Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce

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The residue of racism and discrimination throughout our nation’s history continues to put historically underrepresented groups at a disadvantage, beginning at birth and accumulating over their educational experiences and working lives. Race-neutral admissions models can maintain or increase representation for underrepresented racial groups at selective colleges. But they offer much less potential than race-conscious approaches to substantially increase representation among Black and Hispanic students so that selective colleges’ student bodies come close to mirroring the demographics of graduating high school students. While fall enrollment numbers suggest that achieving a racially diverse class isn’t impossible without affirmative action—it is a lot harder. Our team explores how colleges can achieve racially diverse classes in an op-ed for Inside Higher Ed: https://lnkd.in/evvYn6GY

Rural children experience especially high rates of poverty. To address the barriers that students who live in poverty face, we need to bolster holistic wraparound support services across all levels of education. This should include ensuring that all students have basic nutrition, shelter, transportation, and access to public health services and medical care; mental health counseling; one-on-one coaching and advising, peer support, and career and job placement services; and access to reliable broadband internet in locations that are properly equipped for studying and academic work. Moreover, with proper coordination among different local government and nonprofit entities, colleges and schools can become hubs for all community services, providing easy access to those services for students. https://bit.ly/3SJZIxI

“Students and taxpayers invest staggering amounts of money in higher education, raising important questions about program value,” said Kelly McManus, Arnold Ventures’ vice president of higher education. “Arnold Ventures is proud to support CEW’s important research into these issues and the identified reforms that can preserve access and prevent families from having to take on unmanageable debt.” https://bit.ly/3NaFnzn

After SCOTUS's decision banning race-conscious college admissions, some elite institutions have reported large-to-moderate drops in enrollment shares among Black/African American and Hispanic/Latino students. Other colleges have reported no change or even increases in representation among Black students. What should we make of this variation? CEW's Kathryn Campbell, Zack Mabel, and Jeff Strohl discuss more in an op-ed for Inside Higher Ed: https://lnkd.in/evvYn6GY

Even though those with more education tend to earn more, there’s variation in earnings at each level of education. A higher level of education does not guarantee higher earnings, while less education does not always result in lower earnings. For example, workers with no more than a high school diploma make $2.2 million in lifetime earnings at the 75th percentile—more than the median for workers with an associate’s degree. https://bit.ly/2ZvlsoY

Lifetime earnings typically rise with each additional level of education. The lifetime earnings of a full-time full-year worker with a high school diploma are $1.6 million, while those with an associate’s degree earn $2 million. Bachelor’s degree holders earn a median of $2.8 million during their career, 75% more than if they had only a high school diploma. However, one quarter of workers with a bachelor’s degree earn more than half of workers with a master’s or a doctoral degree. Our report, “The College Payoff: More Education Doesn’t Always Mean More Earnings,” explores how degrees and other factors impact lifetime earnings. Read more here: https://bit.ly/2ZvlsoY

Over the past 50 years, structural changes to the economy have resulted in the growth of professional and technical occupations. Jobs in these occupations show greater demand for competencies such as teamwork, leadership, and problem-solving that are typically associated with higher levels of formal education. In the 1980s, three out of four jobs required a high school diploma or less, while today two out of three jobs require at least some postsecondary education or training. https://bit.ly/3Eb6Muy

Between 1970 and 2021, women’s share of graduate enrollments increased from 35% to 61%. Women now make up 56% of graduate degree holders compared to 53% of bachelor’s degree holders and 51% of the population. However, strides by women in graduate degree attainment have not led to equality in earnings. Women with graduate degrees earn $85,000 per year, compared with $119,000 per year among men. https://bit.ly/3NaFnzn

“The patchwork approach to youth policy allows too many vulnerable young people to slip through the seams,” said CEW’s Artem Gulish. “The experience of millennials is a testament to the failures of our fragmented system. Millennials are at serious risk of becoming the first generation in recent history to be worse off financially than their parents, and we need system-wide change to ensure that future generations have better prospects.” Read “Youth Policy: How Can We Smooth the Rocky Pathway to Adulthood?” to find out more about the US’s fragmented and inadequate approach to youth policy against the backdrop of economic pressures facing youth and young adults today. https://bit.ly/3Eb6Muy