community College of Allegheny County’s West Hills Center in North Fayette.

Her days are long. But she’s determined to earn a welding certificate in CCAC’s three-month training program, which will qualify her to apply for a job that pays $45,000 to $60,000 a year, immediately.

“My end goal is to go back to CCAC for two years and earn an associates degree in welding,” Ms. Pison said. “But I’ll get certified so I can have a job and go back to school while I have a job.”

Students like Ms. Pison are part of a growing shift in how Americans are redefining higher education.

Federal legislation passed this summer expanded the use of the 529 College Savings Pl

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