Project Title: Impact Evaluation of CCAC Allied Health Programs on Income and Employment
Partner Name: Community College of Allegheny County
As the largest community college in the region, CCAC has long played a critical role in enabling Pittsburgh area residents of all backgrounds to build skills and improve their economic prospects. Many CCAC programs deliver practical, career-focused education at an affordable price to many for whom a four-year degree is not a viable option.
Problem Statement: Like many other education and training providers, CCAC, has limited visibility into the longer-run career trajectories of its graduates. Which programs are truly succeeding at putting their graduates on a pathway to prosperous jobs and lives in the changing U.S. labor market?
This project evaluates the long-run economic impact of CCAC’s allied health programs on its graduates. These programs train students to take patient-facing roles as specialist technicians, such as “radiological technologists.” The project will seek to combine the data resources of CCAC with those of Allegheny County’s Department of Human Services (ACDHS), which track a wide range of socioeconomic variables for county residents.
● The analyses are conducted across all three programs as well as within each program. The student records spanning the past 13 years and wage data encompassing the most recent 7 years are utilized. ● All three programs share similar student demographics and mostly similar economic outcomes for graduates as follows: ○ Financial self-sufficiency: Program graduates see their reliance on human services including Medicaid and SNAP decline after graduation. ○ Wages: All programs appear to substantially boost the income of their graduates by approximately $20K in annual income. ● Outcomes that are unique by program are: ○ The Gender wage gap is statistically significant only in the Radiologic Technology program. Our data supports the hypothesis that females were more likely to discontinue full-time work or take career breaks and this appears to generate persistent male-female wage gaps ○ Zero-earning observations are more prominent in the Sonography program. Our interview with the program director supports the assumption that graduates in this program may work outside of the state of Pennsylvania more than the other programs.