Essential Data on Colleges and Careers

Information gathered by Sheila J. Curran, March, 2009, revised February, 2010

Across the country, colleges and universities are re-thinking goals and aspirations in light of diminishing revenues and falling endowments. At the same time, prospective students and their families increasingly seek an economic value for their tuition investment.  These realities conflict when it comes to providing exceptional career assistance to students and alumni. The following data support the assertion that colleges and universities need to focus not only on student learning outcomes, but also on ensuring the success of their graduates.

DATA ON COLLEGE GRADUATES  (Bachelor’s degree and above)
 

Source: Chart A-4, Employment status of the civilian population 25 years and over by educational attainment, Bureau of Labor Statistics

• Unemployment rate 5.0% for college graduates over age 25 (February, 2010)
• Unemployment rate 4.2% for college graduates over age 25 (February, 2009)
• 19% increase in unemployment rate over one year period, February 2009 to February 2010, and a 127% increase in 2 years
• 407,000 more bachelor’s degree grads over 25 are currently unemployed than at this time last year (February 2010 vs. February 2009)
• Highest unemployment rate among college graduates over 25: 5.3% in July 2009; Lowest unemployment rate among college graduates over 25: 1.4% in December 2000
• Unemployment rate for bachelors’ degree college graduates under the age of 25 was 8.7% in February, 2010 vs. 9% in February, 2009 vs. 4.3% in February, 2008, a decrease of 3.4% in the past year but a 102% increase over the past two years. The equivalent unemployment rates for high school graduates with no college were 21.8% in February, 2010 vs. 18% in February, 2009, vs. 12.1% in February 2008. This equates to an 80.2% increase over the last two years

Source: National Association of Colleges and Employers, National Association of Colleges and Employers, Spring, 2009

• Employers intend to reduce entry-level hiring of college graduates by 22% in 2009 over 2008 (Job Outlook, Spring Update)
• 19.7% of college graduates who applied for a job in 2009, actually have one by graduation. (News release, May 6, 2009, from NACE 2009 Student Survey.) This figure compares to 26% in the Class of 2008 and 51% of the Class of 2007
•  27% of the Class of 2009 planned to go on to further education (NACE 2009 Student Survey)

Sheila Curran prediction for the Class of 2009, made January, 2009: 70% of those students who wanted jobs would not have one lined up by graduation, and 30% of the Class of 2009 who wanted jobs would still be looking for appropriate work when the Class of 2010 graduates.  These estimates are based on NACE statistics, statistics from Michigan State, observation of student behavior and career center informal reports from across the country.

Source: Unemployment at Highest Rate in over 25 years, Economic Policy Institute, March 6, 2009

“…more than one in seven workers in this country—an estimated 23.1 million people—was either unemployed or underemployed in February [2009]. Since the start of the recession, the number of involuntary part-time workers has increased by 4 million, from 4.6 million to 8.6 million.

Long-term unemployment—the share of the unemployed who have been without a job for more than six months—also remained high at 23.1%, which is unsurprising given that there are currently over 4 unemployed workers per job opening last month. In this labor market, unemployed workers are seeing their chances of finding a job grow ever dimmer”

Source: Almanac Issue, 2009-10, The Chronicle of Higher Education

~1.653 million students will graduate with a bachelor’s degree in 2010
~724,000 students will graduate with a masters degree or a PhD in 2010 (does not include professional school graduates, e.g., MBA graduates)

DATA ON PROSPECTIVE STUDENT/PARENTAL EXPECTATIONS
 

Source: Key Drivers of Educational Value: The Emergence of Educational ROI, Eduventures, December 2006, 6000+ respondents

Leading drivers of educational value among freshmen are
• professional preparation (72%)
• strength of the academic program (62%), and
• affordability (47%)

Source: Messaging the Attributes of Academic Reputation, Eduventures, 2007
240 prospective students, question about expectations of their selected college, Scale of 1-7, with an answer of 7 meaning that it is most likely a selected college would lead to this result

