The Postsecondary Value Commission, convened in 2019 by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, released its first set of reports on May 12, and they are full of interesting ideas and analysis
for those of us working in postsecondary access and success.
Managed by the Institute for Higher Education Policy, the commission was charged with answering the question of “What is college worth?” with new analyses and proposed actions for change. With nearly 600 pages of reports, I can’t do justice to the entire
body of work, but here are four items that stood out to me.
1. On average, college is financially “worth it,” but it is worth less for some students.
The commission makes the case that it’s time not just to address inequitable rates of postsecondary access and completion, but also inequitable earnings after graduation. The returns on an education after high school vary according to a student’s race,
ethnicity, income, or gender, which institutions they attend, and which programs they pursue. For instance:
Latinx adults with a bachelor’s degree or higher earn 25% less than their White peers, while Black adults earn 21% less (see the median earnings of full-time workers chart below).
Households headed by a White college graduate have eight times the wealth of households headed by a Black college graduate.
15 years after completion, Black graduates with degrees in computers, statistics, and mathematics from the University of Texas System earn 25% less per year than White graduates, and Latinx graduates earn 39% less per year.
Colleges and universities also vary widely in the economic value realized by their students, and many are showing minimal returns. Commission analysis of federal College Scorecard data found that almost 650 institutions failed to meet a minimal definition
of economic return for their students: 10 years after first enrollment, earnings are at or above those of high school graduates plus total net price. The majority of private for-profit institutions fail this minimum definition.
2. The commission offers a more nuanced and equitable definition of college being “worth it.”
To explore whether postsecondary education is delivering equitable economic returns for all students, the commission moves beyond the basic threshold of whether earnings exceed those of high school graduates. Their definition: “Students experience postsecondary
value when provided equitable access and support to complete quality, affordable credentials that offer economic mobility and prepare them to advance racial and economic justice in our society.”
These six stages of value start with at least matching the earnings of high school graduates plus cost of attendance and move in steps up to “wealth parity” whereby all achieve similar levels of wealth without regard to race, gender, or class.
Threshold 0: Minimum Economic Return – Earnings for students that at least match those of high school graduates plus enough to recoup their postsecondary investment (cumulative net price) within 10 years.
Threshold 1: Earnings Premium – Students achieving the median earnings in their field of study.
Threshold 2: Earnings Parity – Students of color, students from low-income backgrounds, and women achieving in-field median earnings on par with more advantaged peers (White, male, high-income).
Threshold 3: Economic Mobility – Students earn enough to reach the fourth income quintile (upper middle income) regardless of field of study.
Threshold 4: Economic Security – Students reaching median levels of wealth.
Threshold 5: Wealth Parity – Students of color, students from low-income backgrounds, and women achieving the level of wealth on par with more advantaged peers (White, male, high-income).
3. Here’s a comprehensive framework for all the benefits of postsecondary education.
As folks in the postsecondary access and success field often note, the benefits of postsecondary attainment go far beyond the financial benefits to graduates. The commission developed this framework for visualizing the additional economic and non-economic
returns for students and society. It is helpful to see the additional benefits that will be associated with greater equity in postsecondary outcomes.
4. What’s next for this work on postsecondary value?
Later this year, the commission will release a public data tool containing performance data on value measures for thousands of colleges and universities nationwide. The Gates Foundation is also supporting the formation of a Value Data Collaborative, a
coalition of colleges and universities committed to advancing value through improved data collection and use and action to inform key policies and practices.
We look forward to the data tool and appreciate the work to come supporting colleges and universities in better understanding student outcomes beyond access and completion.
For more reporting on the Postsecondary Value Commission’s work, check out this Inside Higher Ed article by Scott Jaschik and this
EdSurge article by Rebecca Koenig.
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