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Foreword
Nearly every other sector listens to consumers to drive
innovation and improvements. The power of consumer
insights has transformed industries like health care,transportation, hospitality, travel and tourism, and financial
services. Why not bring these benefits to higher education?
Traditionally, we have measured the value and quality ofcolleges and universities using factors that are in institutional
control, such as admissions criteria, quality of facilities, andfaculty credentials.
Now, for the first time in the history of higher ed, weare learning what makes for a valuable postsecondary
experience by listening to education consumers themselves:
students who earned associate degrees, bachelor’s
degrees, postgraduate degrees, vocational or technicalcertificates or other credentials, as well as those whostarted college but did not complete. Who better to assess
the quality and value of the experience than those who
experienced it?
While some in the field may be wary of the term “consumer,”
U.S. adults make a variety of choices and major decisions
about investing their resources in higher education. They
are indeed consumers of our postsecondary system, which
exists to fulfill their interests and aspirations while fueling thetalent pipeline that drives our national economy.
Since the summer of 2016, Strada Education NetworkSM and
Gallup have listened to more than 250,000 Americans shareinsights about their education paths and experiences after
high school. As a result, we are generating insights that we
believe will result in more people completing postsecondary
programs that lead to successful careers and fulfilling lives.
By listening to consumers, the story that is emerging isshowing us what it means for higher education to bevaluable, and there is much to be learned from the data. For
example, some associate degrees are rated higher on value
than some bachelor’s degrees. And it isn’t necessary thateveryone rush to get a STEM-related degree as value canoccur in many fields and at different education levels.
Consumers are also clear that the single most important
ingredient for a high-quality and valuable higher ed
experience is the relevance of coursework to their careersand daily lives.

For some, this confirms the obvious. Others may resist thisnotion of “relevance” and suggest that it points to the further“vocationalization” of higher ed or denigration of the liberalarts. Regardless of interpretation, the magnitude of thesefindings is such that we all need to understand them todecide how best to move forward in delivering quality andvalue in ways that matter most to the education consumers
we exist to serve.
There is no doubt why people pursue higher ed in the firstplace. Our research revealed that, for 58 percent of those
who attend college, their main motivation is to obtain ajob or a career outcome. No other reason even comesclose. In a survey of college freshman, 85 percent indicate
they are pursuing higher education to obtain a good job.
However, less than 30 percent report they have that job
upon graduation. And, despite the overwhelming importanceof relevance, this study reveals that only 26% of working
Americans with college experience strongly agree that theireducation is relevant to their work and daily life.
Clearly there is a disconnect between what consumers wantand expect from postsecondary education and what they
are receiving. While these gaps are alarming, our collective
wherewithal to close them is encouraging. By listening toconsumers, scalable solutions quickly emerge and point toclear actions for higher ed leaders, policymakers, employers,and partner organizations.
Relevance – and its importance to the value of higher ed for
consumers – holds transformational potential that must not
be ignored.

Carol D’Amico
Executive Vice President
Mission Advancement and Philanthropy
Strada Education Network
Carol D’Amico is executive vice president, mission advancement andphilanthropy, for Strada Education Network, a national nonprofit dedicatedto improving lives by strengthening the pathways between education andemployment. Prior to Strada, she previously served the U.S. Department of
Education as assistant secretary for adult and vocational education, and as
executive vice president and chancellor of Ivy Tech Community College ofIndiana.

Copyright © 2018 Strada Education Network and Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved

1Overview
Consumer insights are a vital part of Strada’s nonprofit mission to advance Completion With a Purpose® for individuals acrossall educational pathways. These insights provide us an opportunity to transform America’s higher education system andsupercharge our labor force. They can help higher education better fulfill its promise of economic and social mobility so that all
Americans can achieve rewarding careers and lead fulfilling lives.
To give consumers a direct voice, Strada Education NetworkSM has committed to building the nation’s largest database of
consumer insights on educational experiences after high school. As a first step, Strada partnered with Gallup to launch anationally representative survey of education consumers. Since 2016, we’ve heard from more than 250,000 U.S. adults fromall backgrounds and educational attainment levels, representing more than 3,000 different schools and programs.
This report examines consumer perspectives on education relevance among a nationally representative sample of 110,4811
adults, aged 18 to 65, who are currently employed and have taken at least some college courses.
For the purposes of this analysis, “education relevance” is defined by agreement with two key statements on our daily StradaGallup Education Consumer Survey:••

The courses you took are directly relevant to what you do at work.
You learned important skills during your education program that you use in your day-to-day life.

