The HEA Group in the press
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Los Angeles Times: "Good salary, little to no debt: A California college guide to top-value majors"
October 3, 2024
About 260,000 graduates who received federal financial aid were examined in the report, which was commissioned by the nonprofit, Oakland-based College Futures Foundation and conducted by the HEA Group.
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Inside Higher Ed: "A Grad Degree Can Be a Risky Bet"
October 3, 2024
As emerging data shows that taking out loans to earn a graduate degree doesn't always pay off, policy experts call for even stronger regulation of graduate schools.
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EdSource: "College is one of life’s ‘biggest investments.’ A new report asks — is it worth it?
October 3, 2024
Most higher education in California pays off, new research found – but 112 programs had no economic return on investment.
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Forbes: "California Study Shows Which College Programs Pay Off And Which Don’t"
October 3, 2024
A new report from the College Futures Foundation and the HEA Group identifies the return on investment that undergraduate students can expect to see from thousands of college programs in California.
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Inside Higher Ed: "Where Faculty Fit in Developmental Education Reform"
October 2, 2024
Experts share insights on how to engage and partner with faculty in reimagining gateway courses for college students.
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Inside Higher Ed: “What to know about Kamala Harris’ higher ed agenda”
July 23, 2024
President Biden’s decision to drop out of the race cleared the way for Vice President Kamala Harris to take his place at the top of the ticket.
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CBS News: “College can boost your income by 37%. Here are the top schools for the best financial outcomes.”
July 10, 2024
While some professions don't require college degrees and can also provide good livings, the earnings and wealth gap between college and high school grads remains significant.
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CBS News: "More Americans say just college isn’t worth it, survey finds”
July 8, 2024
Americans are increasingly skeptical about the value and cost of college, with most saying they feel the U.S. higher education system is headed in the “wrong direction,” according to a new poll.
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CBS News: “How long does it take a college degree to pay off?”
May 10, 2024
A new analysis finds that most post-secondary degrees provide a payoff within less than five years after graduation for low- and moderate-income students, although that time frame can largely depend on the type of school and program that a student chooses.
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EdSource: “New study examines the worth of a California college degree”
May 10, 2024
New study evaluates the net price of a college degree; the typical earnings of low- and moderate-income students; and how much higher those wages are in comparison to young adults with only a high school diploma.
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CalMatters: “When is a California college degree worth the cost? A new study has answers”
May 9, 2024
A new report today compares California’s colleges by analyzing how long it would take low- and moderate-income students to recoup the money they spent to earn a college credential.
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Diverse - Issues in Higher Education: “New Study Measures Return on Investment in Cal Higher Education”
May 9, 2024
New report seeks to inform the state and nation’s approach to ensuring that higher education delivers on its promise for students of all backgrounds.
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Psychology Today: “Underemployed or Undervalued?”
March 11, 2024
Go to college. Get a degree. Get a job. Build a life. It’s a simple plan for success, right? Maybe not so much, anymore.
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The National Jurist: “Top schools for salary versus debt”
Marh 6, 2024
The HEA Group pulled data from U.S. Department of Education records to assess which graduates are most able to pay down federal student loans.
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New York Times: “Report Helps Answer the Question: Is a College Degree Worth the Cost?
March 1, 2024
The analysis found that former students at most colleges had an annual income higher than high school graduates a decade after enrollment.
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CBS News: "More than half of college graduates are working in jobs that don't require degrees."
February 26, 2024
More than half of Americans who earned college diplomas find themselves working in jobs that don't require a bachelor's degree or utilize the skills acquired in obtaining one.
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Diverse: Issues in Higher Education: "Growing Number of College Grads Earn Less Than the Typical High School Graduate"
February 23, 2024
While most colleges are producing graduates who go on to earn incomes higher than your typical high school graduate, a sizable portion of them are not.
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Work Shift: “New research adds to complex story on college ROI”
February 22, 2024
Three fresh reports look at graduate underemployment, colleges that don’t pay off, and why simple narratives on ROI miss the mark.
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Inside Higher Ed: "Does Higher Ed Lead to a Living Wage? It Depends."
February 21, 2024
A new analysis found that more than 1,000 colleges failed to meet a “generous” threshold for postgraduate earnings, raising concern about the return on investment for some students.
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CBS News: "Attendees of 1 in 4 higher education programs earn less than high school grads"
February 20, 2024
Americans are increasingly skeptical of the value of a post-secondary education at a time when college attendance costs are soaring. In some cases, those doubts may be justified.
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Higher Ed Dive: "Does completing college influence borrowers' ability to pay back their loans?"
February 2, 2024
Students who didn’t complete their studies collectively owed more four years after entering repayment than they originally borrowed, a new analysis finds.
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USA Today: What happens to your student loan debt when you drop out? It'll probably get bigger."
January 31, 2024
Graduates of for-profit colleges may see their student loan debt grow regardless of whether they graduate, new research suggests.
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Forbes: "College completion can significantly affect student loan debt"
January 31, 2024
Whether students complete college or drop out before earning a degree has a significant impact on the amount of student loan debt they owe.
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Inside Higher Ed: "Earning a degree helps some, not all, pay back student loans"
January 31, 2024
Students who completed degrees at public and private nonprofit institutions had smaller student loan balances four years later than peers who didn’t graduate, according to a new report.
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The Chronicle of Higher Education: "The Left's Contradictory Goals for Higher Ed"
January 24, 2024
It's time to acknowledge that progressive aims are in conflict.
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New York Times: "How do I pay for college?"
January 12, 2024
Your questions, answered by experts.
