Overall, mean earnings of graduates of public undergraduate certificate programs are nearly $9,000 higher than mean earnings of graduates of for-profit undergraduate certificate programs. Public schools outperform for-profit schools

both in relative terms and in absolute terms at the certificate level.

Among undergraduate certificate graduates in fields that are common to both the public and private sectors (covering about 95 percent of graduates), average earnings are higher in the public sector at 80 percent of programs, which graduated 75 percent of students. Among undergraduate certificate programs of the same field of study, the average difference is about $2,700, or about 13 percent, higher for public-sector programs than for those in the for-profit sector.

These data indicate that sector is not the only factor students should consider when deciding to enroll in a program. Student success is also largely tied to the field of study one chooses to pursue. There are significant differences in earnings across program types. The variation in earnings between sectors is due in part to the types of programs

that are offered within each sector. Among undergraduate certificate programs, public-sector GE graduates were

relatively more likely to have attended programs of study that yield higher earnings, such as licensed practical nursing programs, and relatively less likely to have attended programs of study that yield lower earnings, such as cosmetology programs. This was not the case for students in the for-profit sector, where fewer than one in five graduates were enrolled in high-earning fields.

52 percent of GE graduates in public undergraduate certificate programs are in relatively high-earning fields of study, while only 17 percent of GE graduates in for-profit undergraduate certificate programs are in high earnings fields of study. Over 90 percent of graduates in cosmetology programs, where mean earnings are below $15,000, attend for-profit institutions.

65percent of graduates attending licensed practical nurse training programs, where average earnings are over $33,000, attend public institutions. These data also indicate that there is substantial variation in mean earnings by field

of study even within institutions. Many institutions with low earning programs also offer programs with higher earnings, meaning that even for students with limited options for attending a different institution of higher education, there may be

options to help them improve their odds of success. For example, nearly half of the institutions that had two or more undergraduate certificate programs had a $15,000 gap between the undergraduate certificate program with the highest median earnings and the undergraduate certificate program with the lowest median earnings. In short, the higher earnings experienced by graduates of public undergraduate certificate programs is due primarily to two factors:

(1) Public undergraduate certificate programs have relatively more GE students enrolled in relatively high earning fields of study.

High earning fields of study are defined as 6-digit CIP codes where the unweighted average of public and for-profit earnings are greater than $25,000.

LP Nursing – $33,835

Welding – $29,587

Public and For-Profit Completer Share of 14 Largest Undergraduate Certificate GE Fields of Study

NOTE: This  excludes private not-for-profit and foreign programs.

(2) GE graduates of public undergraduate certificate programs have higher earnings than graduates of for-

profit programs in the same fields. Workforce Implications While the returns of some career college programs are promising, many programs are underperforming in absolute terms.

Of particular concern is the significant share of programs and graduates averaging earnings that are less than a full-time minimum wage worker ($14,500).

Here,again, public institutions on the whole tend to outperform programs at for-profit institutions.

Among all programs at the certificate level, 32 percent of for-profit students graduated from programs with median earnings

below this threshold—compared with only 14 percent in the public sector. On the other hand, a greater share of graduates at higher levels of study in for-profit programs earn more than a full-time minimum wage earner than those of lower credentialed programs. For example, among associate degree students in for-profit programs, about 5 percent

are in programs that have average wages less than a full-time minimum wage worker. Among

bachelors and masters degree students in for-profit programs, less than one percent are in programs that have

average wages less than a full-time min imum wage worker.

To qualify for federal student aid, the Higher Education Act requires that most for-profit programs and certificate programs at private non-profit and public institutions prepare students for “gainful employment in a recognized occupation.”

Under the Department’s regulations, a program is considered to lead to gainful employment if the estimated annual loan payment of a typical graduate does not exceed 20 percent of his or her discretionary income or 8 percent of his or her total

earnings. Programs that exceed these levels are at risk of losing their ability to participate in taxpayer-funded federal student aid programs.

The final gainful employment regulations went into effect on July 1, 2015 and reflect the feedback the Department received through an extensive rulemaking process involving public hearings, negotiations and about 95,000 public comments.

The regulations established new data reporting requirements for institutions offering GE programs, which have enabled the Department to produce program-level metrics for the first time. The data released today represent the mean and

median earnings of graduates of career college programs, and were reported by the Social Security Administration as part of the Department of Education’s landmark gainful employment regulations. Roughly 3,700 institutions nationwide offer career

training programs that are subject to the regulations, which aim to protect Americans from poor career training programs and target those that leave students buried in debt.

In January, the Department will release debt-to-earnings metrics. Programs that fail the metrics

and do not improve will lose eligibility for federal student aid. These rates will hold institutions accountable for leaving students saddled with debt they cannot repay and safeguard taxpayer dollars.

Releasing a New Disclosure Template:

The Department’s regulations require all gainful employment programs to disclose earnings

and other key information directly to current and prospective students using a disclosure

template designed by the Department with input from students, parents, counselors, and others.

The data will empower students make strong choices about where to enroll in college, including helping them to

avoid programs that are likely to leave them with unaffordable debts and poor employment prospects.