Informed Decisions: Negotiating High Risk Propositions

1. Informed Decisions:Negotiating High Risk Propositions Antoinette Torres Associate Vice Provost February 18, 2012

2. Background STEM fields • Under-performance • Under-representation • Continued Access post Hopwood and Prop 209 • Throughout socio-economics have been a nefarious factor in student achievement and progression

3. Changing Paradigm To achieve professional, academic and wealth creation goals – the goodness we purport a college education will provide – necessitates a paradigm shift among practitioners to inform college and graduate degree completion and gainful employment among high potential youth • In the past, socio-economic status was a confounding factor in degree attainment • In today’s higher education landscape it may be a contributing factor to degree derailment • Participation in the health professions in particular may have new barriers to URM participation

4. Inform Critical Decisions Students are making college and career choices that can affect their entire earning future and ability to create wealth • Earning future depends largely on the major one chooses, successful completion of the degree, and institution from which they graduated • Wealth creation depends largely on earning potential and debt burden upon degree completion

5. 2009 Mean Annual Earnings of Employed and Full-time Year-round Employed College Graduates with a Bachelor’s Degree Only, by Undergraduate Major Field of Study and Mal-Employment Status, US Center for Labor Market and Policy -Drexel University

6. Evaluate Earning Future: Choice of Major Matters Mal-employment Rates of College Graduates with a Bachelor’s Degree Only, Employed in Full-time and Year-round Jobs, by Major Field of Study, US, 2009 Center for Labor Market and Policy

7. Implications • Mal employment among science degree students higher than we would like, certainly for the work effort • Entry salaries raise questions regarding value • Advanced degrees almost a necessity

8. College ChoiceOptimize Chance of Success Desire that our students attend highly selective institutions • Students’ high school academic profile linked to institutional selectivity • Persistence is highest among “select” and “highly select” public- and private- doctoral degree granting institutions • Resources to connect to faculty research, academic and professional networks • Top corporate, industry and graduate recruitment activity at selective institutions

9. School Choice Matters: First to Second Year Persistence Rates *National Comparison data taken from ACT website (http://www.act.org/research/policymakers). Data taken from 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010 reports (published as of June 15). Data based on ACT databases, and as such, 1) does NOT contain all US private institutions, and 2) may possibly disproportionately represent institutions with a high percentage of ACT test-takers. - Abridged Selectivity Definitions: Selectivity Level Middle 50% SAT High School Highly Selective 1710-2000 Majority admitted from top 10% of H.S. class Selective 1470-1770 Majority admitted from top 25% of H.S. class Traditional 1290-1650 Majority admitted from top 50% of H.S. class - Graduation data based on 5-year graduation rates. ** Drexel University data as reported in the Key Institutional Metrics. Graduation data reported based on 6-year graduation rates.

10. Benchmarking

11. Admitted for Success: So Why Do Students Leave If students are admitted in very competitive GPA and TSAT thresholds why do they leave? • Transition • Academic identity formation • Integration of social and academic networks • Character • Financial stress (recent findings)

12. Value Proposition In today’s market, attending college is a value proposition requiring sophisticated analysis of one’s earning future against • Net cost • Affordability and • Financing capability • Opportunity cost

13. Financial aid values for 2010-11 are estimated based on earlier years Source: The College Board, Trends in College Pricing 2010, Figure 7 Published Tuition and Fees, Net Tuition and Fees, and Room and Board Full-Time Undergraduate Students, 1995-96, 2000-01, 2005-06 and 2010-11

14. Simple Math An Engineering student making $93,654 attending a select private, 4 – year institution can anticipate a debt of $127,400 over 4.9 years • Now replace that with an Education student making $49,713 attending a select private, 4– year institution Among our lowest income students: 51% are enrolled colleges and universities that place them at risk of completion • 18% in the two year system • 21% in high cost four year; 11% in for profit schools)

15. Optimization We are asking the lowest income sector to perform dispassionate, sophisticated optimization to inform their college going decisions when • Attending college is a largely emotional decision founded on an assumption of financial aid that is outdated, and an often inadequate assessment of value

16. Thank You