Individuals rate their level of agreement with these items on a five-point scale, ranging from strongly disagree (1) to strongly
agree (5). By adding the scores from these two questions together, we calculate a combined “relevance score” ranging fromtwo to 10 for each person.
Key findings center on the relationship between relevance and:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Quality of education
Value of education
Quality of life
Educational pathway
Field of study

Education consumers are very clear on how essential
relevance is in finding quality and value inpostsecondary educational experiences. Thisoverall importance of relevance may not
be surprising to some, but the failure todeliver more of it, more consistently
should concern all. Additionally, theimportance of career relevance andthe gaps that exist in its integration
and application are emerging as aconsistent theme in surveys among
the general population, current
college students and alumni— suggesting that lack ofcareer relevance may
be a “root cause” ofmultiple challenges
facing higher
education today.
1

The total sample of respondents for which institution-level factors such as SAT/ACT math scores, student loan default rates, average costof attendance, alumni income earnings and graduation rates could be matched to survey responses is n=78,091.

Key Findings• Only 26% of working U.S. adults withcollege experience strongly agree that
their education is relevant to their workand day-to-day life.
• Relevance strongly predicts value andquality. The more relevant people find their courses• Relevance is a better predictor of
quality and value than other measuresused in college rankings. Alumni ratings ofrelevance are two and three times more powerful at
predicting quality and value than traditional college
ranking inputs such as average SAT/ACT math scores,
student loan default rates, average cost of attendance,
alumni income earnings and graduation rates.

to be to their work and daily lives, the greater theirbelief that they received a high-quality education andthat it was worth the cost. Compared with those whostrongly disagree, consumers who strongly agree thatthe courses they took are relevant to their careers andlives are:• Relevance to work and relevance today-to-day life go hand in hand. Increases• 63 percentage points more likely tostrongly agree that their education
was worth the cost.
• 50 percentage points more likely tostrongly agree that they received ahigh-quality education.

• Fit matters. Both two-year and four-year degrees• Relevance is related to well-being.

in one dimension of relevance are accompanied byincreases in the other. There is room to improve on
both dimensions, but levels of work relevance are lower
overall.

are valuable. While the common perception of higher
education tends to focus on four-year degrees, equallyhigh levels of relevance found among those with twoyear degrees make it clear this is a powerful pathway
to Completion With a Purpose — especially given thelifelong learning that’s all but required for workers andemployers to thrive in the 21st century economy.

Consumers who strongly agree that the courses they
took are relevant to their careers and lives are 18 points
more likely to be considered “thriving” in their overall
well-being than are those who strongly disagree.

• Completion matters. Regardless of the field of• Consumer ratings of relevance are
more powerful predictors of quality andvalue than demographic characteristics
of individuals, their fields of study andtheir levels of education. Relevance better

study or degree type consumers pursue, those whocomplete their studies find greater relevance, value andquality in their education investments. A clear call toaction is ensuring that more students complete theirpostsecondary pathway, and that includes helping
consumers understand the relevance of their higher
education investment and effort.

predicts quality and value than gender, race, ethnicity,age, income, field of study and level of education(some college, two-year degree, four-year degree, or
postgraduate or professional degree).

