Breaking with Tradition: Measuring the Economic Impact of Higher Education Presentation to the Budgeting for Results Commission Meegan Dugan Bassett October 4, 2012

Our Mission Increase the economic status of women and remove barriers to economic equity through: Promoting fairer workplaces, and Opening doors to high quality higher education and higher paid careers Since Women Employed has mobilized people & organizations to expand educational and employment opportunities for America’s working women.

Why higher education matters Higher education is the best way out of poverty for most families. By 2025,63% of Illinois jobs will require some higher education.

More Education Means More Money

More Education Means Less Unemployment

Illinois’ 60x25 Goal To remain globally competitive, the U.S. and each state should ensure that at least 60% of adults ages 25 to 64 have an associate or bachelor's degree by In Illinois, the current rate is 41.3%.

The CLASP/NCHEMS ROI Tool This web-based tool provides college graduation and state revenue projections based on several adjustable variables. 20Tool/Illinois.swf

Impact on State Revenue Under current postsecondary investment patterns, Illinois’ revenue is projected to decrease over time. Source:

Impact on State Revenue Increasing our completion rate substantially means more state revenue. By meeting the performance of the top three states, Illinois can bring in new annual revenues far above our higher ed costs.

Impact on State Revenue

We Can’t Do it With High School Students Alone Tapping into this additional revenue requires a major paradigm shift

Our Current Workforce Is Essential to Meeting Our Goal Simply increasing the percentage of adults enrolled in college from 1.22% to 3.2% gets us closer to our goal

Maximizing the Economic Impact of Higher Education Low-income adults are our lowest income students- higher education has a major impact on their incomes and future state revenue Educating our current low-wage workforce provides 2 kinds of state revenue- additional tax dollars and savings in corrections, TANF, food stamps, and healthcare costs.

The Challenge: How Do You Measure Impact and Assign Resources Efficiently and Justly Potential pitfall- removing resources from the students who need it most. Measure value- not just in terms of best prepared students, but incomes of low-income adults If we aren’t graduating more low-income workers with economically valuable credentials, we aren’t getting the most value out of higher education.

Principle 1: Measure Deeper Economic Value To truly measure the impact of higher education on Illinois’ economy, we have to track how many low- income workers are earning economically valuable credentials. Measure higher education progress and completion by age, income, full-time/part-time, and race. Track progress and completion in economically valuable credentials and re-evaluate the need for credentials that are not. Invest in a robust longitudinal data system!

Principle 2: Use Leading Indicators Completion rates are essential, but are lagging indicators. Use research-based leading indicators to address problems quickly. Use research-based momentum points to identify which programs are moving students towards completion. Use pipeline studies to identify areas where we are losing students and how could make our system more effective. Examples: WI, WA, Gates’ Completion by Design Invest in a robust longitudinal data system!

Principle 2: Use Leading Indicators-- Momentum Points Proven indicators that students are more likely to succeed. Momentum points are partially integrated into Illinois’ performance funding (ie. credit hours earned 1st year) Additional momentum points to include: ◦ Percent who show proficiency gains in adult education or developmental education. ◦ Percent who pass one or more developmental education course(s) in their first year. ◦ Percent who complete first level math or composition course in their first year. ◦ Percent who enroll in certificate or degree program of study in first year. Invest in a robust longitudinal data system!

Principle 2: Use Leading Indicators-- Pipeline Studies Assesses student progress and completion in higher ed and areas that need immediate improvements. Uses momentum points such as gatekeeper course completion and credits earned to identify where students are dropping out. Includes students from all areas, including ESL, Adult Education, and Remedial/Developmental Education. Identifies progress and completion by low-income status, full-time/part-time study, age, program of study, and race. Could also be used to develop IL specific momentum points. Invest in a robust longitudinal data system!

Principle 3: Invest in Student Success Invest in students who need it most- student supports and curricular innovations Invest in expanding pilots that have been shown to work. E.g. Adult Education Bridge Programs and Effective Redesigns of Remedial Education Investing the least funding in the hardest to serve students is not an effective strategy!

Contact: Meegan Dugan Bassett Senior Policy Associate Women Employed p: x249 For more resources, visit our website