Credentials, Degrees, and Workforce Preparation: Getting the Story Straight

‍TLDR: We need to stop writing the same story in which White and economically advantaged populations tend to receive degrees that turn out to be more lucrative and beneficial than their non-White and economically disadvantaged peers.

When it comes to the future of work and the value of higher education in the United States, there is a particular story that has become ubiquitous in both the educational and mainstream media. It goes something like this:

‍Bachelor’s degrees are risky for today’s young people. They are expensive and take a long time to complete (which is far from guaranteed). Even for those who complete a bachelor’s degree, underemployment and student debt loom large as does the threat of AI for job prospects. In contrast, credentials take less time to complete and provide a path to well-paying jobs. Better yet, for those who seek further postsecondary education, stackable credentials open the door to a range of postsecondary options.

‍This story sounds right. It addresses real problems. Public confidence in higher education has declined, college transfer and completion rates remain stubbornly mediocre while student debt levels have climbed, and some signs indicate growing unemployment among bachelor’s degree holders.

‍Telling Stories

‍The story sounds right. But is it?

‍Data from 40 states on career and technical education course taking during high school indicates that Black and Latino students are less likely than their White peers to enroll in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) and information technology classes, while Black students were more likely to take courses associated with lower wage industries, including hospitality and  human services courses.

‍Considering postsecondary non-degree credentials, a 2012 study found that Black workers with certificates had the lowest earnings among workers of any race/ethnicity, while a recent study demonstrates that economically disadvantaged youth earn, on average, lower value credentials. Similarly, Hispanic and Black students are far more likely than White students to earn a degree from for-profit institutions, which award many certificates with low labor-market value. Meanwhile, White students are much more likely to earn a degree from a public four-year institution, where bachelor’s degrees are the predominant credential.  Anthony Carnevale of the Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce refers to this phenomenon as “White flight to the bachelor’s degree.”

‍None of this is to say that everyone needs a college degree and no one should be pursuing non-degree credentials. As noted above, there are real problems within our systems of higher education and workforce preparation. These problems need real solutions. But retracing the well-worn path by which White and economically advantaged populations tend to receive degrees that turn out to be more lucrative and beneficial than their non-White and economically disadvantaged peers is not a solution.

‍We need to tell a better story.

Getting the Story Straight

‍There is great promise in short-term training programs and credentials, especially with the right funding and accountability mechanisms and with an authentic focus on expanding future options for upward mobility.

‍But achieving such a system first requires putting in the work required to understand which credentials lead to positive outcomes. Most research in higher education has focused on associate and bachelor’s degree programs, and research on the labor-market value of credentials is still nascent. There is even less research on the outcomes of students by race. Individuals are increasingly opting for non-degree programs and lawmakers continue to pursue policies that would allocate more higher education funding to certificates and short-term credentials. We need research that sheds light on whether this strategy effectively produces both a quality workforce as well as equity.

‍We also need to create systems that connect initial credentials to continued postsecondary education via cogent pathways to upward career and economic mobility. Although certificate programs are theoretically stackable, existing data suggest they are rarely stacked in practice. Not everyone wants or needs a bachelor’s degree; this doesn’t mean we should foreclose on the bachelor’s degree as an accessible future option for credential holders. It is possible to create pathways that keep that door open.‍ ‍