Copyright © 2018 Strada Education Network and Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved

3

The Importanceof RelevanceFrom College to Life: Relevance and the Value of Higher Education

The Importance of Relevance

Relevance Is the Strongest Predictor of Consumers’
Perceptions of Quality and Value
The more relevant that consumers find their courses
to be in their work and daily lives, the greater theirbelief that they received a high-quality education andthat it was worth the cost. This is true for individuals
across all walks of life. Comparing the individuals withthe lowest relevance scores to those with the highest
in Figure 1 below, we see:••A 63-point difference in the percentage whostrongly agree that their education was worth thecost (14% vs. 77%)
A 50-point gap in the percentage who strongly
agree that they received a high-quality education(27% vs. 77%)

Relevance Influences Value and Quality
90%

77% 77%

80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%

27%

14%

2

Strongly Disagree

Learned importantskills I use in
day-to-day life

Coursework is directly
relevant to my work

3

4

5

6

Relevance Score

8

Value (Strongly agree education was worth the cost)
Quality (Strongly agree received high-quality education)

Figure 157

Copyright © 2018 Strada Education Network and Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved

910Strongly Agree

Learned importantskills I use in
day-to-day life
Coursework is directly
relevant to my work

From College to Life: Relevance and the Value of Higher Education

The Importance of RelevanceThis finding becomes even more significant when
we compare the predictive power of relevancewith other common predictors of education quality
and value. For this dimension of the analysis, wegrouped education consumers by the college oruniversity at which they enrolled (for schools withat least 20 observations) and added data from the
U.S. Department of Education for the same school
to create a profile that includes both information
sources. Then we used regression analysis tocompare how well the different items predict
consumer ratings of quality and value. Figure 2 shows
the R-Squared values — a statistical measure of theamount of variance each variable explains.

Relevance is a significantly more effective predictor
of how consumers rate the quality and value of theirhigher education than are commonly referenced
metrics such as SAT/ACT math scores, student loan
default rates, average cost of attendance, alumni
income earnings and graduation rates.
Relevance is three times more powerful in predicting
value and twice as powerful in predicting quality. This
holds true across consumers’ gender, race/ethnicity,age, income and educational attainment.

Relevance Predicts Value and Quality
Adjusted R-Squared

0.35
0.30
0.25
0.20
0.15
0.10
0.05
0.0

Average Math
Score on SAT/ACT

Default Rate on
Student Loans(3 years)

Average Cost of
Attendance

Value

Median Alumni
Income(10 years)

Graduation Rate
(150% of normal
time)

Relevance
Score

Quality

Figure 2

Copyright © 2018 Strada Education Network and Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved

6

From College to Life: Relevance and the Value of Higher Education

The Importance of Relevance

Relevance Is Linked to Well-Being
Relevance scores have an impact beyond purely educational outcomes — they are also tied to consumers’ overall
sense of well-being. Gallup classifies respondents as “thriving,” “struggling” or “suffering” based on how they rate
their current lives. Eighty-one percent of those with the highest relevance scores are considered to be thriving, an
18-point increase over those with the lowest relevance scores. As with quality and value, increases in educational
relevance are tied to increases in well-being (see Figure 3). These implications for the importance of relevance are
powerful as they demonstrate another dimension of value that higher education provides to individuals, communities
and our nation.

Relevance Is Related to Well-Being
90%
80%
70%
60%

81%
63%

50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%

2

3

Strongly Disagree

Learned importantskills I use in
day-to-day life

4

5

6

Relevance Score
Thriving Well-Being

Coursework is directly
relevant to my work

Figure 377

Copyright © 2018 Strada Education Network and Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved

8

9

10
Strongly Agree

Learned importantskills I use in
day-to-day life
Coursework is directly
relevant to my work

From College to Life: Relevance and the Value of Higher Education

The Importance of Relevance

The Problem: Too Few Consumers Experience Relevance
Despite the critical importance of relevance, only a quarter of education consumers (26%) strongly agree that theireducation is both relevant to their career and their day-to-day life (see Figure 4). Given this reality, the challenge forpostsecondary education is to ensure that all students get the highest return on investment in terms of relevance,
no matter their degree type or field of study.

