Michael Itzkowitz

Which college degrees are worth it?
@mitzkow.bsky.social crunched the numbers from the latest
@usdeptofed.bsky.social data dump. Fascinating. in 14% of all programs, or 4,441 of them, graduates earned least $50,000 more than typical high school graduates within 4 years. That's 435,722 students.

50 States, 50 Opportunities for Economic Mobility Economic mobility by state: where colleges deliver real ROI. Using data, we can see the programs that lift students into the middle class.

Two students. Same degree. Same cost. One doubles her income within 6 months. The other struggles to earn more than a high school graduate.

The difference? WHERE they went to school matters more than you think.

My new piece in Washington Monthly.

washingtonmonthly.com/2025/09/02/e...

Join us August 7 for a webinar with Inside Higher Ed on a groundbreaking ROI analysis of 327 California community and career colleges across 12 regions.

This nuanced view is a critical next step in our value & mobility research with College Futures.

👉 access.ihenow.com/golden-retur...

Most undergraduate students in the United States stay close to home – within just 17 miles – for college. And over 2/3 attend college within 50 miles of their house.

Report: ticas.org/wp-content/u...

OPINION: Clamping down on good, publicly available higher education data will send our system into a dark spiral Cuts to the Department of Education, including positions that involve data collection and analysis, threaten our domestic progress and could trigger a decline in the very qualities that have made Amer...

Great piece from @mitzkow.bsky.social on @hechingerreport.org on the need for publicly available highered data:
"Good data helps policymakers direct resources toward schools that drive economic impact, turning education dollars into long-term growth." #edusky hechingerreport.org/opinion-clam...

Important op-ed on the critical need for reliable publicly available data to measure college outcomes and track our progress.

"Now is not the time to stop measuring progress or to disinvest in our future."

OPINION: Clamping down on good, publicly available higher education data will send our system into a dark spiral Cuts to the Department of Education, including positions that involve data collection and analysis, threaten our domestic progress and could trigger a decline in the very qualities that have made Amer...

The inability to measure and publish data on college outcomes weakens the U.S' global competitiveness, potentially triggering a decline in the very qualities that have made American higher education the envy of the world.

New op-ed from me @hechingerreport.org.
hechingerreport.org/opinion-clam...

OPINION: Clamping down on good, publicly available higher education data will send our system into a dark spiral Cuts to the Department of Education, including positions that involve data collection and analysis, threaten our domestic progress and could trigger a decline in the very qualities that have made Amer...

OPINION: The inability to measure and publish data on college outcomes weakens the ability of the U.S. to maintain its global position as a leader in higher education: hechingerreport.org/opinion-clam... via @mitzkow.bsky.social

I'm wondering if the time and attention spent by the Administration on Harvard and Columbia may better allocated toward postsecondary education and success for students who attend other institutions.

Trump Administration Will Freeze $2 Billion After Harvard Refuses Demands Federal officials said they would freeze the money after Harvard said it would not submit to requests to overhaul hiring and report international students who break rules.

And for some reason I thought we were supposed to be against the gov trying to control our schools.

I’m not always the biggest fan of the Ivy Leagues, but it takes a lot of political will to push back, and it’s important to see @Harvard do just that.

www.nytimes.com/2025/04/14/u...

It's also not lost that the Education Resources Information Center (ERIC) and NCES, the Department's main source for educational research and statistics, had over 30 million annual visits. These offices housed within ED have been stripped of most of their operating staff within the last month. 2/2

Over the past year, the Education Department's College Scorecard had over two million visits.

It serves as a critical source of information for students and families in determining where they can get the best bang for their educational buck. 1/2

What the Department of Education actually does America’s least understood and most efficient agency, explained

“The Department was arguably the most efficient government agency.

With 4,200 employees in 2024, it was the smallest cabinet agency by roughly a factor of two. Yet its annual $79 billion appropriation was the fourth largest…”

www.slowboring.com/p/what-the-d...

✂️ The Opportunity for the Ecosystem 59 seconds · Clipped by College Futures Foundation · Original video "Navigating the Next Four Years with Michael Itzkowitz" by Eloy Oakley

Preparing Californians for the future of work is an economic imperative. Eloy Ortiz Oakley, president & CEO of College Futures Foundation, shares more about the opportunities ahead: buff.ly/mr6990l.

