A growing number of organizations and initiatives are working to increase awareness and understanding of value when it comes to higher education.
American Enterprise Institute
This report from AEI provides new data on what individual cohorts of students earn after they complete a particular program in a particular institution of higher education, allowing policymakers and students to better understand the price for a particular college or program with knowledge of potential future earnings.
College Scorecard
The U.S. Department of Education created this searchable database of colleges and universities to provide information on cost of attendance, financial aid and average debt, retention and graduation rates, and post-graduation earnings. Data on student debt load and earnings by field of study are now available, as well as data on program-level outcomes, certificate-granting institutions and additional data on graduation rates.
Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce
The center is a nationally recognized research and policy institute focusing on the link between education, career qualifications and workforce demands. This includes research on the relationship between students’ educational choices and their economic outcomes.
Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP)
The institute is a nonpartisan, nonprofit research and advocacy organization committed to equity in higher education for all students, with a special focus on historically underserved populations. In addition to being the managing partner for the Postsecondary Value Commission, IHEP convenes the Postsecondary Data Collaborative (PostsecData), a coalition of organizations committed to improving the collection, reporting, and use of key higher education data.
New America
This annual survey examines Americans’ opinions on higher education, including the sentiments and nuance of people’s thoughts about its value, who should fund it, and what the government’s role should be.
newamerica.org/education-policy/reports/varying-degrees-2020/
Opportunity Insights
This organization, headquartered at Harvard University, produces a range of analyses on economic mobility, including a report card on the mobility of low-income students attending American colleges and universities.
Third Way
This Washington, D.C.-based think tank produces a range of analyses related to the value of higher education, including opinion research and comparisons of institutional spending and outcomes.
https://www.thirdway.org/report/which-college-programs-give-students-the-best-bang-for-their-buck
Washington Monthly
The magazine’s annual College Guide includes rankings of colleges and universities on how well they serve low-income students and in 2021 will update their rankings to include an expanded set of value measures.
washingtonmonthly.com/2020/08/31/our-2020-college-rankings-are-out-see-how-your-school-did/