Percentage of Consumers Finding Relevance
50%
40%

26%

30%
20%
10%
0%

7%
2

4%
3

Strongly Disagree
to both items

7%

8%

4

5

12% 11% 14% 12%

6

7

8

9

10
Strongly Agreeto both items

Figure 4

Copyright © 2018 Strada Education Network and Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved

8

Varying Degrees
of Relevance9

Copyright © 2018 Strada Education Network and Gallup, Inc. All rights reservedFrom College to Life: Relevance and the Value of Higher Education

Varying Degrees of Relevance

As we better understand the micro-climates where consumers can obtain varying degrees of relevance, thecomparisons provide lessons learned to inform future efforts.

Completion Matters
Individuals who enroll in college courses but fail to complete either a two-year or four-year degree are less likely
than other graduates to strongly agree that the courses they took are relevant to their current lives. Looking at the
26% of consumers with the highest relevance scores, we see that 43% of adults with postgraduate experiences
strongly agree their education is relevant to their career and day-to-day life, compared with 14% of those withsome college but no degree. Selecting a pathway and completing it is strongly associated with greater relevance,
which is tied to educational value, quality and personal well-being.

Highest Relevance Scores by Level of Education% Strongly agree to both items

50%

43%

40%

29%

30%
20%

21%
14%

10%
0%
Some college,no degreeTwo-yeardegreeFour-year
degree10 (Strongly agree to both items)

Figure 510

Copyright © 2018 Strada Education Network and Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved

Postgradwork/degree

From College to Life: Relevance and the Value of Higher Education

Varying Degrees of Relevance

Two-Year and Four-Year Degrees
Relevance is not evenly distributed across degree types. Figure 5 shows that individuals who complete theirbachelor’s degree (21%) are less likely to strongly agree they received life and day-to-day relevance from theircollege experience than are those who complete their associate degree (29%). However, this relative advantage
among those who strongly disagree is driven by two-year STEM degrees that deliver more relevance to that set of
consumers than any four-year degree in any field. These insights emerge as we carefully look at the data.
Mean scores on relevance tell more of the story. While two-year degree holders are more likely than four-year
degree holders to have a relevance score of 10 (29% vs. 21%, respectively), the overall groups are comparable(means of 7.1 vs. 7.2; see Figure 6). Two-year degrees have greater highs and lows when it comes to relevancecompared with four-year degrees. The consumer fit with the investment and experience matters. The fact thatsome two-year degrees can deliver as much or more relevance as some four-year degrees shows that it ispossible to increase the relevance we deliver to consumers through both educational pathways.

Mean Relevance Scores by College Experience
10.0
9.0
8.0
7.0
6.0

5.9

7.1

7.2

Two-year degree

Four-year degree

8.4

5.0
4.0
3.0
2.0
Courses-no degree

Postgraduate

Combined Relevance Mean Score

Figure 6

Copyright © 2018 Strada Education Network and Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved

11

From College to Life: Relevance and the Value of Higher Education

Varying Degrees of Relevance

Relevance by Field of Study
As previously mentioned, field of study2 is tied to consumers’ perceptions of relevance in their postsecondary
experiences. Without taking degree type or the dimensions of relevance into account, STEM outpaces other fields(see Figure 7).

Highest Relevance Scores by Field of Study% Strongly agree to both items

50%

38%

40%
30%

25%

20%

22%

25%

10%
0%
Business

Liberal Arts

Public Service

STEM

10 (Strongly agree to both items)

Figure 72

For reporting and analysis, nearly 100 fields of study are categorized into four primary groups — business, liberal arts, public service and

STEM (see Appendix for details).
12

Copyright © 2018 Strada Education Network and Gallup, Inc. All rights reservedFrom College to Life: Relevance and the Value of Higher Education

Varying Degrees of Relevance

However, when accounting for education level, the results shift somewhat. STEM majors outpace the fields ofbusiness, public service and liberal arts among two-year degree holders and those with at least some postgraduate
work. But at the bachelor’s degree level, public service programs provide the greatest relevance, and the results aremuch more even overall (see Figure 8). This strength of four-year public service degrees is a compelling consumer
insight against the backdrop of highly publicized efforts to advance STEM instruction and careers. It suggests thatthe higher education system does not need to fixate on pushing students toward particular majors or courses ofstudy in order to obtain relevance. Rather, the goal should be helping students find the right fit for their educational,
work and personal aspirations and elevating and delivering relevance across the board.

