Comparing earnings outcome differences between all graduates and title IV graduates

Abstract

Recently, two public data products have been released that publish earnings outcomes for college graduates by program of study and institution: Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes and College Scorecard, from the Census Bureau and U.S. Department of Education, respectively. While the earnings data underlying the data products is similar, the purposes and scope of the products are different. College Scorecard focuses only on graduates that receive Title IV aid, while PSEO includes all graduates. This paper describes how the differences in these two samples affect the published earnings outcomes. For institutions in my sample, an average of sixty percent of baccalaureate graduates receive Title IV aid. I show that short-run earnings outcomes are very similar for these two samples, while longer-run outcomes (10 years after graduation) are significantly lower for the Title IV population, and that this difference grows consistently over time. I also show that program ranking can change significantly when considering the Title IV population rather than the entire graduate population.