#TheRant #CAMobilityIndex #EconomicMobility

I guess everyone likes to think they are getting a deal, but this can be really discouraging for low- and moderate-income students who could also consider such options if they knew it could be affordable in the first place. 3/END

But then, "For you, we're going to give you a tremendous deal in order to attend. In fact, we're going to knock off $50,000 per year, which is crazy, because we are very expensive and very high quality. However, you are extremely special." 2/3

Many of today's private institutions have really mastered the art of discounting. Essentially, they first say "Look at how much we actually cost! We are really expensive, so we must be super high quality!"...1/3

When it comes to elevating livelihoods, a CSU degree is tops in California, study says A ranking of California colleges based on economic mobility for low- and moderate-income students puts institutions such as UCLA and Stanford outside the top 25.

For more information on the CMI initiative, please visit our website. You can also view our coverage in today's @latimes.com. 5/5

www.latimes.com/california/s...

We believe the CMI will spark meaningful conversations about how institutions can better serve as catalysts for economic mobility, particularly for historically underserved populations. We look forward to engaging with you on this important work and welcome your feedback. 4/5

The CMI encompasses 82 four-year institutions across California, collectively serving nearly 800,000 undergraduate students. By focusing on both access and outcomes, we’re aiming to highlight institutions that truly deliver as an engine of economic mobility. 3/5

While traditional college rankings often emphasize selectivity metrics like standardized test scores, the CMI takes a fundamentally different approach. It evaluates institutions based on two critical factors: 1) the enrollment and 2) ROI of low- and moderate-income students. 2/5

4-Year California Mobility Index - College Futures Foundation Read more >

I’m excited to share news about our latest collaboration with College Futures Foundation: the launch of the California Mobility Index, a groundbreaking new ranking system for four-year institutions that reimagines how we measure higher education success. 1/5

collegefutures.org/california-m...

Over the past 30 days, the US Department of Education's College Scorecard has received over 215,000 visits — a rate much higher than average.

We must do more to ensure college is worth it for all students Let's talk about what college is worth and how to improve its value, especially for low- and moderate-income learners.

Look, there’s a lot going on right now. Like a lot a lot.

That being said, no matter where you sit, there is something we can all agree upon: We must do more to ensure college is worth it for all students.

More from me & EloyOakley.

edsource.org/2024/we-must...

Ensuring a Living Wage Through Higher Education — The HEA Group In this paper, we examine the economic outcomes that students obtain by pursuing a postsecondary credential within the United States. Specifically, we look at several minimal economic benchmarks to se...

We have a lot of things we can worry about in #highered, but the path to economic success and continued global competitiveness should remain at the top of our minds.

Everyone is entitled to a living wage through higher ed, but it's not always offered.
www.theheagroup.com/blog/ensurin...

Federal Spending Freeze Does Not Apply to Student Loans and Pell Grants Students and parents panicked after news of the order, but the Education Department said the guidance would not stop the flow of money to students and schools.

In case you were wondering, no, the Trump Administration’s federal aid pause does not extend to student loans or Pell grants (yet). @nytimes.com @ronlieber.bsky.social

www.nytimes.com/2025/01/28/b...

collage of education and work-related images, including the U.S. Capitol building, an apprentice, a recent graduate, and a group of young students

🦋 Hello, world!

Welcome to our Bluesky page! Here, you'll find out about our efforts and initiatives to inform important policies related to educating students and preparing workers for a future without limits.

Please follow, share—and stay tuned!

As a former UF student, I love talking with the Independent Florida Alligator.

Florida is conducting a ROI study on Women's Studies majors, but I don't think they'll find what they're looking for. Salaries top $50,000 for those with this degree at UF.

Article 👉 www.alligator.org/article/2025...

Unsurprisingly, today, the US Department of Education announced many senior staff from the America First Policy Institute where Linda McMahon previously served as Board Chair.

At large online colleges, students struggle to earn degrees Fewer than half of students at the largest nonprofit online institutions earn a degree after eight years. Is it an unfortunate reality or a cry for accountability?

A few weeks ago, I published completion data for some of the largest online colleges in the US.

Today, @insidehighered.com covered it.

Should we deem it OK for online programs to show much lower completion rates for the students they enroll?

www.insidehighered.com/news/tech-in...