Most people typically evaluate higher education success based on access and completion. However, post-completion outcomes are also important determinants of educational success.
In its 2022 Strada Outcomes Survey, Strada Education explored how higher education experiences positively impact the lives of post-graduates beyond financial considerations. The study surveyed 3,230 individuals who completed their bachelor’s degree in the past 20 years to find out how alumni view the education they received after graduation and how the experience helped them fulfill their life and career goals.
In a recent webinar led by Ruth Watkins, President of Strada Education, “Value Beyond the Degree: Alumni Perspectives on How College Experiences Improve their Lives,” Nichole Torpey-Saboe, Strada’s Managing Director of Research, presented the report findings. Webinar panelists were Michael Rao, President of Virginia Commonwealth University, Danita Brown Young, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana, and Brandee Popaden-Smith, Director of Work + Learning at Arizona State University, who contributed the higher education institution perspective.
The report’s five key findings are:
- Approximately one-third of recent bachelor’s degree graduates do not feel their education was worth the cost. About one-third earn less than $50,000 per year. Black alumni are least likely to experience post-completion benefits and women who earn a BA or BS degree are less likely to earn a family-sustaining wage than men.
- Alumni who said that they were able to develop strong skills reported earning more money than those who did not. Those with strong skills earned an average of $8,700 more in the first year after graduation and more than $10,000 on average for all respondents. These individuals were three times more likely to say their education helped them achieve their goals and was worth the cost than those without skills.
- The alumni who developed distinct skills were more likely to value their college education. Quantitative skills, critical thinking and problem-solving were most positively associated with higher earnings, for example. “It was actually the perception of those skills that was the most powerful predictor of whether or not alumni felt like they had experienced many benefits,” said Torpey-Saboe. The skills included general skills (verbal communication, writing, critical thinking, creativity and more), interpersonal skills such as teamwork and leadership, and specialized skills such as data analysis, project management and quantitative abilities. “It wasn’t only that specialized skills mattered,” Torpey-Saboe pointed out. “It was really a combination. Only when there is highly perceived skill development across these areas that we saw very strong links with positive outcomes beyond completion.”
- Students gain key stills inside and outside the classroom. Some skills such as critical thinking and math correlate with particular majors, but other skills, such as leadership and verbal communication can be gained through community engagement, volunteering and other extracurricular activities.
- Skill development does not provide equal benefits for everyone. The Sparta Education research revealed that skill development correlates with similar benefits in non-economic outcomes across race, gender and first-generation status. However, skill development doesn’t appear to be associated with income gains for Black alumni.
In response to these findings, Strada Education offers some recommendations to boost benefits and perception of value of a bachelor’s degree.
- Measure outcomes and aim to improve them beyond degree completion. Clear data on metrics that include employment, earnings and the extent to which students’ purpose for their higher education was fulfilled may counteract the decline in confidence in the value of postsecondary education.
- Set skill development as a key goal of learning outcomes, instead of exclusively focusing on class time or credit hours. Educations should ensure that students develop capabilities they will need to succeed after they graduate.
- Identify high-value skills in addition to evergreen and increasingly valuable general skills such as critical thinking and problem-solving. At the same time, institutions should regularly engage with employers to ensure they offer students the essential newer, industry-specific skills.
- Make sure students can access experiences that lead to learning valuable skills. In addition to class-room learning, project-based learning and work-based learning, as well as engaging with campus or community activities can help students develop essential skills. Higher education institutions can target powerful learning experiences to students who face barriers and embed value and critical skills into the experiences with which they’re already engaged, such as internships.
- Engage with employers to address outcome gaps. Wage differences by race and gender still persist. Colleges and universities can best equip students with the right experiences and skills to succeed beyond graduation, but institutions alone cannot close the earnings gaps. Schools can engage with employers to address recruiting, screening, hiring and compensation practices to help ensure they aren’t continuing the system barriers that still exist.