| 来源类型 | Report |
| 规范类型 | 报告 |
| Saving the associate of arts degree: How an A.A. degree can become a better path to labor market success | |
| Mark Schneider; Matthew Sigelman | |
| 发表日期 | 2018-01-23 |
| 出版年 | 2018 |
| 语种 | 英语 |
| 摘要 | Key Points Every year, around 670,000 students earn associate degrees from community colleges—yet only about 32,000 job postings in 2016 specifically asked for an associate of arts (A.A.) degree. Five years after graduation, A.A. degree holders earn on average less than $40,000 per year. With a few additional skills, A.A. graduates could compete for more jobs and earn at least $4,000 more annually. The wage penalty for A.A. degree holders is even greater compared to their peers who earn technically oriented associate’s degrees. Because A.A. degrees are designed as transfer credentials and not to equip students with marketable skills, hundreds of thousands of these A.A. graduates are losing thousands of dollars in earnings year after year. Students need more information to help them find community college programs that deliver marketable skills, and community colleges should reform A.A. programs to add elective skills-based courses or embed high-value, industry-recognized certifications into those courses of study. Read the full PDF. Executive Summary Every year hundreds of thousands of students earn an associate of arts (A.A.) degree from community colleges in the United States. Most graduates intend to use the degree as a stepping-stone to a bachelor’s degree. As a result, most A.A. degree programs focus more on general education than developing marketable skills. Unfortunately, many A.A. students never earn a bachelor’s degree. Without this higher-level degree and without high-value, marketable skills, A.A. degree holders experience a wage penalty compared to their peers completing career and technically oriented associate degrees and, as we show below, compared to what employers are willing to pay better-skilled workers. In this paper, we explore how to increase the A.A. degree’s labor market value and the likelihood that A.A. graduates can earn family-sustaining wages. We do this by first identifying a set of career areas and corresponding occupations in which: Graduates of A.A. degree programs typically have many of the skills required for that occupation; Employers demonstrate a willingness to accept an associate-level credential; and The gap between the required skills and the skills students may develop in their degree can be bridged through incremental training. Through an analysis of the job postings in Burning Glass Technologies’ proprietary database that fit these criteria, we then identify the skills students need to compete more successfully for jobs in these occupations. We also discuss mechanisms by which students and colleges can build on our analysis to improve the value of the A.A. degree. These include: Using guided pathways to increase the likelihood of successfully transferring from the A.A. to a bachelor’s program; Identifying the marketable skills that are most in demand in local labor markets—and communicating that information to students; Embedding these marketable skills in the curricula of A.A. programs; and Establishing strong ties with local employers, both to increase awareness of needed skills and to provide avenues for students into employment. Many colleges already do one or more of these. But a more systematic approach to improving the market value of the A.A. degree is necessary. Introduction According to current federal data, community colleges awarded over 670,000 associate degrees during the 2014–15 academic year.1 Some of these associate degrees are technically oriented, directly preparing students for careers in fields such as information technology, manufacturing, and health services. But, as shown in Table 1, roughly 289,000 (over 40 percent) of associate degrees awarded by community colleges were in a single field of study: liberal arts, general studies, and humanities. Another roughly 100,000 degrees were awarded in related liberal arts or transfer-oriented programs including multi/interdisciplinary studies; area, ethnic, cultural, gender, and group studies; social sciences and history; and visual and performing arts. In total, over half of associate degrees are likely oriented toward transferring to a four-year degree program. Associate of arts (A.A.) degrees are generally designed to be stepping-stones to a bachelor’s degree. When the process works, A.A. degrees permit students to receive two years of education at a relatively inexpensive community college and then transfer to a four-year school to complete a bachelor’s degree. In theory, the transfer process can save students a significant amount of money. According to the College Board, in 2016–17 the average full-time student at a public two-year college must cover about $7,560 in net tuition, books, fees, and living expenses (i.e., how much a student pays after financial aid awards).2 At the same time, the average full-time, in-state student at a public four-year institution pays $14,210 per year. Thus, a student who attends a community college for two years and then transfers to a bachelor’s degree program can save, on average, around $13,000. As attractive as this transfer mechanism may be, the ideal of a seamless, lower-cost pathway from an A.A. degree to a bachelor’s degree plays out far too infrequently. Read the full report. Notes |
| 主题 | Higher Education |
| 标签 | Career and technical education ; Community college ; Higher education ; human dignity ; Human Dignity Project ; New Skills Marketplace |
| URL | https://www.aei.org/research-products/report/saving-the-associate-of-arts-degree-how-an-a-a-degree-can-become-a-better-path-to-labor-market-success/ |
| 来源智库 | American Enterprise Institute (United States) |
| 资源类型 | 智库出版物 |
| 条目标识符 | http://119.78.100.153/handle/2XGU8XDN/206505 |
| 推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714 | Mark Schneider,Matthew Sigelman. Saving the associate of arts degree: How an A.A. degree can become a better path to labor market success. 2018. |
| 条目包含的文件 | ||||||
| 文件名称/大小 | 资源类型 | 版本类型 | 开放类型 | 使用许可 | ||
| Saving-the-Associate（1468KB） | 智库出版物 | 限制开放 | CC BY-NC-SA | 浏览 | ||
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