By Stig Leschly, Postsecondary Commission

Almost all US college students – no matter who they are and no matter where or when in life they attend college – report that a higher wage, a better job and a viable career are their top motivations for going to college. A safer and brighter economic future is not the only reason students go to college, but it is the most common and fundamental one.

Policymakers are responding to this nearly unanimous ask from students that colleges improve their economic prospects. State and federal lawmakers are migrating toward accountability and funding policies based on whether institutions improve the earnings and employment trajectory of their students.

For this policy movement to thrive, it needs to address a mundane but serious problem: the inadequacy of the data systems on which it relies..

The data systems in question are mainly those run by education, labor and tax agencies in DC and in states. These data systems track and link together the vast student-level data – on students’ college costs, on their wages before and after attending college, and on their demographics – that enable policymakers to draw accurate and fair conclusions about the economic outcomes produced by institutions.

Unfortunately, these data systems are often under-resourced, siloed, or inaccessible, which stalls and distorts good policymaking.

For example, when policymakers assess institutions’ earnings outcomes, they are often left to rely, because of data limitations, on the absolute wages that students experience at some point after they enter or graduate from an institution.

This is problematic. Students’ absolute wages say almost nothing about the effect (positive or negative) that a given institution has on those wages. An institution might succeed in graduating students into high-wage jobs simply by selecting students who were already on track for high- paying careers.

Conversely, a non-selective institution that graduates students with seemingly unremarkable salaries might actually be doing extraordinary work if students’ actual wages are far above the wages they would have earned if they had never enrolled.

This sort of analysis of wage outcomes – often called value-added earnings analysis or wage gain analysis – takes into account the need-level and baseline earnings outlook of students who enroll in a given institution, and as a result, is far more accurate and fair than standard approaches to assessing earnings outcomes. And, it is possible only where underlying data systems are in good order.

An added benefit of surfacing the wage gains that institutions produce for their students is that it allows policymakers to make sense of the prices that institutions charge. Whether an institution is over- or under-priced depends on whether the institution generates wage gains for its students that are large enough to compensate students in a reasonable timeframe for their cost of attendance.

In another example of how data gaps inhibit good higher education policy, federal and state lawmakers have not done enough to monitor and regulate the economic outcomes of college entrants who never graduate, a group of students who comprise nearly half of US college-goers. This policy lapse is partly because lawmakers know so little about non-completers and their outcomes. They are typically under-tracked and sometimes completely ignored in higher education data systems. With better underlying data systems, policymakers would be able to track and set policy for the economic outcomes of all college entrants, not just those who complete.

This development would amount to a break-through. It would allow policymakers to sort out in detail – institution by institution, program by program – when dropping out is a problem for students (because it saddles them with high costs and no degree) and when it is not a problem for students (because they exit early and with few financial consequences).

A promising policy movement toward better economic outcomes in US higher education has started. For this movement to persist and for it to mature into sound accountability and funding policy, it needs to run on better student-level data systems in DC and in states.

Federal and state policy makers should immediately and aggressively fund improvements to these data systems. In its pursuit of better economic outcomes in US colleges, public policy can only be as good as the data on which it is based.

Why it matters

President Vollendorf’s insights look to shape future higher education policies, especially regarding access and affordability.

Key takeaways

• Empire State University focuses on accessibility and serving learners of all ages.
• Current incentive structures in higher education need reform to prioritize student success over institutional metrics.
• Pell Grant program requires updates to better serve non-traditional students.
• State reciprocity is crucial for serving diverse populations, including military personnel and Puerto Rican students.

What’s next

President Vollendorf calls for the Department of Education to:

• Rethink Pell eligibility and consider a Pell completion program.
• Incentivize collaboration across institutions.
• Focus on serving learners of all ages and backgrounds.

The bottom line

Higher education institutions need support to serve a diverse student population, focusing on student success rather than institutional success.

