Postgraduate Outcomes of College Students

Book excerpt: The post-graduation outcomes of college students are being more widely used as key metrics to demonstrate institutional effectiveness to both external agencies and internal stakeholders. Institutional research offices play an integral role in these data collection efforts. However, underlying challenges exist regarding obtaining an adequate amount of survey responses and salary or earnings information. This volume focuses on the first-destination outcomes (e.g., earnings, employment, graduate/ professional school enrollment) of college graduates while recognizing that other outcomes are also relevant across institutional settings. Through the use of current research, case studies, and best practices, each chapter highlights how postgraduate outcomes information is collected and used across the higher education spectrum. In this volume readers will learn: the internal and external demands for these data, the strengths and challenges of their data, and how to best communicate these data to various constituents. This is the 169th volume of this Jossey-Bass quarterly report series. Timely and comprehensive, New Directions for Institutional Research provides planners and administrators in all types of academic institutions with guidelines in such areas as resource coordination, information analysis, program evaluation, and institutional management.