Ithaka S+R is proud to announce a new engagement with the Postsecondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO) Coalition. As a research collaborator, Ithaka S+R will work closely with the Coalition’s leadership and member institutions to develop a robust research agenda that leverages PSEO data, alongside other federal data sources, such as the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and American Community Survey (ACS), to explore critical questions about postsecondary outcomes and workforce dynamics.

This collaboration will focus on generating insights into the value of credentials, patterns of interstate migration among college graduates, and the alignment between higher education and workforce needs. Increasingly, states are interested in how postsecondary degrees lead to more prosperous outcomes for their college and university graduates. The research will support individual coalition members and provide broader analysis across participating states.

About the PSEO Coalition

The PSEO Coalition is playing a transformative role in connecting higher education and workforce data to inform state policy and institutional decision-making. In partnership with the US Census Bureau’s Center for Economic Studies, the Coalition provides participating states, institutions, and the public with detailed data on graduates’ employment and earnings outcomes via the PSEO Explorer online tool and publicly available downloadable data files.

Through innovative data-sharing agreements, state higher-education agencies, systems, and national online institutions, such as Western Governors University, submit data on their graduates to the Census Bureau. In turn, the Bureau produces employment and earnings outcomes disaggregated by specific degree programs (e.g., a bachelor’s in nursing) for each participating institution.

Unlike state longitudinal data systems, which are often constrained by geographic boundaries, PSEO data tracks employment outcomes regardless of where graduates live or work after completing their degrees. This feature offers an unparalleled, national perspective on the economic value of postsecondary education.

Looking Ahead

This new research initiative represents a significant step in harnessing cross-state data to address urgent questions about educational outcomes, workforce preparedness, and economic mobility. We look forward to sharing findings from research already being conducted by Coalition members, states, and other users, and a research agenda for how the data can be further leveraged to inform institutional strategies and state policy efforts to improve student success and labor market outcomes.