Findings for certificate-seeking students on this page are based mainly on analysis of 67,486 certificate-seeking students who entered one of 57 public institutions of higher education in Texas from 2008-09 through 2018-19. 

Cumulative net VAE values are averages, stated in 2023 dollars, for cohorts of entering students that include a mix of eventual completers and non-completers.

Certificate-seeking students who entered public institutions of higher education in Texas from 2008-09 through 2018-19 on average experienced cumulative net VAE of $3,818 in year 5 after entry.

These students’ cumulative net VAE reached a low point of -$3,461 in year 2 after entry, when their combined losses from paying tuition and fees and from foregone earnings peaked.

In year 4 after entry, these students reached a financial break-even point when their cumulative net VAE turned positive for the first time.

Exhibit C1. Cumulative Net VAE for Certificate-seeking Students, Entry Years 2008-09 through 2018-19

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Exhibit Note: Cumulative net VAE values in this exhibit are averages, stated in 2023 dollars, for cohorts of entering students that include a mix of eventual completers and non-completers. 

For certificate-seeking students who enrolled from 2008-09 through 2018-19, the table below disaggregates cumulative net VAE into its cost and earnings components.

An important insight from the table below is that students’ cumulative net cost of attendance (which sum to $1,044) is smaller than their cumulative losses in foregone earnings (which peak at -$3,461 in year 2).

Exhibit C2. Disaggregation of Cumulative Net VAE for Certificate-seeking Students, Entry Years 2008-09 through 2018-19

Exhibit Note: Cumulative net VAE values and other values in this exhibit are averages, stated in 2023 dollars, for cohorts of entering students that include a mix of eventual completers and non-completers. 

The exhibit below plots cumulative net VAE for every other single-year cohort of certificate seekers, starting with 2008-09 and ending with 2018-19. These cohorts are included in the pooled multi-year cohort in Exhibit C1 above.

Cumulative net VAE across single-year cohorts ranged from $1,192 (for the 2017-18 entering cohort) to $5,538 (for the 2016-17 entering cohort).

Exhibit C3. Cumulative Net VAE for Certificate-seeking Students, Individual Entry Years 2008-09 through 2018-19

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Exhibit Note: Cumulative net VAE values in this exhibit are averages, stated in 2023 dollars, for cohorts of entering students that include a mix of eventual completers and non-completers. 

Forty-three (75%) of 57 institutional cohorts of certificate-seeking students who enrolled from 2008-09 through 2018-19 experienced positive cumulative net VAE. 

Cumulative net VAE for these institutional cohorts ranged widely from $47,231 (for the highest-performing institutional cohort) to -$11,257 (for the lowest-performing institutional cohort).

Exhibit C4. Cumulative Net VAE for Institutional Cohorts of Certificate-seeking Students, Entry Years 2008-09 through 2018-19

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Exhibit Note: Cumulative net VAE values in this exhibit are averages, stated in 2023 dollars, for cohorts of entering students that include a mix of eventual completers and non-completers. 

Cumulative net VAE for cohorts of certificate-seeking students who enrolled from 2008-09 through 2018-19 correlates positively and strongly with the percentage of a cohort that completed a certificate (at the institution or elsewhere) during the 5-year post-entry follow-up period.

Exhibit C5: Cumulative Net VAE versus Completion Rate of Certificate-seeking Students, Entry Years 2008-09 through 2018-19

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Exhibit Note: The x-axis in this exhibit plots the percentage of a cohort that completed a certificate (at the institution or elsewhere) during the 5-year post-entry follow-up period. Cumulative net VAE values in this exhibit are averages, stated in 2023 dollars, for cohorts of entering students that include a mix of eventual completers and non-completers.