Highest Relevance Scores by Field of Study% Strongly agree to both items

50%

46%
39%

40%
30%
20%

51%
39%

31%
25%

21% 23%

21% 20%

25%

23%

10%
0%
Two-year degree
Business

Four-year degree
Liberal Arts

Postgrad work/degree

Public Service

STEM

Figure 8

Copyright © 2018 Strada Education Network and Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved

13

Two Dimensions of Relevance:
Work and Day-to-Day Life

From College to Life: Relevance and the Value of Higher Education

Relevance: Work and Day-to-Day Life

There is persistent tension in higher education between learning to think and learning to do — where is the value,
and what is the path forward? Is it education or training? Is it development of overarching skills and abilities, orcontent mastery and vocational preparation? We’ve looked to the consumer voice for insights to guide and inform
us as we explore these questions.
To understand the relative outcomes and value of higher education in developing both important abilities andspecific skills, we asked consumers to rate the following statements identified at the outset of the report:••

The courses you took are directly relevant to what you do at work.
You learned important skills during your education program that you use in your day-to-day life.

Both dimensions as measured by these items are important, and they are highly correlated with one another.
Two key themes emerge. First, consumers report higher levels of coursework relevance to their day-to-day life
(mean of 3.9) than in their work (mean 3.3). There is more opportunity for higher education to improve on delivering
work relevance than on skills usedin day-to-day life. Second, thetwo dimensions of relevance goWork and Day-to-Day Relevance by Education
hand in hand. Increases in one
dimension of relevance are tied to
5.0
increases in the other.
4.5

Work Relevance

Of note, two-year and four-year
degree programs perform similarly
on day-to-day life relevance andwork relevance. As expected,
scores are much lower among
those without a degree and muchhigher among those with at least
some postgraduate work (seeFigure 9).

Postgraduate

4.0

3.5
Four-year degree
Two-year degree

3.0Some College

2.5
2.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

4.5

Day-to-Day Relevance
Mean Score

Figure 915

Copyright © 2018 Strada Education Network and Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved

5.0From College to Life: Relevance and the Value of Higher Education

Relevance: Work and Day-to-Day Life

Dimensions of Relevance at the Intersection ofDegree Type and Field of Study
The aforementioned trends for the dimensions of relevance generally hold true when both degree type and fieldof study are accounted for (see Figure 10). Within fields of study, additional investments in education provide
significant improvements in day-to-day and work relevance. The value proposition is consistent across degree
types, with the exception of two-year liberal arts and STEM degrees.
Two-year STEM degrees provide exceptional relevance. These consumers find as much or more relevance in theirhigher education than do consumers of all other four-year and two-year degrees — including STEM bachelor’s
degree holders. (Four-year public service majors find equal levels of relevance in their prior coursework to their dayto-day lives, but in every other category, two-year STEM majors exceed their undergraduate peers.) The efficiency
and relevance of an associatedegree in a STEM field of study
are highly valuable for any
Work and Day-to-Day Relevanceeducation consumers who takeby Education and Field of Study
this path.
Figure 11
5.0

4.5Work Relevance

Public service bachelor’s degrees
provide relevance equivalent
to that of STEM bachelor’s
degrees. Some may overlook
the value of this pathway ina rush to push technology
programs. Consumers should
fully understand the value ofthese opportunities as they selecttheir pathway; the relevancevalue added by going from anassociate to a bachelor’s degreein public service is the largest
among all four fields of study.

