There is substantial variation in the returns to a college degree. One determinant is whether a worker's employment is "matched" with their education. With a novel education-industry crosswalk and panel data on 295,000 graduates, we provide the first estimates of an education-industry match premium leveraging within-person variation in…

Many Virginians aspiring to earn a four-year degree intentionally begin their journey at one of the 23 community colleges within the Virginia Community College System (VCCS). In concert with those aspirations, the VCCS is committed to providing its residents an affordable and accessible program of study that prepares them to transfer and earn a…

Community colleges, which often serve a higher proportion of students from low-income backgrounds, students of color, and women, can be launching pad institutions that change the educational and economic trajectory for individuals and families, awarding credentials that can lead to better paying jobs or form the foundation for additional…

In January 2010, the General Assembly passed the Complete College Tennessee Act (CCTA), a comprehensive reform agenda seeking to transform public higher education through changes in academic, fiscal and administrative policies at the state and institutional levels. While the higher education landscape has been shaped by the CCTA, higher education…

A number of states have adopted, considered or proposed legislation creating promise programs. These proposals often are viewed as cost-effective strategies to encourage or promote postsecondary enrollment and improve attainment of credentials of value. For our purpose, credentials of value refer to certificates, associate degrees, bachelor's…

This report fulfills the statutory responsibilities of the Tennessee Higher Education Commission pursuant to T.C.A. (Tennessee Code Annotated) Section 49-7-202(f) to report on the progress made toward full articulation between all public institutions. In order to evaluate articulation among institutions, this report tracks the occurrence of…

In 2008's Public Chapter 863, the General Assembly directed the Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) to work with the University of Tennessee and the Tennessee Board of Regents to facilitate "universal articulation" of lower division "transfer paths" to baccalaureate majors. This legislation builds on a 2000 Act…

The General Assembly determined that a higher education system that failed to allow the transfer of seemingly identical or similar courses increased the time to degree and cost to the student and the state. It was also the perception of the General Assembly that public higher education was not taking adequate steps to remedy the problem.…