By Dr. Becky Takeda-Tinker, CSU Global President

The World Economic Forum reports that 50% of the adult population will need to reskill and upskill by 2025, while the U.S. Bureau of Labor reports that in the U.S. alone, we currently have over 9.5 billion unfilled jobs with the working-age population continuing to shrink since 2007. Similarly aligned with those highlights on workforce dynamics, what we are seeing at my university, Colorado State University Global, is that students of today, particularly post-traditional adult learners, are less interested in longer term workforce education investments as they increasingly seek more targeted, short-form learning opportunities.

Some of those students may be looking to meet a specific professional school prerequisite, test out a school, or acquire a focused skill, without intending to pursue a full degree program. And what we find is that such students need educational solutions that are affordable and flexible, and that allow them to take one individual course at a time without intensive application processes and requirements.

The rise of non-degree credentials, such as certificates, certificates, licenses, and apprenticeships, has taken off in recent decades, particularly after the COVID-19 pandemic and to the benefit of learners. As educational leaders, we understand that not everyone is able to commit to pursuing a degree and that many want to learn a skill on a pay-per-course basis and advance their professional prospects without putting their life on hold.

In fact, according to a study from the Lumina Foundation, non-degree credentials are associated with increased employment. Earning a non-degree credential of any kind has been associated with a 5%-to-15% increase in the likelihood of being employed. Further, non-degree credentials generate earnings benefits, as adults with a six-to-12-month credential increased earnings by an average of $2,600 per quarter.

As leaders of institutions of higher education, we need to remain open to adapting to changing demographic needs and continue to improve and create new programs that meet the evolving demands of today’s learners. At CSU Global, the nation’s first fully online, accredited state nonprofit campus as part of the Colorado State University System, non-degree seeking students have access to the full CSU Global Course Catalog of short 8-week courses, with convenient start dates every month. Our approach to non-degree-seeking education is both comprehensive and accessible, with several options for students interested in advancing their skills without having to spend hours completing a lengthy application or committing to a full degree program. By focusing on specific skill sets and knowledge areas of immediate workforce needs, students who may need to enhance their qualifications or pivot their careers without the time or financial commitment associated with traditional degrees and educational programs can do so.

Particularly over the last couple of years, we have seen a trend in increased non-degree seeking students at CSU Global, with the population making up 12% of our total new enrollments this year.

This trend towards non-degree pathways is not occurring in isolation. It is part of a broader shift in higher education driven by several factors. One significant influence is the complexity and evolving nature of financial aid processes. Recent changes to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) have introduced new challenges for students seeking financial support for traditional degree programs. A complicated application process and shifting eligibility criteria has potentially made it more difficult for students to navigate the processes for enrollment. The evolving updates to the FAFSA can be overwhelming, especially for those who are already balancing work and family responsibilities. As a result, some students may be discouraged from pursuing full degree programs due to the financial uncertainty and administrative hurdles and are instead turning to non-degree-seeking options, which often require less financial and time investment and offer more immediate benefits.

Institutions, particularly those that are fully online and largely cater to adult learners, may provide accessible options that align with the needs of today’s job market. In particular, CSU Global offers a streamlined enrollment process to its non-degree seeking students, with no need to send in transcripts, no GPA requirements, and no lengthy admissions process. Most importantly, courses are offered on a pay-as-you-go basis, one course at a time, meaning students do not need to take out massive loans or even deal with the FAFSA form to participate.

The rise in non-degree-seeking education reflects a wider trend towards personalized, practical learning, driven by both changings student preferences and external factors such as the complexities of the FAFSA process. It is critical that we as leaders in higher education respond to these shifts by providing processes, pathways, courses, and programs that are flexible, industry-relevant, accessible, and which provide a tangible return-on-investment. As students continue to seek educational opportunities that fit their individual needs and circumstances, non-degree pathways will likely become an even more prominent feature of the higher education landscape, and CSU Global with its innovative spirit will continue to provide new options and pathways that meet the ever-changing needs of the post-traditional students it was created to serve.