Public Service - PG

STEM - PG

Liberal Arts - PG

4.0
Business - PG

STEM - 4 yr

3.5

STEM - 2 yr

Business - 4 yr
Public Service - 4 yr

Business - 2 yr
Public Service - 2 yr

3.0

Liberal Arts - 2 yr

Liberal Arts - 4 yr

2.5
2.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

4.5

Day-to-Day Relevance
PG = postgraduate

Figure 10

Mean Score

5.0

From College to Life: Relevance and the Value of Higher Education

Scalable Solutions Are Within Reach
The increasing costs associated with pursuing higher
education, combined with accelerating changes intechnology and the workforce, accentuate the need toassure consumers that they will find relevant curricula,quality and value in all higher education pathways.
These survey findings point to a glaring gap between
the importance of relevance and the number ofconsumers actually experiencing it. They also provide
actionable insights that can inform scalable, researchbased solutions — especially when combined with key
learnings from across our research portfolio.

2. Have at least one university official initiate aconversation with them about their career options.
3. Believe their school is committed to helping
students find a rewarding career.

For example, we know from the Gallup-Purdue Index
that college graduates who say they had the “Big Six”
collegiate experiences are much more likely to strongly
agree that their school prepared them well for workand life after college.

•

These are not overly complex or expensive
interventions. Yet the clear majority of education
consumers cite them as missing from their experience.
Based on these insights and exposure to the growing
number of best practices in the field, we propose a
few key principles to guide our collective progress:

improving access to work-based sources ofadvice when helping students determine theirpostsecondary path and course of study.
Improved access to quality career advising is
critical — especially for first-generation andminority students, who depend on these services
both before and after enrollment.

These six student experiences include:
1. Having at least one professor who made them
excited about learning.
2. Having professors who cared about them as aperson.
3. Having a mentor who encouraged them to pursue
their goals and dreams.
4. Working on a long-term project that took asemester or more to complete.
5. Having a job or internship that allowed them toapply what they were learning in the classroom.
6. Being extremely active in extracurricular activities
and organizations.
In addition, the Strada-Gallup 2017 College Student
Survey found that students who have these threecareer-focused experiences at their institution are
significantly more confident in being prepared for theworkforce:•Accelerate the integration of work-based
exposure and experiences into thecurriculum. This can be accomplished throughproject-based learning, innovative work-study
programs, internships and apprenticeship models.
In addition, increasing employer engagement
in designing and delivering curricula and in
mentoring and advising students is critical, as wellas encouraging and preparing faculty members tomake stronger connections between coursework
and real-world application.

•

1. Speak often with faculty or staff about their career
options.

17

Help each student identify a path connecting
their education to careers. This includes

Copyright © 2018 Strada Education Network and Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved

Leverage alumni as real-world ambassadorsand mentors across all programs of study.
Alumni relations must reach beyond thedevelopment and athletics offices and into careeradvising and collaboration with faculty. Alumni arean untapped resource for dramatically increasing
employer engagement and work-based integration
across the postsecondary experience.

What Comes Next
We now know the experiences that contribute to perceptions of relevanceand better understand its significance. We also know who is — and is
not — experiencing relevance today. It is critical that we continue this
dialogue in order to increase the number of consumers who believe theirpostsecondary education is relevant to their lives today, and that their
institution provided them with a valuable and high-quality educational
experience.
The final chapter of this series will expand on these concepts by engaging
leaders in the field to identify barriers and provide specific solutions thatwill allow us to meet higher education consumers where they are. These
practical insights will inform our collective work to transform higher
education, including its reputation, customer relationships, and role in thepresent and future of work.
To that end, Strada is engaging esteemed partners and experts — fromorganizations such as Education Commission of the States, American
Association of State Colleges and Universities, the U.S. Chamber ofCommerce, Paul Quinn College, the Society for Human Resource
Management, and others — to contribute to our exploration of relevancewith a concluding chapter to this report.
We invite you to join us in listening to consumers and partnering withthought leaders to enhance higher education’s relevance and value toultimately help students succeed in education, work and life.

