Completers and Wage Progression: Joining Wage Data and Student Records

Patrick Perry, Vice Chancellor

California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office

California Community Colleges

• 112 campuses• ~2.5 million students• Good UR data collection system (92-present)• Passed bill to become repository of CA EDD

wage data• Send all student SSN’s annually; return file

includes quarterly wage record matches• Have now built web-based tools to show wage

outcomes for graduates

Methodology

• We are looking at wage outcomes for CCC award recipients (AA, AS, certificates down to 12 units)– Not looking at 4-yr transfers or non-completers

(yet)

• What is the wage return of the “terminal” CCC degree?

Methodology

• Start with all award recipients in any given year.

• Remove from dataset any of the following if they occurred after date of award:– Still enrolled anywhere in CCC system– Transferred to any other institution outside system

Methodology

• Match remaining non-enrolled/non-transferred award recipients by SSN with EDD quarterly wage records.– Sum of all quarterly wages = annual wage

(fiscal/academic year= Q3-Q4-Q1-Q2)– If any quarter in a calendar year has $1 or more of

wages, this is counted (need just one quarter’s worth of wages to be counted).

Reporting

• We look at wages between 2 years prior through 5 years after date of award.

• Median (not average) wages reported at various time intervals.

• All wages adjusted to CA CPI (current dollars.)• Minimum n=10 matches for any reporting cell

to be disclosed.– Not all programs at all campuses meet this

threshold.

Reporting

• Two different public views:– 5 years of graduates, by program (TOP/CIP),

degree type (AA/S, Cert.) statewide aggregation (maximizes # of programs reported) • Aka “Salary Surfer”; for students/counselors, paired

with program inventory

– 8 years of graduates, by college, deg type, by program aggregation (campus view)• Aka “Wage Tracker Data Mart Module”; for research,

local program review, policy audiences

Salary Surfer

• http://testsite.cccco.edu/SalarySearcher/

• Measures latest 5 year running window of graduates median wages at:– 2 years before award date (previous employment)– 2 years after award date (roughly, starting salary)– 5 years after award date (roughly, journey salary)

Salary Surfer: Data Mart

• CCCCO “Data Mart” is public application designed for research audiences to build their own queries

• Results downloadable, expanded datasets

Wages by College by Program

• http://testsite.cccco.edu/ccccodatamart/outcomes/College_Wage_Tracker.aspx

• Measures median wages for 8 years of graduates at:– 3 years after award date

OR

Data Caveats

• EDDUI Data contains wages of occupations covered by CA Unemployment Insurance

• Excludes military, federal government, self-employed, out of state and unemployed

• No way of determining part time or full time wages. Hours worked not in the EDDUI data.

• Only students with SSNs counted.

Analysis Caveats

• Data reflects only the wage outcomes of award earners who remained in CA.

• Region/locale within CA significantly impacts wages.

• Wages are not necessarily from employment associated with a particular award discipline; no information on job or whether degree/job match.

Overall Wages

• Statewide median for wages 5 year after award:– $52,700 for Associate Degrees– $49,700 for Certificates.

• Of those that earned associate degrees:– ~50% had wages >$54,000 (equal to median income for CA residents

with BA/BS as highest degree (2011 Census ACS). – ~25% had wages >$81,000 (higher than the median income for CA

residents with MA/MS as highest degree ($72,000)).

• Median wages 5 years after award for students with:– Vocational associate degrees: $66,600– Non-vocational associate degrees: $38,500

Rollout

• All modules in beta; will go live mid-June

Questions & Comments…