This week’s issue is all about data! Data about the effectiveness of short-term credentials. Data about making college costs more transparent. Data we’re losing at the federal level and what that means for institutions and the U.S at large. So, buckle up for our data adventure! 

After reading today’s issue, share in the comments how your institution uses short credentials to enhance future opportunities for graduates. 

Credentials and Future Results 

From Nondegree Credentials Yield Mixed Outcomes | Inside Higher Ed 

A recent report from the American Enterprise Institute and Burning Glass Institute found that nondegree credentials are a mixed bag for future career enhancement and opportunities.  

Our Thoughts 

As Congress debates whether to extend Pell grants to unaccredited, short-term workforce programs, this report is especially timely. It highlights the growing tension between access and accountability in the expanding landscape of nondegree credentials. If students are to make informed choices, they need reliable, transparent data on program quality, cost, and outcomes, and not just promotional promises or institutional reputations. 

Unfortunately, the report finds that not all nondegree credentials are created equal, even when offered by respected providers. Only about 12 percent of credentials yielded significant wage gains, despite the explosion in offerings and enthusiasm for alternative credentials. This mismatch between volume and value raises uncomfortable questions about how institutions market and design these programs and how industry responds to the increasing “skillification” of postsecondary education. While it may be tempting to see these credentials as an easy enrollment win, without accountability for outcomes, they risk further eroding trust and fueling the very skepticism they were meant to address. 

The report helps confirm that we need to build systems for tracking and sharing outcomes, not just for traditional degrees but across all credential types. This is especially important if we’re serious about helping adult learners, career changers, and underserved populations navigate their options. As higher education grapples with declining traditional enrollments, rising skepticism over the value of traditional degrees, and increased demand for shorter, more flexible credentialing options, understanding how these alternative pathways translate to meaningful employment and wage outcomes is crucial. 

Clear College Costs 

From A Simple Tool Aims to Clarify College Cost | Inside Higher Ed 

Economist Phil Levine has developed a simple college price calculator to help families understand the cost of higher education. 

Our Thoughts 

Given the current political climate and public perception about the value of a degree, cost transparency is critically important to today’s conversations about college access and affordability. Phillip Levine’s Instant Net Price Estimator helps us tackle some of the widespread confusion and anxiety surrounding college affordability or at least start the conversation.  

We’ve long known that the sticker price of college is a major deterrent, particularly for low-income and first-generation students. Yet our websites, brochures, and calculators are often so complex that they discourage rather than encourage inquiry. Levine’s tool reframes the conversation by offering a quick, user-friendly entry point into what has traditionally been a labyrinth of financial aid jargon and hidden assumptions. Remember– we may speak “financial aid” fluently, but we forget how foreign it sounds to the families we serve. 

Institutions that can clearly communicate affordability will have an advantage in our shrinking market. As Levine points out, it doesn’t even matter if the initial estimate is precise. What matters is removing the psychological barrier that leads too many students and families to disqualify themselves before they’ve even applied. It’s about widening the mouth of the funnel and offering a hand before asking for a FAFSA. 

As the sector moves toward greater transparency and institutions work to make themselves more accessible, we should be looking at multiple paths to quickly convey value and affordability to students and their families. Sometimes, the problem isn’t the amount of actual financial aid itself, but instead how we communicate clearly and honestly about costs with prospective students. Tools like Levine’s can help spark that conversation. 

More Education Data Needed 

From OPINION: Clamping down on good, publicly available higher education data will send our system into a dark spiral | The Hechinger Report 

Michael Itzkowitz, founder and president of the HEA Group, argues for more college outcomes data in light of the recent cuts at the Department of Education.  

Our Thoughts  

Michael Itzkowitz makes an urgent, compelling case for why accessible, high-quality data is not just a nice-to-have, but a foundational pillar of a healthy, responsive higher education system. He outlines the dangerous consequences of data suppression at the federal level, warning that without continued investment in public education data infrastructure, our institutions and students are left flying blind. At a time when both the value and the cost of a degree are under intense scrutiny, pulling back on transparency and accountability is not just shortsighted–it’s irresponsible.  

Additionally, Itzkowitz situates this crisis within the broader context of increasing global competition and a rapidly changing job market. With 72 percent of jobs expected to require postsecondary training by 2031, the U.S. can’t afford to slow its efforts to understand what’s working and what’s not. Yet, with sweeping cuts to the Department of Education and the elimination of nearly $900 million in evaluation projects, that’s precisely the risk we’re taking. 

There are real implications for this data loss. Without federal tracking of college outcomes, we risk funding programs that leave students worse off economically. We lose the ability to scale successful models, replicate high-impact practices, or even assess the long-term value of new delivery methods like microcredentials (see our first article) or online learning. Perhaps most critically, we further erode the already shaky trust the public has in our institutions. The cost of ignorance is far too high, especially when the stakes include our nation’s economic vitality and students’ futures.