From College to Life: Relevance and the Value of Higher Education

Methodology

Study Design
Results for the Strada-Gallup Education Consumer Survey are based on telephone surveys conducted June 29,
2016-March 4, 2018, with a random sample of 110,4811 currently employed respondents aged 18 and older,living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia who have some college but no degree, an associate degree,
a bachelor’s degree, or postgraduate work/degree.
The Strada-Gallup Education Survey sample includes national adults with a minimum quota of 70% cellphone
respondents and 30% landline respondents, with additional minimum quotas by time zone within region. Landline
and cellular telephone numbers are selected using RDD methods. Landline respondents are chosen at random
within each household on the basis of which member will have the next birthday.
Interviews are conducted in English and Spanish. Samples are weighted to correct for unequal selection probability
and nonresponse. The data are weighted to match national demographics of gender, age, race, Hispanic ethnicity,
education and region. Demographic weighting targets are based on the most recent Current Population Survey
figures for the population aged 18-65 years with a U.S. bachelor’s degree or higher level of education.
All reported margins of sampling error include the computed design effects for weighting.
•
•
•
•
•

For results based on 22,682 of those with some college, no degree, the margin of sampling error is ±0.9
percentage points at the 95% confidence level.
For results based on 15,868 of associate degree holders, the margin of sampling error is ±1.1 percentage
points at the 95% confidence level.
For results based on 40,635 bachelor’s degree holders, the margin of sampling error is ±0.7 percentage pointat the 95% confidence level.
For results based on 31,296 of those with some postgraduate work but or degree, the margin of sampling
error is ±0.8 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.
For results based on 5,823 of those with technical, trade, vocational or business program credentials, themargin of sampling error is +/- 1.8 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.

In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error
or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.

The total sample of respondents for which institution-level factors such as SAT/ACT math scores, student loan default rates, average cost of
attendance, alumni income earnings and graduation rates could be matched to survey responses is n=78,091.
1

Copyright © 2018 Strada Education Network and Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved

19

From College to Life: Relevance and the Value of Higher Education

AppendixBusiness

Liberal Arts

Public Service

Accounting

Anthropology

Criminal JusticeArchitecture/Urban Planning

Art

Early Childhood Education

Business

Classical and Modern Languages

Educationand Literature
Business Administration

English (Language and Literature)

Education Leadership

Economics

Ethnic/Cultural Studies

Elementary Education

Entrepreneurship

Geography

Homeland Security

Finance

History

Library Science

Healthcare Administration/Studies

Liberal Arts and Sciences, General

Music/Art Education

Studies, and Humanities
Hospitality/Tourism

Media/Film Studies

Physical Education/Recreation

Human Resources Management

Music

Public Policy

International Business

Other

Secondary Education

Journalism/Communication

Philosophy

Security and Protective Services

Law

Political Science

Social WorkManagement

Psychology

Special Education

Marketing

Sociology

Theology/Religion

Real Estate

Theatre/Drama
Women’s/Gender Studies

20

Copyright © 2018 Strada Education Network and Gallup, Inc. All rights reservedFrom College to Life: Relevance and the Value of Higher Education

Appendix
STEM

STEM

Aerospace

Marine Biology

Agriculture/Natural Resources

Marine Sciences

Animal Biology (Zoology)

Materials Engineering

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Mathematics/Statistics

Atmospheric Sciences

Mechanics

Biochemistry/Biophysics

Medicine

Biological/Agricultural Engineering

Microbiology

Biology (General)

Military Sciences/Technology/Operation

Biomedical Engineering

Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology

Building Trades

Neurobiology/Neuroscience

Chemical Engineering

Nursing

Chemistry

Pharmacy

Civil Engineering

Physics

Clinical Laboratory Science

Plant Biology (Botany)

Computer Science

Robotics Engineering

Computer Engineering

Technologies/Technicians

Computer/Management Information Systems

Therapy (Occupational, Physical, Speech)

Data Processing or Computer Programming
Drafting or Design
Earth and Planetary Sciences
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Electrical Engineering
Electronics
Engineering
Engineering Science/Engineering Physics
Environmental Science
Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering
HealthHealth Technology
Industrial/Manufacturing Engineering
Kinesiology

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