• Ability to develop a career in which I will enjoy working:  6.3
• Ability to find a job quickly after graduation:  6.2
• Ability to get into graduate or professional school of my choice:  6.0
• Ability to develop a career that will provide a good salary:  6.0
• Ability to repay student loans:  5.7
 

Source: This Year’s Freshmen at 4-year Colleges: a Statistical Profile, The Chronicle of Higher Education, January 30, 2009

Top Reasons noted as very important in selecting college attended:
• College has a very good academic reputation: 64.7%
• Graduates get good jobs: 54.2%
• Was offered financial assistance:  43.0%                                   

THE COST OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND THE ECONOMIC VALUE OF A COLLEGE DEGREE 
 

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, (Sheila Curran analysis on the five-year period between 2004 and 2008)

• The median average salary for a college graduate (bachelor’s degree only) rose from $19474 to $22033
• The average annual percentage increase in salary between 2004 and 2008 for a college graduate was 2.6%
•The average increase in inflation between 2004 and 2008 was 3.2%
 

Source: Almanac Issue, 2009-10, The Chronicle of Higher Education

Number of non-profit 4-year Colleges/Universities in US:            2201

Costs, including tuition, fees, accommodation, transportation, books

            • Average cost of private 4-year college: ~$37,390
            • Average cost of public 4-year colleges (out-of-state): ~$29,193
            • Average cost of public 4-year colleges (in-state): ~$18,326
 

Source: Trends in Higher Education Series, 2007, Table 3a, College Board
“The average annual rate of increase [college tuition] during this period [1997-98 to 2007-08] was 5.6%–2.9% after adjusting for inflation.”
 

Source: Up, Up, and Away, Boston.com, October 5, 2008
“For the first time in history,…the price of a year at these schools [Boston College, Boston University] and many others has surpassed the median US household income of $50,233”

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, BLS, Last modified  March 6, 2009
2008 data on the value of education

Unemployment Rate in 2008. Unemployment Rate as of March 2009 in parentheses
Doctoral degree: 2%
Professional degree: 1.7%
Master’s degree: 2.4%
Bachelor’s degree: 2.8% (4.3%: also includes those with masters and professional degrees)
Associate degree: 3.7%
Some college, no degree: 5.1% (7.2%: also includes those with associate degrees)
High school graduate: 5.7% (9.0%)
Less than a high school diploma: 9.0% (13.3%)

Weekly Earnings in 2008
Doctoral degree: $1,555
Professional degree: $1,522
Master’s degree: $1,228
Bachelor’s degree: $978
Associate degree: $736
Some college, no degree: $645
High school graduate: $591
Less than a high school diploma: $426
 

CAREER SERVICES
 

Source: Research, 2006-2007, National Association of Colleges and Universities (NACE)
512 Institutions surveyed
# of Careers Offices reporting to Student Affairs: 67.1%
# of Careers Offices reporting to Academic Affairs: 17.7%

Source: Doing More with Less, Development Learning Collaborative Roundtable, Eduventures, February 20, 2009. 33 respondents. Polling question on “What services is your institution increasing for alumni in response to the economy”.

• Online/Social Networking:   76%
• Alumni Networking Events:  64%
• Career counseling/advising: 48%

CAREER OUTCOMES FOR THE COLLEGE GRAD

Source: Five Year Out Alumni Survey, Class of 2001, Duke University, March, 2007 (commissioned by Sheila Curran)

75% of those who wanted jobs found jobs within six months of graduation
27% have remained with the same company
43% are in a different career field than the one they entered immediately after graduation
44% are still not sure they are in the right career field
They have held an average of 2.79 jobs each
50% of the time, they found jobs through personal connections
60% of the time, their career choices were influenced somewhat or a great deal by their parents
The most useful skills gained through their college education were
            • Writing
            • Teamwork
            • Organizational leadership
            • Research

Source: 70% of Gen Y Leave First Job within Two Years, Experience, Inc., September, 2008

70% of recent graduates left their job within two years of their joining
43% are not in the career they expected to be in after college
60% are currently looking for another job or career
57% report being happy in their current job
74% of recent graduates are in a career that aligns with their college major