Certificate Seekers: Programmatic Cohorts
Main Findings
Introduction
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.
Cumulative Net VAE by Program
Cumulative net VAE for certificate-seeking students who entered public institutions in Texas from 2008-09 through 2018-19 varied widely by program of study.
For example, students who sought certificates in construction trades experienced cumulative net VAE of $48,114. By contrast, students who sought certificates in information technology experienced cumulative net VAE of -$20,839.
Four (36%) of 11 programmatic cohorts of certificate-seeking students who enrolled from 2008-09 through 2018-19 experienced positive cumulative net VAE.
Exhibit C6. Cumulative Net VAE for Certificate-seeking Students by Program, Entry Years 2008-09 through 2018-19
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 completers and non-completers. The size of each circle is proportional to the number of students in the sample for each programmatic cohort.
Cumulative Net VAE for STEM Programs
Among certificate-seeking students who enrolled from 2008-09 through 2018-19, students who sought STEM degrees experienced substantially higher cumulative net VAE ($11,070) than students who did not (-$2,789).
Exhibit C7. Cumulative Net VAE for Certificate-seeking Students by STEM Program Status, Entry Years 2008-09 through 2018-19
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 completers and non-completers.