Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

We draw on population-level administrative data from the U.S. Department of Education and the Internal Revenue Service to quantify the impact of for-profit college attendance on the employment and earnings of over 1.4 million students.  We characterize both the within-student earnings gains and joint distributions of the impacts on earnings and student debt.  Our descriptive analysis of degree-seeking students suggests that on average associate’s and bachelor's degree students experience a decline in earnings after attendance, relative to their own earnings in years prior to attendance.  Master’s degree students and students who complete their degrees appear to experience better outcomes, with positive earnings gains.  Our difference-in-difference analysis of certificate students suggests that, despite much higher costs of attendance, earnings effects are smaller in the for-profit sector relative to the effects for comparable students in public community colleges.