Despite decades and hundreds of billions of dollars of federal and state investment in policies to promote postsecondary educational attainment as a key lever for increasing the economic mobility of lower income populations, research continues to show large and meaningful differences in the mid-career earnings of students from families in the…

The foundation degree was introduced by David Blunkett in England in the year 2000 to widen participation and raise the skill level of the labour market. Foundation degrees have had some successes in widening participation as they are usually vocation based and appeal to the non-typical student. However, the outlook for the foundation degree is…

The U.S. faces increasing demand for STEM knowledge, contributing to enhanced products, improved health care, more efficient energy sources, a preserved environment, safeguarded national security, and economic growth. In addition, high-paying occupations increasingly require STEM knowledge, and in non-STEM occupations, workers increasingly need…

We estimate labor market returns to terminal associate's degrees and certificates, with a particular focus on how returns for different credential types evolve over a longer period of time (eleven years post entry) than most of the prior literature. We also explore how returns vary depending on labor market conditions and on which labor market…

The socioeconomic gap in participation at university is an enduring policy issue in South Korea, as in many other countries. However, less attention has been paid to the socioeconomic gap in the outcomes from tertiary education. This paper addresses this gap in the literature, using the Korean Education and Employment Panel (KEEP) data to…

The massification of higher education has dramatically changed the association between credentials and jobs in advanced countries, while its impacts in transitional economies have received less academic attention. To address this research lacuna, the paper utilizes rich information from China's national surveys of college graduates from 2003 to…

This study employs descriptive qualitative analysis to explore the experiences of eight Mexican American veterans utilizing Veterans Affairs education benefits to pursue baccalaureate degrees. Participants were recruited in Southern California at two California Community Colleges and three California State Universities. The findings suggest that…

This study investigates community college skills builders--students who enroll for a short time, take courses concentrated in career and technical education (CTE), are highly successful in their coursework, but typically leave college without a postsecondary credential. Drawing on administrative data from Colorado, Ohio, Michigan, and California,…

Using 15 years of student enrollment histories from administrative data spanning the 2004-05 through 2018-19 school years at all public colleges, universities, and technical/trade schools in the state of Ohio, we examine rates of re-enrollment in postsecondary education for individuals pursuing additional credentials following the receipt of a…

The current research investigates the employment outcomes of Career Technical Education (CTE) from California community colleges. We used three years of data from the California Community Colleges Career Technical Education Outcomes Survey -- a survey of former community college students. We documented overall positive employment outcomes.…

Numerous studies have investigated the consequences of vertical transfer on students' higher education outcomes in comparison to "native 4-year students"--those who went straight from high school into a bachelor's program. However, the long-term labor market outcomes for vertical transfer students are understudied. Using…

Community and technical colleges in Washington state were early adopters in the growing trend to offer bachelor's degrees, actively expanding these degrees over the last 15 years. This study describes the evolving state policy landscape on community college baccalaureate (CCB) degrees in Washington in certain programs previously classified as…

Level of postsecondary schooling and field of study remain significant markers of social stratification. However, the extent to which these various types of postsecondary schooling influence the labor market outcomes of recent male and female graduates is unknown. Drawing on data from Statistics Canada's 2013 National Graduates Survey, we examine…

Deregulation of for-profit colleges led to a precipitous rise in enrollments from 1990 to 2010. Since 2010, regulation, investigations, and sanctions have led to enrollment declines in for-profit postsecondary institutions. Initially barred from receiving Title IV federal funds, in the form of Pell Grants and Stafford Loans, for-profit colleges…

This paper looks at degree completion and wages of immigrants to understand the extent to which a student's chosen educational pathway limits his or her social mobility. Statistical modeling established the predictive strengths of key variables on educational pathway and statistical analysis is used to understand the relationship between…