1. Earnings are the Key to Student Debt Mark Schneider President, College Measures Vice President, AIR

3. Three main themes At the bachelor’s level, there are many paths into good pay in the labor market besides the most prestigious campuses The two-year technical degree is a valuable credential which can help graduates find well- paying jobs. Many certificates are a pathway to good wages.

4. A cross-cutting theme There is lots of variation in the first-year earnings of graduates. This variation is – Across degrees – Across fields – Across institutions. Where students study, what they study, and what degree they earn matters. Evidence is consistent across states – Here we will show Colorado and Texas data

7. Colorado

8. Texas $11,000

10. Texas

15. Two year technical degrees are valuable: Texas

16. Texas

17. Grads with academic two year degrees earn far less than grads with technical two-year degrees Remember: median for technical degrees>$50,000

18. Variation across community colleges of grads with same majors: Texas

20. For further information Go to: www.collegemeasures.org/esm/ or contact: Mark Schneider mschneider@air.org 202.445.5056 www.collegemeasures.org/esm/ mschneider@air.org