Internships are a vital component of vocational education systems. The aim of this study is to understand whether internship programs at vocational schools are correlated with the long-run wages of students. To analyze this, I conduct three sets of analyses using longitudinal survey data from 2013 to 2014 on more than 12,000 vocational students in…

Human capital investment is central to raising wages. This chapter describes trends in human capital investment and educational attainment. It reviews the evidence of the wage returns to educational attainment and to early childhood education, K-12 education, postsecondary education, and workforce development policies and programs. Finally, this…

The Florida Economic Security Report details economic outcomes of recent completers from Florida's public postsecondary educational institutions. Data from the State University System of Florida (SUS), the Florida College System (FCS), and District Technical Centers (DTCs) are included in this report. The report aims to document the variation in…

This report provides students, parents, and others with employment, earnings, and other outcome information on graduates of Arkansas's state-supported (public) institutions of higher education. It is intended to help readers make informed decisions about education and career choices. As specified in Arkansas Act 852 of 2015, information detailing…

Since 2011, the Alaska Performance Scholarship (APS) has rewarded Alaska students who excel in high school with over $88 million in scholarships to help cover the cost of in-state postsecondary education. This report covers the high school, postsecondary, Alaska residency, and workforce outcomes of the APS program between 2011-Fall 2020. [For…

Mass expansion of the UK Higher Education (HE) sector is eroding its well-documented benefits -- leading many to question whether HE remains worthwhile. Avoiding the traditional approach of estimating the returns to HE, we investigate why many now feel that attending university will not yield any financial benefits. Using BSA data from 2010 we…

How do changes in minimum wages affect community college enrollment and employment? In particular, among adults without associate's or bachelor's degrees who may earn near the minimum wage, do endowment effects of a higher minimum wage encourage school attendance? Among adults without associate's or bachelor's degrees who may earn near the minimum…

This report provides an annual update on performance metrics for the Maricopa County Community Colleges District (MCCCD), including progress toward MCCCD Governing Board Outcomes. Three key areas are analyzed to determine student and organizational performance as follows: (1) Leading Indicators of Student Success; (2) Completion Outcomes; and (3)…

Two-year colleges have served as vital stepping-stones for students seeking to earn a bachelor's degree. To achieve that goal, these students must complete their current program's requirements and then matriculate at a four-year college--a process known as "vertical transfer." This is commonly extolled as a cost-saving strategy, but it…

With grant and scholarship aid as well as family resources unable to keep pace with college costs, loans have become a fact of life for millions of college students each year. In deciding how and how much to borrow, these students are making highly consequential decisions that will impact their future in unknown ways. Policy should aim to reduce…

Underrepresented minority (URM) college students have been steadily earning degrees in relatively less-lucrative fields of study since the mid-1990s. A decomposition reveals that this widening gap is principally explained by rising stratification at public research universities, many of which increasingly enforce GPA restriction policies that…

In Canada, one of the objectives of immigration policies is to promote Canada's economic growth and prosperity. In light of this objective, education plays an important role in the selection process for prospective immigrants, meaning that many immigrants have postsecondary qualifications. This summary highlights results from a larger report that…

The children of migrant workers are one of the most marginalized populations in the United States. Instability and poverty impact many aspects of most migrant students' lives, especially education. Migrant or seasonal workers travel between cities, states, and countries following employment in temporary and cyclical industries such as agriculture,…

This report provides students, parents, and others with employment, earnings, and other outcome information on graduates of Arkansas's state-supported institutions of higher education. It is intended to help readers make informed decisions about education and career choices. As specified in Arkansas Act 852 of 2015, the information specific to the…

The Office of Workforce Development (OWD) in New Orleans, Louisiana, with a grant from the U.S. Department of Labor, implemented Career Pathways, an innovative program designed to increase the local talent pool and help lower-skilled, unemployed, and underemployed individuals train for work in growing fields. RAND Corporation researchers evaluated…