That is one of the key arguments of a new paper released Monday by the National Bureau of Economic Research, or NBER, that examines the wage earnings of graduates of the California Community College system — the largest community college system in the nation.
“It is critical to find effective paths to human capital development for individuals who are unlikely to complete standard four-year academic programs,” researchers argue in the paper, titled “CAREER TECHNICAL EDUCATION AND LABOR MARKET OUTCOMES: EVIDENCE FROM CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY COLLEGES.”
“In California and the nation, declining real wages and record high unemployment for those without college degrees, combined with cuts to many state programs serving these populations, make it essential to understand what programs can be most effective,” the paper states.
The paper — written by UC Davis economics professors Ann Huff Stevens and Michel Grosz, and UC Davis education professor Michal Kurlaender — comes at a time when increased emphasis is being placed on community colleges — á la the Obama administration’s proposal to make community college free.
It also comes at a time when there is an increased emphasis on providing students with information on how much they are likely to earn if they enter a particular college or field of study.
Later this week, for instance, as part of Congress’s effort to reauthorize the Higher Education Act, the Senate HELP committee is slated to conduct a hearing on the role of consumer information in college choice.
