By Berkeley Yorkery, CCFP Scientific Manager
Dr. Sarah Komisarow, Assistant Professor in the Sanford School of Public Policy and Affiliate in the Center for Child and Family Policy, and Steven W. Hemelt, Professor of Public Policy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH), recently welcomed approximately 50 students, faculty, researchers, and practitioners to campus for the Triangle Economics of Education Workshop (TEEW). The daylong workshop brought together scholars to present and discuss empirical research on the economics of education. This year, TEEW presentations focused primarily on post-secondary education.
The keynote speaker Celeste Carruthers, the William F. Fox Distinguished Professor of Labor Economics in the Haslam College of Business at the University of Tennessee, spoke on the evolution of policy goals for postsecondary education and training. Her talk, “Education & Workforce Alignment: A Conversation Between Policy and Research,” began by looking at what drove states to set “moonshot” postsecondary attainment goals about 15 years ago and state policies adopted to support those goals. Dr. Carruthers presented research on the implementation of free community college in Tennessee (Tennessee Promise) and the significant impact the program had on postsecondary enrollment, Associate’s degree attainment, and increase in earnings during the early years of implementation. Given her own and other research on similar programs, Dr. Carruthers finds that free college programs are generally effective, particularly if the criteria for participation are not too restrictive.
Dr. Carruthers then turned to the widespread post-pandemic discussion about the value of college education. She highlighted a wide body of research showing the life-course rate of return on college is a good investment for those who complete bachelor’s and associate’s degrees. However, for the significant number of students who start but do not complete college, are less likely to see a financial return.
These findings, popular perceptions about the value of college, and political shifts have all contributed to the more recent increased emphasis on “credentials of value” rather than college attainment. She highlighted that, similar to the period of time when “moonshot” goals were set, this new focus is fueled by a demand for alignment with workforce needs and informed by research on the returns to postsecondary education, technical education, and specific credentials. Many state policymakers are now thinking more critically about the value of various degree and credential programs focusing on the rate of return for specific types of degrees and workforce demands. They are then adjusting state policies targeting the attainment of degrees/credentials that show higher rates of return for students. She pointed to Florida, Tennessee and Texas as states that are moving quickly to try and align postsecondary education and workforce needs.
Dr. Carruthers ended with a call to education researchers on the need for new methodologies that adapt to this emphasis on high-value credentials. Dr. Carruthers her peers to engage in policy-relevant research in this area so they can contribute to the design and evaluation of policies that build and adapt to evolving education-to-workforce policy goals.
Additional topics included at this years’ TEEW included presentations on:
- the impact of new community college openings on enrollment and degree completion
- a novel approach to estimating supply and demand at the undergraduate program level at UNC-CH,
- college student outcomes during Covid-19; and other topics.
(Abstracts available online at https://childandfamilypolicy.duke.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/TEEW2025_Abstracts.pdf)
Throughout the day, presenters shared their research questions, methodology, and findings while attendees ask thoughtful questions and engaged in enthusiastic discussions about the strengths and challenges of study methodologies and possible next directions for research.