Investigating disparities in higher education

(Olivia’s Version)

Dear Reader…

This beat matters. There are so many benefits of higher education, but it’s not available to everyone. And, it can come with huge risks.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes an annual report on income by education level. This year’s report found that in general higher levels of education correlated with higher income, and lower levels of unemployment. Important to note that there were individual differences depending on occupation/field of study.

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Studies suggest getting a college degree helps people to be healthier and to gain social capital. (These are studies that tried to control for preexisting characteristics like wealth, which obviously play a role, too)

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But higher education is Untouchable for so many people

• But a college education is out of reach for so many people. Census data from 2021 shows that
• 42% of white Americans had a bachelor’s degree or higher
• 28% of Black Americans
• 61% of Asian Americans
• 20% Hispanic Americans
• This Census data also breaks college attainment down by sex and nation of origin.

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Higher Education can be the Anti-Hero

At least 40 million people have attended some college but have never earned a degree or credential of any kind, according to the National Student Clearinghouse. And 43.8 million people have federal student loan debt, according to the Education Data Initiative.

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Education inequalities contribute to health disparities. “Higher levels of education are associated with a longer life and an increased likelihood of obtaining or understanding basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions.” (The citations on this CDC page are helpful.)

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I Know Places to get higher education data

• Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) is Wonderland
• Admission, enrollment, completion, by race, Pell Grant status
• Cost of college, student financial aid, and more!
• Will these things ever Change? You can use IPEDS to see institutional data over time.
• Tricky to use but worth taking the time to figure out!
• College Scorecard
• Chris is going to teach you how to use this! Much more simple. Long Story Short, this is the place to go if you need some quick info about one or two colleges, you’re on deadline, etc.
• Quick way to get financial aid information, demographic breakdown, percent of students who receive Pell grants, etc.
• National Student Clearinghouse
• Current term enrollment data
• Data on transfer and progress
• College closures and student outcomes
• Persistence and retention
• High school benchmarks

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Eyes Open… Look to the think tanks for more higher ed data and research

• TICAS - The Institute for College Access and Success
• NCAN- National College Attainment Network
• Data on FAFSA completion! Bill DeBaun is very helpful and nice and so smart.

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• New America
• Org covers many different issues, focus on higher ed, job training, how other issues intersect/affect higher ed

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• Excelencia
• Annual reports with lots of data on HSIs (Hispanic Serving Institutions), Latino students at PWIs (Predominantly White Institutions)

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• EdTrust
• Racial equity
• Regional subgroups in the west (California), Tennessee, New York, Midwest (Michigan)
• Good reminder to look for other regional education groups that have plenty of education data and research

I Forgot That You Existed… (More data and research)

• 990s
• Public and private nonprofit colleges have to file these!
• Chris’s example of USC investigation
• SO much info here…
• Student Borrower Protection Center
• Data on people with student loans
• They often take deep dives into sketchy institutions
• Great for background conversations when you are looking into a for-profit college or private loan companies
• They love working with journalists
• Census data
• What is the education level in the community you’re writing about? What about the median income? These things are often good to know even if they don’t end up in your story.

Gold Rush of examples and ideas

• Look critically at programs targeted at “nontraditional” students
• Student parents, adult students, returning students… They often have more to lose
• Can students get federal financial aid? Is the program accredited? Are there nonacademic supports available to students?
• EdTech companies can seem Untouchable, but…
• You can find out so much by going to public colleges they partner with, and requesting contracts
• When universities partner with for-profit coding boot camps, students are often not protected and critics say the partnerships should be regulated
• If they’re publicly traded, you can look at their SEC filings
• Trade associations for sources

Hechinger’s College Welcome Guide

https://hechingerreport.org/beyond-the-rankings-the-college-welcome-guide/

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College decisions used to depend mostly on an institution’s academic reputation and its social life. Today, many other factors influence a prospective student’s thinking. We’ve gathered those into this interactive College Welcome Guide, to help you assess how receptive colleges are to students from a variety of backgrounds, and to map state laws that affect college students.

If you have a question about the information here, or would like to share your perspective with us, email us at editor@hechingerreport.org.

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