EDU022 Non-academic student support services leading to a higher educational credential (2-year/Associate degree)

This metric is based on multifaceted, integrated programs that directly address many of the barriers to academic success faced by low-income and minority students. The program may include the following components: frequent and comprehensive advising, active messaging to students to encourage enrollment following college acceptance, frequent and comprehensive career and employment services, and financial support.

Number of participants: Reported by program.

Q: Percentage earning an associate degree due to the intervention: [0.10] This is estimated by Constellation staff using the following formula:

In this formula, ES is the effect size from Weis, et al. (2019) on the rate of graduation [0.33]. The base percentage [29%] is the estimated proportion of students from low-income schools (schools with more than 50% of students eligible for free- or reduced-price lunch) in the U.S. estimated from the National Student Clearinghouse (2016).

Student service expenditures per student: Reported by program.

Difference in lifetime earnings between a higher education degree vs. high school equivalence: [$217,000]. This is the weighted average of additional lifetime earnings of associate and bachelor’s degree holders computed using ACS data (U.S. Census, 2017). These benefits are already discounted to present value.

Causation factor of college on earnings: [0.56]. This is the percentage of observed earnings gains caused by a higher education degree. This factor measures the degree to which the observed difference in earnings between types of graduates and non-graduates is causal (WSIPP, 2019).

U.S. Census Bureau. (2017). American Community Survey 5-year estimates – public use microdata sample, 2013-2017. Generated using Public Use Microdata Area (PUMA) in the Seven-county Twin Cities Metropolitan Area.

Washington State Institute for Public Policy. (2019). Benefit-cost technical documentation. Olympia, WA: Author. Retrieved from: http://www.wsipp.wa.gov/TechnicalDocumentation/WsippBenefitCostTechnicalDocumentation.pdf

Weiss, M. J., Ratledge, A., Sommo, C., & Gupta, H. (2019). Supporting community college students from start to degree completion: Long-term evidence from a randomized trial of CUNY’s ASAP. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 11(3), 253–297. https://doi.org/10.1257/app.20170430