Conference Schedule
Thursday, April 6
Registration and Breakfast
Plenary Session: Do Students Invest Wisely in College?
This plenary session will summarize the labor market returns to college. Panelists will present evidence on returns to bachelor’s and associate degrees, as well as returns to the many sub-baccalaureate awards offered by colleges. Key differences in returns—for example, across awards, subjects, institutions, and student attributes—will be highlighted. This evidence will be examined in light of recent and expected changes in the structure of the labor market.
Speakers: Clive Belfield, Queens College, City University of New York, and CAPSEE; Anthony Carnevale, Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce; Catherine Rampell, The Washington Post; James Jacobs, Macomb Community College
Moderator: Thomas Bailey, Community College Research Center and CAPSEE
Breakout Sessions
Lunch/Keynote
Keynote speaker: Thomas Bailey, Community College Research Center and CAPSEE
Plenary Session: Does Society Invest Wisely in College?
This plenary session will examine the labor market consequences of public funding for colleges. The panelists will describe the effects of financial aid systems on college completion and students’ subsequent earnings; they will also consider how financial aid and state subsidies could be reformed to improve labor market outcomes for students.
Speakers: Sandy Baum, Income and Benefits Policy Center, Urban Institute; Judith Scott-Clayton, Community College Research Center and CAPSEE; Laura Perna, University of Pennsylvania
Moderator: Clive Belfield, Queens College, City University of New York, and CAPSEE
Breakout Sessions
Reception
Conference guests are invited to attend an informal reception in the Capital Hilton North Gate Grill, 1st Floor. Hors d’oeuvres, wine, beer, and nonalcoholic drinks will be served.
Friday, April 7
Registration and Breakfast
Plenary Session: Are Colleges Structured to Optimize Investments?
This plenary session will examine whether colleges are organized so students can gain high returns to college. Panelists will examine which college characteristics or practices are most strongly associated with labor market success, with a focus on the labor market returns to for-profit colleges. Panelists will also consider what organizational changes might be made to colleges to enhance the economic value of attending college.
Speakers: John Friedman, Brown University; David Deming, Harvard Graduate School of Education and CAPSEE; Harry Holzer, Georgetown University
Moderator: Judith Scott-Clayton, Community College Research Center and CAPSEE
Breakout Sessions
Plenary Session and Lunch: Are Colleges Guiding Students to Choose Valuable Programs and Pathways?
This plenary session will consider whether the choices students make in college are likely to ensure their future labor market success. Panelists will present evidence on whether students are choosing programs with strong earnings and employment outcomes and whether the particular college pathways they pursue—such as transferring to a four-year institution or combining work with study—are advantageous. Panelists will also consider whether colleges are making the decisions that students must make about courses, programs, and pathways too complicated, and how these options might be simplified so that students can maximize their benefits from college.
Speakers: William Law, St. Petersburg College; Tristan Denley, Tennessee Board of Regents; Davis Jenkins, Community College Research Center and CAPSEE; Michael Collins, Jobs for the Future
Moderator: Shanna Smith Jaggars, The Ohio State University and CAPSEE