Workforce Preparation and Employment Outcomes
Employment Outcomes: Texas
What Is Measured?
Employment rates for 2009 Texas Community College graduates by the fourth quarter of the 2009 calendar year
Who Is Counted?
2009 Texas Community College graduates
What It Tells Us
In 2009, Texas Community College technical program completers had a higher rate of employment than academic program completers (79 percent vs. 36 percent). However, a greater percentage of academic program completers were employed and enrolled than technical program completers (29 percent vs. 3 percent). This pattern also held when examining employment and enrollment by gender and race/ethnicity.
Why It's Important
Labor force participation is consistently associated with higher levels of education, even among those who do not complete a degree or certificate. While a number of states report employment outcomes for students who have enrolled in a community college or completed a community college degree or certificate, the way in which these outcomes are reported and the populations on which outcome measures are based vary widely, making it difficult to compare these measures across states.
About the Data
Employed: employed or in military service in the fourth quarter of the calendar year in which the program year ends. Includes those who are employed and enrolled at a two-year institution.
Employed and enrolled: employed or in military service in the fourth quarter of the calendar year in which the program year ends and enrolled in a Texas senior postsecondary institution in the fall after the school year program ended.
Race/ethnicity data are based on categories used in the 2000 US Census.
Data come from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, Unemployment Insurance wage records, and the Federal Employment Database Exchange Service, which includes records for U.S. Postal Service, Office of Personnel Management, Department of Defense, and CB 116.
Data Source
Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. (2011). Texas Higher Education Accountability System.