New Study Measures ‘Return on Investment’ in Cal Higher Education

A new study measures “return on investment” in California higher education for low- and moderate-income learners and analyzes whether they can quickly recoup their costs of attending.

Eloy Ortiz OakleyGolden Opportunities: Measuring Return on Investment in California Higher Education for Low- and Moderate-Income Learners was commissioned by College Futures Foundation with a specific focus on the state’s low- and moderate-income learners. The report seeks to inform the state and nation’s approach to ensuring that higher education delivers on its promise for students of all backgrounds.

“Like many Californians, we wanted real answers about how long it takes students in this income category to recoup their educational costs,” said College Futures Foundation President & CEO Eloy Ortiz Oakley, former Chancellor of the California Community Colleges.

“California’s future must be one in which learners and their families feel confident in higher education’s value and unique ability to improve economic outcomes, close equity gaps, and enable learners to benefit from upward mobility as they achieve their dreams.”

Golden Opportunities compares out-of-pocket costs for a degree with the earnings outcomes of roughly 731,000 low- and moderate-income undergrads at 292 institutions, who collectively enroll some 1.9 million certificate- and degree-seeking students.

“This study is unique in that it is one of the first looks at California postsecondary ROI that focuses on low- and moderate-income students — and it looks at student outcomes data as opposed to survey responses,” said Michael Itzkowitz, founder and president of the HEA Group, and the report’s lead author and researcher.

Michael ItzkowitzThe report’s analysis includes public, private, not-for-profit, and for-profit educational institutions and is based on data reported by the institutions to the U.S. Department of Education.