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Credit: Ecole polytechnique via Flickr
Education Dive
Report: Students earn associate degrees, certificates at equal rates to bachelor's
Jeremy Bauer-Wolf
Jan. 29, 2020
Dive Brief:
Colleges awarded roughly the same number of associate degrees and
certificates combined (1.95 million) in 2016 as bachelor's degrees
(1.92 million), according to a new report from Georgetown University's
Center on Education and the Workforce.
Though the authors describe the four-year degree as the "gold standard"
for stable employment, they found that depending on field of study,
workers with an associate degree can earn more than someone with a
bachelor's. In some cases, certificate holders can outearn those with a
bachelor's.
The center's analysis highlights the growing focus on alternative
credentials, which comes as colleges look for ways to make their
programs available to a wider range of prospective students than before.
Dive Insight:
Growth in certificates and associate degrees outpaced bachelor's
degrees during and immediately after the Great Recession, though the
trend has equalized in recent years.
The center's report builds on its earlier research highlighting recent
growth in the number of jobs requiring more than a high school diploma
but less than a four-year degree. Those positions now account for
around one quarter of jobs that pay at least $35,000 for younger
workers and $45,000 for older workers.
To address this demand, two- and four-year colleges are adding more
associate degrees and alternative credentials. Some, like the cloud
computing certificates and degrees offered by colleges across the
country in partnership with Amazon, are designed to meet the needs of
specific employers. Google is offering an IT certificate program at
community colleges.
Other institutions and systems, including the University System of
Georgia, are augmenting their associate degree programs to give
students a wider range of options. Its two-year nexus degrees require
students take specialized upper-level courses and a paid internship,
according to The Chronicle of Higher Education. And some community
colleges are embedding industry-recognized credentials into their
degrees.
The report also highlights that racial and ethnic minorities enroll in
associate and certificate programs disproportionately compared to their
white counterparts. About 62% of Latino students and 56% of black
students pursued an associate degree or certificate compared to 47% of
white students.
Associate degrees and certificates tend to be more "career-oriented"
than bachelor's degrees, the report noted. More than half (57%) of
associate degrees and nearly all (94%) certificates are tailored to
helping graduates find employment in the field.
Liberal arts degrees also have a high return on investment, but not
immediately, Georgetown researchers detailed in a report this month. A
decade after enrolling in a liberal arts college, graduates have a
median return on investment of about $62,000, about 40% lower than all
other types of institutions. Forty years after enrolling, however, the
median return is $918,000, a few hundred thousand dollars more than
that of all other colleges.
Certificates and associate degrees can lead to high pay, the report
points out, in some cases more than bachelor's degrees. Graduates with
associate degrees in engineering have median annual earnings of about
$50,000 to $60,000 a year, compared to education bachelor's degree
holders, who earn a median of roughly $30,000 to $40,000, according to
the center.
"Field of study matters most when it comes to certificates and
associate's degrees," Anthony Carnevale, the report's lead author and
the center's director, said in a statement. "A worker with an
associate's degree can earn more than a worker with a bachelor's
degree, and shorter-term credentials like certificates and
certifications can out-earn associate's degrees."
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