Measuring the job-market returns of college credentials is complex work, according to researchers who gathered here this week for a meeting on higher education data. That makes it challenging, or even risky, for policy makers to use those metrics to hold colleges accountable.
One reason is that earnings data could penalize institutions with a heavy focus on the liberal arts, teacher training or other relatively low-wage fields. Colleges might also shy away from enrolling students who are from lower-income backgrounds and less academically prepared.
Linking government funding with wage-based student outcomes 鈥渄irectly conflicts with an open-access mission,鈥 said David Deming, an associate professor of education at Harvard University鈥檚 graduate school of education. 鈥淲e really need to think hard about getting this risk adjustment right.鈥
Deming was speaking at the meeting hosted by the Center for Analysis of Postsecondary Education and Employment, which conducts research in five states and receives funding from the U.S. Department of Education.
Labor-market data was a major topic of discussion at the conference, in part because former students鈥 wages actually can be tracked, albeit with difficulty. It's at least easier to measure earnings than what students learn in college. And most people agree that it does matter whether graduates of an academic program can get a job with a decent wage, especially if they're taking on significant debt.
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