Prospective college students in Colorado can now compare public colleges and their return on investment down to the academic program they choose.
The website, Launch My Career, includes “expected earnings, comparisons of those earnings with the investment required to earn a credential, demand for jobs in a field of study — both statewide and in select metropolitan areas — and whether others who have pursued the same college program are happy with their jobs, based on data from Gallup,” according to Inside Higher Ed.
Pragmatic-minded governors have embraced public college as career training. Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper added his name at the top of Launch My Career to signal his support. Public officials have gotten the message from students — and employers — that they’re interested in developing skills to pursue a career. They want their college experience to pay off, and the furor over student loan debt has made them sensitive to post-graduate earnings.
The website is a collaboration of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, College Measures, Gallup, and USA Funds, and expansions for Minnesota, Tennessee, and Texas are planned.
“Our ability to generate workforce of tomorrow is going to depend on the success of business today,” Hickenlooper said at a press conference. “Launch My Career Colorado isn’t the whole answer, but it will go a long way toward integrating all the other efforts going on.”
It isn’t the first effort to find a college’s return on investment. The Economist published value rankings last year, and the Department of Education’s College Scorecard offers some comparisons based on academic program as well. The state-specific comparison, however, could keep students from leaving their home regions looking for jobs. If students see a direct path to employment in-state, they’re more likely to stay — and boost tax revenue for the state. The “brain drain” of publicly funding colleges, only to see them go elsewhere, can be avoided.
The economic mercenary shift in higher education might have some college professors and administrators complaining, but students now have the ability to vote for their college ideal with their feet — or tuition fees.
