Graduate education is among the fastest growing segments of the U.S. higher educational system. This paper estimates the returns to Master's degrees and examines heterogeneity in the returns by field area, student demographics and initial labor market conditions. We use rich administrative data from Ohio and an individual fixed effects model that…

While women have made considerable strides in terms of representation in the workplace, discrepancies by gender still exist with regard to women's professional satisfaction and wages. The field of legal private practice is one such example where female lawyers have increased in number but still do not earn commensurately with men and often do not…

Based on combined data from Baccalaureate & Beyond (B&B:16/17), Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), and Barron's Profiles of American Colleges, this study utilizes zero-inflated beta regression methods and analyzes individual and institutional factors that predict debt burden by gender. Results show that women are less…

In recent decades, education leaders and researchers have increasingly sought to disaggregate key higher education outcome data--graduation rates, attainment, employment, and income--by race and ethnicity in order to uncover and narrow equity gaps. The same is true, recently, for affordability, especially as it relates to the differential impact…

The CUPA-HR Higher Education Employee Retention Survey was piloted in May 2022. The survey was created to better understand the segment of the higher ed workforce that is at risk for leaving their current jobs, why these employees are considering leaving, and what higher ed institutions can implement to increase retention and improve the higher ed…

Every two to three years since 2008, the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) has conducted a survey of sustainability professionals employed in higher education. These surveys aggregate information from sustainability staff and specialized positions such as recycling & waste staff and academic staff…

The purpose of this article is to address how current academic advisors became advisors. In a survey of NACADA members, participants were asked about their demographics, educational backgrounds, and initial and continued interest in academic advising. Knowing this can help advising administrators gain a better understanding of advisor recruitment…

Throughout this report, we will investigate trends for administrators overall and provide further analyses on three key administrator positions: presidents, provosts, and chief human resources officers (CHROs). This report starts with an investigation of trends in representation and pay equity by gender (women, men) among administrators over the…

This study investigates the role of college major choices in labor market outcomes, with a focus on racial minorities and immigrants. Drawing upon research on school-to-work linkages, we examine two measures, linkage, the connection between college majors and specific occupations in the labor market, and match, the alignment of workers'…

This paper examines indicators related to earnings and student loan debt for evaluating return on investment (ROI) for postsecondary education. It first considers four different options for measuring earnings, arguing that measures of postsecondary value should include investment-to-earnings and earnings growth metrics. The paper then discusses…

A postsecondary credential is associated with higher levels of earnings, not just in the short term, but over a lifetime. Georgetown University's Center on Education and the Workforce found that college graduates earn more than one million dollars more in lifetime wages, compared to high school graduates. However, many factors influence…

This introductory report outlines the challenges of postsecondary completion, the variable value provided by a postsecondary pathway, and the corresponding cost and debt. Together, these challenges create an inequitable, ineffective, and unsustainable U.S. postsecondary system in which individuals are increasingly reluctant to participate or…

The increased use of quantitative education data is often regarded by scholars as evidence of the emergence of 'governing by numbers'. These scholars ascribe major stakeholders such as the OECD and nation states agency as they produce, distribute and consume data, and respond to these with policy and management initiatives. This paper argues that…

This study examines how the "college earnings premium" (CEP)--the difference in average earnings between workers with and without college education--varies across the United States. Specifically, it compares across cities, states, and rural areas the mean earnings of workers with bachelor's degrees to those with associate degrees, with…

Many college graduates who earn less than their peers are employed in occupations that bring significant benefits to society, as well as high levels of personal satisfaction. It is not easy--nor is there agreement on how--to precisely define the social value of these occupations or to measure the magnitude and distribution of their benefits--but…