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Writer's pictureJoanne Jacobs

Beware of 'low-value' colleges, but it's hard to say which programs don't pay


Will a degree in social work from Middling State U lead to higher earnings? What's the payoff for enrolling in fashion design at Fugly College of the Arts or archaeology at St. Exorbitant?


The Biden administration's plan to list "low-financial-value colleges" is strongly opposed by the higher education lobby, reports Katherine Knott on Inside Higher Ed.


It's not possible to evaluate postsecondary programs' "qualitative and quantitative" value, argues the American Council on Education. There are too many factors to consider.

Broadly, organizations representing nonprofit colleges and universities urged the department to rethink its plans, while for-profit colleges advocated for metrics that would cover all sectors of higher education. Meanwhile, think tanks and education researchers offered suggestions on how exactly the department should determine which programs provide a low financial value to students and taxpayers — debt-to-earnings ratios, program completion rates and earnings above the average high school graduate’s salary were popular recommendations.

In public comments, some asked the department to exclude “social good programs,” such as those that prepare teachers or social workers, because earnings tend to be low, reports Knott.


The “low-financial-value” label could be linked to financial aid, wrote Barbara Mistick, president of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities. The federal government could "take a role in directing students on where and what to study.”


Some hope the list will help students avoid taking on debt they can't repay, writes Matthew Arrojas on BestColleges.


Third Way, the Institute for Higher Education Policy and New America "urged the department to use a debt-to-earnings ratio to determine low financial value," such as the gainful employment metric for for-profit and credential programs.


Programs can fail to show gainful employment if graduates' median earnings are less than the median for working adults 25 to 34 with only a high school or GED diploma. It's a low bar.

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Bruce Smith
Bruce Smith
Feb 25, 2023

Using the gainful employment metric for all programmes, and calculating the marginal gains above a high certificate for all institutional and programme entrants -- not merely graduates, since in some institutional programmes few graduate -- should help to calculate the financial return on investment (other, qualitative returns are indeed hard to calculate).

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Guest
Feb 24, 2023

Another way to look at this is degrees that can lead to more financial success but require support beyond the college degree. Think of the job fields that require unpaid internships, where entry level if in NYC, SF, or LA, or require parents financial support during the first low paid years.

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Guest
Feb 24, 2023

Yeah, the student loan forgiveness advocacy should be putting paid to the lies propagated about how college leads to higher earnings. For the last 60 years, those who would have been successful regardless were pushed into colleges and colleges used their success in "cargo cult" style to lure students to take on more debt. But now the demand is for those who didn't go to college to pay for the years long party, with a smattering of classes, for those who did.


No longer does a college degree ensure a good paying sinecure in the bureaucracy. Now, instead of ensuring the family stays in the middle class, it is likely to at best make the graduate one of Orwell's "shabb…


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