Employment Outcomes at California Colleges - Improving Information for Students, Schools, and Policymakers

Oct 15, 2026

Report examines how higher education employment and wage outcomes data are collected and shared in California, assessing availability, comparability, completeness, and accessibility for policymakers, students, families, institutions, and researchers. It identifies key gaps: inconsistent definitions and formats across public segments, siloed and incomplete data systems, limited access for private institutions, and broader privacy/security concerns. Provides specific policy recommendations, including a centralized secure database, program-level wage data for private schools, and a public consumer-tested outcomes dashboard.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages24

Reading Time1 h 0 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Availability of Education Employment Outcomes Data in California

Policy Recommendations

Create a Centralized Database to House All Postsecondary Employment Outcomes Data

Provide Private Postsecondary Students with Reliable Program-Level Wage Data

Create a Publicly Accessible, Consumer-Tested Education Outcomes Dashboard

Security

Conclusion

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS) is an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan organization working to make higher education more available and affordable for people of all backgrounds. To learn more about TICAS, visit [ticas.org](ticas.org) and follow us on Twitter at @TICAS org. This report was written by Angela Perry. Debbie Cochrane, Lindsay Alhman, Neha Dalal, Veronica Gonzalez, and Jessica Thompson also made substantial contributions. We would like to thank the many experts who were generous in sharing their time and expertise on California’s available employment and wage outcomes data with us. They include Sara Adan, Matthew Case, Chris Furgiuele, Brianna Moore-Trieu, Michael Boucher, Patricia Felt, Marcus Dawson, Ria Sengupta Bhatt, Rona Sherriff, Brianna Bruns, and Colleen Moore. This report can be reproduced, with attribution, within the terms of this Creative Commons license: [creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/](creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/) . TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 4 Availability of Education Employment Outcomes Data in California 5 California Education Employment Outcomes Data are Inconsistent, Incomplete, and 6 Inaccessible Table: California’s Available Data on Employment and Wage Outcomes 7 Available Outcomes Data are Inconsistent: Separate and Unequal Data Reports 8 Images: What Earnings Reports Look Like From Different Public Segment Reports 9 Available Outcomes Data are Incomplete: Siloed Systems and At Risk Student 12 Box: Limitations of California’s Existing Data 13 Available Outcomes Data are Inaccessible: Uncoordinated and Disconnected Systems 14 Examples from Other States 14 Policy Recommendations 16 Create a Centralized Database to House All Postsecondary Employment Outcomes Data 16 Provide Private Postsecondary Students with Reliable Program-Level Wage Data 17 Create a Publicly Accessible, Consumer-Tested Education Outcomes Dashboard 17 Box: More Robust Outcome Data Need Not Come at the Expense of Reduced Privacy and Data 18 Security Conclusion 19 Introduction California has long been a national and global leader in developing and maintaining quality higher education options, as well as in providing financial aid and consumer protections for Californians who access that education. However, although California’s colleges and the state government do collect, receive, and report a great deal of data,1 these data have not been effectively connected to present accurate, understandable, and comparable employment outcomes information in a transparent way for policymakers, students and families, institutions, researchers, and others.2 While not the only benefit of higher education, the likelihood that a particular program will lead toa successful future career is one of the primary factors students and families consider when deciding whether and where to go to college, and how to pay for it.3 Employment and wage outcomes linked to higher education are also critical for policymakers who allocate resources and hold postsecondary schools accountable. Employment metrics can serve as an early predictor of successful student loan repayment, a topic of paramount concern for policymakers at all levels, as well as for researchers, students, the general public, and other stakeholders.4 And these metrics also provide critical information to colleges themselves, enabling them to assess the real world results of their educational efforts, and to work toward continuous improvement of their programs and curriculum. In the absence of a statewide data system in California, the California Community Colleges (CCC), California State University (CSU), and University of California (UC) have each initiated their own independent efforts to share higher education outcomes data. However, the data each independently share are slightly different, and there is no consistency in format or presentation among any of the segments

FAQs

What problem does the report highlight about California’s education employment outcomes data?

The report says existing outcomes data are not effectively connected or presented in a transparent way, making them hard to compare and understand across stakeholders.

Why are employment and wage outcomes considered important in the report?

They influence how students and families decide on programs and finances, help policymakers allocate resources and evaluate schools, and support colleges’ continuous improvement.

What policy recommendations does the report propose to improve the data?

It recommends creating a centralized secure statewide database, requiring private schools to share verified employment and wage data similarly to public segments, and launching a public consumer-tested outcomes dashboard.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Quinn Holloway