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Forbes: "These popular graduate programs can leave students with large debt"
December 6, 2023
Many students enrolling in the most popular graduate programs can expect to shoulder large debt loads compared to their earnings.
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Inside Higher Ed: "Data show strong return on investment for UNC grads"
November 21, 2023
A new report shows that 94 percent of the system’s undergraduate degree programs yield positive economic outcomes for graduates.
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Inside Higher Ed: "Biden administration puts grad schools in the hot seat"
October 3, 2023
The Education Department's new transparancy measures will tell prospective students if a graduate program will leave them wth debt they can't afford to pay back.
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Forbes: "The master's degree ripoff"
September 28, 2023
Most of the discussion of student loan debt has revolved around undergraduate education, but over 40% of student loan debt is graduate school debt, despite enrolling only 15% of borrowers.
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USA Today: "Ivy League schools could admit more low-income students"
September 20, 2023
Pressure mounts for Ivy League admissions to make room for more low-income students.
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Inside Higher Ed: "For selective institutions, progress and backsliding on socioeconomic diversity"
September 11, 2023
New York Times database shows some colleges have gained in socioeconomic diversity, but many have declined.
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Washington Monthly: "Google's Participation Trophies"
August 27, 2023
Big Tech promised that online career certificates would replace the college degree. They have so far proved to be, at best, a supplement.
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Economist: "What is the value of a college degree?"
August 24, 2023
Is a college degree worth it? On this week's podcast, we explore that very question.
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Forbes: "Graduate degrees that leave you deeper in debt"
August 3, 2023
Students attending graduate programs at hundreds of colleges and universities end up with more student loan debt than when they started their programs, and several for-profit universities top the list.
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USA Today: "Is grad school worth it? New research shows students left with unmanageable debt"
August 1, 2023
Despite fierce debates over solutions to the country's student debt crisis, Americans still tend to believe that going to college is worth it. But what about graduate degrees?
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Inside Higher Ed: "New data show how students fare after graduate school"
August 1, 2023
At 24 institutions, students have accumulated more than $25 million in interest five years into repayment, while at one university, balances grew by $289 million.
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CBS: "One-third of graduate schools leave their alums drowning in debt"
August 1, 2023
Some students come out of their graduate programs buried in debt and unable to earn enough to pay down their interest, allowing their loan balances to snowball.
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Los Angeles Times: " The most lucrative majors? Some community college grads can outearn elite university peers"
June 21, 2023
As millions of college students graduate this month to launch newly minted careers, the data highlight the powerful role that their majors play in determining post-graduate earnings regardless of the prestige of the institutions they attend.
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CBS: "College majors have a big impact on income. Here are the top- and lowest earning fields of study"
May 26, 2023
New research finds that a student's major can make a huge difference in their average salary four years after graduating.
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Fox Business: "New study says popular bachelor's degrees and high-paying jobs don't always align"
May 24, 2023
Some of the most popular college bachelor's degrees don’t always lead to high-paying jobs.
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CBS: "These associate's degree majors earn more than many 4-year college grads. Here's what to know."
May 24, 2023
Some associate degree majors are earning more than the typical bachelor's degree holder.
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Money: "Here are the 10 most popular college majors - and how much graduates earn."
May 22, 2023
This spring, thousands of incoming freshmen will painstakingly pick which college to attend. Now, an equally important question faces them: What major will they choose?
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NYTimes: "Expect Interest Rates on Federal Student Loans to Rise"
May 19, 2023
With the cost of student loans rising, the starting salaries of college graduates becomes even more important.
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CNBC: "The highest paying college programs, 4 years after graduation"
May 16, 2023
Within four years of graduation, some majors stand to earn as much as $256,539, while others make less than $10,000 per year
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Forbes: “Is a college degree worth it in 2023?”
May 5, 2023
While recent polls show U.S. adults losing confidence in higher education, the earnings data for college graduates tells a different story.
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Open Campus Media: “Tracking ROI for college programs”
May 4, 2023
New federal data allows us to see how much students make four years after they’ve completed a college program.
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Forbes: “Computer science leads the list of most lucrative college majors”
May 3, 2023
A new analysis shows how much college graduates earn after completing different fields of study.
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Hechinger Report: “Where poor students pay more than rich ones”
May 1, 2023
There are 17 colleges and universities where the lowest-income students may end up paying more than their higher-income peers.
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USA Today: “This controversial, for-profit college has received 1.6B in GI Bill Funds, the most of any school”
March 22, 2023
Regardless of allegations of wrongdoing, some colleges continue to receive billions of dollars in government funding.
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The 74: “If March Madness were about social mobility, we’d be cheering Florida Atlantic University”
March 15, 2023
As March Madness arrives, perhaps we should also think about judging schools on the economic mobility they provide, rather than just their prowess on the court.
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Inside Higher Ed: “Making sure a degree is worth more than a diploma”
February 7, 2023
In Colorado, falling enrollment and growing skepticism of higher ed’s worth prompted a proposal to measure the “economic value” of academic programs at public colleges.
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Stat News: “Medical schools rankings need a new metric: the economic mobility index”
January 19, 2023
A ranking metric that captures the economic mobility that advanced degrees make possible for students of lesser economic means is a notion that’s catching on.
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Inside Higher Ed: “Education Department plans to publish list of low-performing programs”
January 12, 2023
In the coming months, the Department will publish a list of programs that are considered to have a low financial value to students and taxpayers. Who will be on it?
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The Chronicle of Higher Education: “Where are the low-income students? Not here”
January 3, 2023
It’s necessary to know the share of Pell Grant students who attend an institution of higher education — after all, you can’t drive socioeconomic mobility if you don’t enroll lower- and moderate-income students.