Employment Outcomes for Associate’s Degree Completers and Noncompleters

Three years after beginning their postsecondary education in 2011–12, 72 percent of certificate students who attained a credential and 59 percent of certificate students who left without a credential were employed. Among associate’s degree students, the percentages were 77 and 70 percent, respectively.

Today, July 8, the National Center for Education Statistics released First-time Subbaccalaureate Students: An Overview of Their Institutions, Programs, Completion, and Labor Market Outcomes After 3 Years (NCES 2020-035). This report uses data from the 2012/14 Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS:12/14) to describe the 3-year completion rates and early labor market experiences of students who began in certificate and associate’s degree programs in 2011–12.

Findings include the following:

• Among 2011–12 certificate students, 64 percent initially enrolled in private for-profit institutions, and 24 percent initially enrolled at public 2‑year institutions. In comparison, 11 percent of 2011–12 associate’s degree students initially enrolled in private for-profit institutions, and 82 percent initially enrolled in public 2‑year institutions.
• Among 2011–12 female subbaccalaureate students, health care was the most common field of study (57 percent of female certificate students and 28 percent of female associate’s degree students).
• Three years after enrolling, 52 percent of 2011–12 certificate students had attained a credential, while 18 percent of associate’s degree students had done so.