Each year, more than 20 million students invest in a college education. Annual expenditures on college—tuition paid by students plus private, local, state, and federal funding—exceed $500 billion. Given these large investments, it is important to evaluate whether this spending is as productive as it could be.
- Are students making investments that will improve their economic futures? Are they choosing programs and awards with high returns? Does the economy appropriately reward the skills they gain in college?
- Is public funding of college efficient? Does the financial aid system help students prosper in college and the labor market?
- Are colleges organized so that these investments yield the highest returns? Which college systems and policies provide the most help to students? Is higher education regulated in a way that promotes economic growth?
The 2017 CAPSEE conference will address these questions as it sums up five years of research from the Center for Analysis of Postsecondary Education and Employment, a consortium of scholars from seven universities housed and led by the Community College Research Center (CCRC) at Teachers College, Columbia University. The research draws on recent large-scale, system-wide datasets provided by five partner states linking college transcripts to individual student earnings. Presenters will include academic researchers, professionals working within education systems, policy analysts, and media representatives.
Visit the website to learn more: http://capseecenter.org/2017-capsee-conference/