How Do Online Degrees Affect Labor Market Prospects? Evidence from a Correspondence Audit Study

ILR Review ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 001979391989994
Author(s):  
Conor Lennon
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Labor Market ◽  
College Graduates ◽  
Labor Market Outcomes ◽  
Degree Program ◽  
Random Assignment ◽  
Market Outcomes ◽  
Job Openings ◽  
Bachelor's Degrees ◽  
Online Degree

This article reports the findings of a correspondence audit study that examines how online bachelor’s degrees affect labor market outcomes. The study involves sending 1,891 applications for real job openings using 100 fictitious applicant profiles. The applicant profiles are designed to be representative of recent college graduates from established universities. Using random assignment to degree type, applicant profiles that indicate a traditional (in-person) degree receive nearly twice as many callbacks as those that indicate an online degree. Findings suggest that, at least currently, completing an online degree program would significantly limit the labor market prospects of typical college students.

Double Disadvantage or Blessing in Disguise? Understanding the Relationship Between College Major and Employment Sector

2005 ◽  
Vol 78 (3) ◽  
pp. 207-232 ◽  
Author(s):  
Josipa Roksa
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
Nonprofit Organizations ◽  
Organizational Context ◽  
College Graduates ◽  
Labor Market Outcomes ◽  
College Major ◽  
Market Outcomes ◽  
College Majors ◽  
College Degrees ◽  
Employment Sector

Although college graduates earn substantial labor market rewards, not all college degrees are rewarded equally. Graduates who majored in female-dominated fields earn substantially lower incomes than do graduates who majored in male-dominated fields. Income differentials that are associated with different types of college majors are extensively noted but poorly understood. This article advances the previous literature by examining how college major affects the labor market outcomes of college graduates through its relationship with employment sector. The results show that graduates of female-dominated fields are disproportionately employed in public and nonprofit organizations, which offer lower monetary rewards but facilitate access to professional and managerial positions. Notably, college major and employment sector interact in ways that reduce income penalties and enhance the occupational location of graduates of female-dominated fields who work in public and nonprofit settings. These findings highlight the importance of considering organizational context in the study of labor market outcomes, particularly when examining the gendered character of educational credentials and occupations.

scholarly journals Changes in Early Labor Market Outcomes among Young College Graduates in South Korea

2020 ◽  
Vol 688 (1) ◽  
pp. 115-136
Author(s):  
Jaesung Choi ◽  
Hannah Bae
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
South Korea ◽  
College Graduates ◽  
Labor Market Outcomes ◽  
Market Uncertainty ◽  
College Entrance ◽  
Market Outcomes ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Critical Policy ◽  
Over Time

The unemployment rate among youths (age 20–29) in South Korea has increased sharply from 6.6 percent in 2002 to 9.8 percent in 2016. At the same time, the college entrance rate remains around 70 percent, and skill mismatch among college goers is a critical policy concern. Little attention has been paid to temporal change in labor market outcomes among college graduates or to the kinds of graduates who are particularly vulnerable to labor market uncertainty. We investigate how labor market experiences for college graduates have changed over time using data from nine different graduating cohorts of the Graduate Occupational Mobility Survey (GOMS). The results reveal that the proportion of those searching for a job has increased over time, and that even for those who were employed, job quality deteriorated. We also find a growing gap in labor market outcomes by reputation of graduating universities and college major.

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