The Influence of "High-Impact" College Experiences on Early Career Outcomes

• In Event: 52.046 - Career and Leadership Development of College Students

Abstract

The study contributes new empirical evidence on the associations between “high-impact” (e.g., AAC&U, 2007) college experiences and career outcomes in the years immediately following college graduation, and responds to increasing calls from educational stakeholders that colleges and universities be held accountable to graduates’ career and economic outcomes. ELS:2002/12 data were utilized to examine a set of “high-impact” college experiences in relationship to employability, earnings, and orientations towards the level of preparation received during college. The results highlight that specific college experiences differentially influence career outcomes in the years immediately following college and that major field of study is an important moderator to the relationships between high-impact practices and early career outcomes.

Authors

• Gregory C. Wolniak, New York University

• Mark E. Engberg, Loyola University Chicago