Using a rich and unique nationally representative sample of a cohort of young adults selected in the late 1970s and surveyed routinely through the 2010s, this study characterizes patterns in college enrollment with respect to the timing of initial enrollment, enrollment interruptions, and graduation (or non-completion) and investigates the…

Pay inequity controversies cut across all disciplines and fields in higher education (Meara et al., 2020; Toutkoushian & Conley, 2005). Despite efforts to reduce the wage gap, gender wage inequities persist and continue to adversely affect women across various sectors (Katzeff, 2019; Schieder & Gould, 2016). Since passing the Equal Pay Act…

Salary compression is defined as an issue of inequity when individuals performing the same job responsibilities (and in the same position) have varying compensation levels (Bereman & Lengnick-Hall, 1994; Homer et al., 2020). It occurs when a new employee is hired at a higher compensation than someone with longer tenure within the organization,…

Presented in the context of this study are several conceptual and theoretical frameworks, as well as examples of empirical literature, which inform, focus, and offer perspective of the study. Gender theory and theorizing universities as gendered organizations provides the theoretical framework of the study. Along with the theoretical framework,…

When examining career pathways, post-secondary institutions such as community colleges align education and training to career success, aiming to connect students to gainful employment. Career pathways support the skill needs of industries and incorporate competencies in an occupation or field represented by certificates and degrees awarded by the…

In this dissertation, I explore how international migration and environmental pollution shape human capital accumulation and labor market outcomes.The first chapter examines how college enrollment and major choice decisions of young adults in migrant-sending countries are affected by the removal of international migration barriers. My…

This study explores data of newly graduated students hired into the workforce. It uses data from the National Survey of College Graduates (NSCG), a longitudinal study started in 1993 by the National Science Foundation (NSF). The NSCG uses a questionnaire to collect data on demographic, education, employment, and occupation attributes from all…

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…

The purpose of this proposed research study was to examine and analyze the perceptions of Human Resource directors in the Healthcare field regarding hiring with college degrees or work experience, specifically, those in clinical vs. non-clinical positions. This study sought to uncover if employer demand for skills and education influence hiring…

Adjunct faculty are important to academe and have been part of community colleges since the early 20th century, providing community colleges flexibility with student enrollment by filling instruction needs while keeping salaries manageable. Rural community college adjunct faculty bring industry expertise and many other positives to their work.…

As the cost of living continues to increase over time, many Americans are placing greater scrutiny on the financial choices they make. An area for such evaluation is if the outcomes of going to college continue to be worth the cost. One underrepresented group, first-generation college students (FGCS), is less likely than non-FGCS to attend and…

The three chapters of this dissertation use tools of applied microeconomics to study topics related to education and regulation. The first chapter, "Where Doctors Work," studies how openings and closures of medical schools in the United States have affected the geographical distribution of doctors. The principal contribution is the…

Historically, there has been conflict in regards to the perceived value of postsecondary culinary education between those who feel culinary school better prepares students to enter the foodservice industry versus those who claim that claim culinary careers can be entered without formal training and everything that needs be known can be learned on…

My dissertation consists of three chapters in the field of labor and education economics. The first chapter studies the impact of early morning classes on students' educational trajectories. The second chapter explores how college course shutouts affects students' educational outcomes. The third chapter investigates the impact of kindness on wage…

Broadband internet increases the hourly wages of college-educated workers. However, little is known about how broadband internet affects the wages of workers with different college majors. I combine several Norwegian data sets to answer this question. A public program with limited funding rolled out broadband infrastructure and provided plausibly…