Degree completion rates have risen dramatically in the past three decades as higher education institutions focused on ensuring that their students could reach graduation. Now, the focus of the field has shifted to post graduation outcomes for students and how to foster economic success and personal fulfillment well after students leave campus.
Earning a college degree or completing a certificate program promises improved lives for graduates because of their education accomplishments. We want students to graduate and be able to agree with the sentiment “my education helped me achieve my goals.” Establishing outcome standards such as degree completion, economic earnings, and personal fulfillment can help leaders in the field identify and implement programs, policies, and practices that ensure meaningful post-graduation success.
A recent analysis performed by Strada Education Network explores how the inclusion of alumni perceptions informs the understanding of success beyond degree completion. Findings from the report represent the first initiative of integrating economic and personal fulfillment outcomes in order to better understand the full benefits of postsecondary education. Additional insights on how to provide students with the skills, tools, and resources they need to succeed beyond completion was also investigated.
“By putting learners first, we will all succeed in the essential work of providing our least advantaged learners with education that fulfills its promise in their lives. Lasting change will require the focused efforts of visionary policymakers, innovative educators, committed employers, mission-driven nonprofits, and strategic investors,” according to Andrew R. Hanson, Senior Director of Research at Strada.
By examining economic success, personal fulfillment, and identifying the most successful elements of students’ educational experience, leaders in the field can improve the return on all the investments that individuals, families, communities, employers, and governments make in their decision to pursue higher education and professional training.
The key findings of the report are:
- Overall, roughly three in five adults with an associate degree or higher experience both a substantial economic benefit and the fulfillment of their personal aspirations through their education and training, while one in ten experience neither
- Bachelor’s and graduate degree programs lead to substantially better outcomes than associate and non degree programs do.
- Occupation is a strong correlate of both economic outcomes and personal fulfillment.
- Notably, gender-based gaps in economic outcomes are greater than gender-based gaps in personal fulfillment, such that men are substantially more likely to earn a wage premium over high school across education levels, but especially at the sub-baccalaureate level
- While higher levels of postsecondary attainment are associated with higher economic and personal fulfillment outcomes, results vary by race and ethnicity. Outcomes for Black Americans and Latinos with graduate degrees are similar to those of white and Asian Americans with bachelor’s degrees.
The implications of these findings for the higher education field and for workforce stakeholders is far reaching. For instance, policymakers and funders can invest in systems that measure graduation outcomes more consistently and comprehensively. Additionally, workforce stakeholders can tease apart outcomes by notable characteristics such as field or program of study, occupation, gender, race/ethnicity, and family background, including intersectional aspects of identity where possible. Research of this kind also empowers post-secondary education and training providers to measure outcomes beyond completion and harness insights to guide institutional improvements.