Discusses the outcomes of county college students and graduates.

1. Labor Market Outcomes of New Jersey
County Colleges
Prepared for: New Jersey Council of County Colleges
Trustee Conference
Funded by: The Fund for New Jersey
June 21, 2010
William Mabe, PhD
Aaron Fichtner, PhD
John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development

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Background
 New Jersey county colleges:
– prepare the workforce New Jersey needs to drive its economy
– are a critical means to economic opportunity
– have the flexibility to respond to labor market conditions
 Little is known about the workforce outcomes of county
college graduates.
 Two existing datasets, when combined, can produce
valuable information on the labor market experiences of
county college students and graduates
– New Jersey Commission on Higher Education SURE enrollee and degrees
conferred files (2001-2006)—degree seeking students only
– New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development Unemployment
Insurance Wage Record data (2000-2007)

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Purpose of this Effort
 The Heldrich Center, with funding from the Fund for New Jersey,
embarked on this effort to:
– Provide detailed information to the county colleges about their
programs to assist them in answering programmatic questions
– Generate information for policy makers to help with long range
planning for the colleges
 The project was guided by an Advisory Group consisting of:
– Council of County Colleges - Commission on Higher Education
– Business and Industry Association
– Department of Labor and Workforce Development
– State Employment and Training Commission
 A committee of Institutional Research directors met with the
Heldrich Center throughout the project

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Questions the Data Can Answer
 How are graduates of the college faring in the labor
market?
 How are non-degree exiters of the college faring in the
labor market?
 Which programs have strong employment outcomes AND
which programs have weaker outcomes?
- Compared to previous years
- Compared to other programs at the SAME college
- Compared to the state average for that program
 Which programs are preparing individuals for employment
in a related industry?

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Method
 Data
– New Jersey Commission on Higher Education SURE enrollee
and degrees conferred files (2001-2006)—degree seeking
students only
– New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development
Unemployment Insurance Wage Record data (2000-2007)
 Heldrich has matched NJCHE SURE enrollment and
degrees conferred records with NJLWD UI wage record
data
 Outcomes have been calculated for two groups of
students:
– Graduates
– Non-degree exiters

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Outcomes
 Static Outcomes (for all exiters)
– Employment rate (8th
quarter after exit)
– Average wages (8th
quarter after exit)
– Industry of employment
– County of employment
– Employment status while enrolled
 Dynamic outcomes (if age at enrollment > 24)
– Comparison of earnings in two years before enrollment with
earnings two years after exit
 Calculated by:
– School
– Program (CIP)

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Key Facts from the Data
 One in three (35.7%) county college graduates were
enrolled in a public college or university in New Jersey
within three semesters after graduation
 Of those graduates who were NOT enrolled in further
education:
– Seven in ten (70.2) were employed in New Jersey 8 quarters
after graduation.
– The graduates who were employed had median earnings of
$10,132 in the 8th
quarter after graduation.

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Finding #1. Pre-College Employment
 Six in ten adult (25 or older at enrollment) county
college students are employed BEFORE enrolling in
credit programs, with an average annual wage of over
$34,000.

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Finding #2. Earnings of Non-Degree Exiters
 After leaving college, even non-degree exiters earn
more than they did before enrolling:
– Earnings two years before enrollment: $23,000
– Earnings two years after enrollment: $26,000

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Finding #3. Graduation Premium
 The earnings growth of graduates, however, is much
greater than that of non-graduates. Two years after
exit versus two years before enrollment:
– Graduates: 53 percent higher earnings
– Non-degree exiters: 14 percent higher earnings

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Next Steps
 The final report will be completed in Fall 2010.
College-specific reports will be distributed to the
colleges
 The Heldrich Center has established the infrastructure
to be able to efficiently calculate these outcomes
annually
 Specific outcomes to be calculated could be modified
to meet the needs of colleges
 A meeting could be held in Fall 2010 with interested
college leaders to discuss possible future efforts