Census Bureau expands institutional participation for Post-Secondary Education Outcomes

Despite having no coordinated outreach and growth strategy, the Census Bureau’s Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics (LEHD) program has increased university participation in its Post-Secondary Education Outcomes (PSEO) survey — which illuminates the employment and earnings outcomes of graduates as well as what industries they work in and which region of the country they live in after graduation — and is already in the process of negotiating a significant expansion for the next wave. Originally developed in partnership with the University of Texas System, the program has grown to include the Colorado Department of Higher Education, the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison — bringing the total number of participating institutions to 47. The Census Bureau is currently negotiating agreements with university systems and state departments of higher education in Arizona, Indiana, New York (SUNY and CUNY systems), Ohio, Texas (Higher Education Coordinating Board), Utah, and Virginia.

The Census Bureau expects their online tool to be used primarily by prospective university students as they face the challenge of picking a college and degree program. The interactive tool provides institutional level data on earnings by degree level, major, and number of years after graduation as well as the professions — defined by two digit NAICS codes — in which degree holders end up working. The tool also shows the regional geographic movements of these students post-graduation.

For example, if a student has decided that the University of Colorado-Boulder is the school they want to attend but are undecided between pursuing a degree in astrophysics or aerospace engineering, the tool shows that within one year of graduating, bachelor degree recipients in aerospace engineering earn a median annual income of nearly $65,000 while those earning astrophysics degrees earn a median of only $28,000 annually. Or if the student has decided on aerospace engineering and is comparing the University of Colorado-Boulder and the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, they can see that median wages are essentially the same between the two schools and can focus their decision making on other criteria.

While this tool provides some anecdotally interesting information that may be helpful to students or parents in narrowing down college options from among the 47 participating institutions, the data only covers 1.1 million students, or approximately 5 percent of the total student population at public institutions of higher education. With the coming expansion, the bureau expects the data to cover approximately 25 percent of public university students.

Other challenges with using the data include that it counts entrepreneurial, self-employed individuals as unemployed, relies heavily on employer supplied data, and does not use more complete IRS data (although the PSEO research team is currently exploring how to incorporate W-2 and 1099 information). There are also no data on student demographics although the research team is also considering how to make that available. For organizations wishing to participate, the bureau requires no fee — only data — and encourages organizations to reach out.