The Returns of a Community College Education: Evidence From the National Education Longitudinal Survey

Abstract

Using the 2000 follow-up of the National Education Longitudinal Survey, the authors estimated earnings effects of a community college education. Previous research relied on data collected from students enrolled 20 or 30 years ago. Because the labor market and community colleges have changed dramatically since then, the authors provide an update by studying students enrolled in the 1990s. They found substantial evidence that a community college education has positive effects on earnings among young workers. This effect was larger for annual earnings than for hourly wages. Earnings benefits accrued both to those who failed to earn a credential and to those who earned an associate degree. The current results are similar to estimates for earlier cohorts. The stability of the wage advantage of a community college education during a period of growing enrollment provides evidence of a growing relative demand for a community college over a high school education.

The Labor-Market Returns to Community College Degrees, Diplomas, and Certificates

“…They also find that receiving a college degree raises earnings even when compared to having completed an equivalent amount of schooling (such as four years) without completing a degree. Marcotte et al (2005) obtain similar results for community colleges from a more recent cohort of students. Both studies use national data.…”

“…Marcotte et al (2005) and Bailey et al (2004) fail to find a consistent effect of certificates on various labormarket outcomes in their studies using longitudinal surveys from the U.S. Department of Education. In a summary of the literature, Grubb (2002a) also finds insignificant effects of 2 Lang and Weinstein (2012) also study labor-market returns of for-profit versus not-for-profit (including public) colleges using cross-sectional earnings data.…”

Community Colleges, Budget Cuts, and Jobs

“…Community colleges (and other educational institutions) enable individuals to acquire human capital, thereby augmenting earnings across the life course (Kane and Rouse 1995;Marcote et al 2005). However, the impact of community colleges on local labor markets has received little attention.…”

The impact of participation in a first-year seminar on increased usage of campus resources, academic and social integration and first-to-second-semester persistence at a two-year community and technical college.

“…Colleges and universities are searching for intervention programs to ameliorate attrition at community colleges (AACC, 2006;Grayson & Grayson, 2003;Marcotte et al, 2005;McIntosh & Rouse, 2009). Burd (2004) noted that most community college students have aspirations of earning a certificate, diploma, or degree, but only 36% achieve that goal within six years, while 53% of their four-year counterparts meet that goal.…”