Research and Reports
Our latest research, data releases, and analysis on college value, earnings, and economic mobility.
What Your Major is Worth in California
As college costs rise and confidence in its value declines, families need clear information about what degrees deliver. This report analyzes earnings for 276,963 graduates across 2,958 programs and 386 California institutions to show how outcomes vary by field and credential.
Public Agenda and The HEA Group Partner to Transform Transparency and Economic Mobility in California Higher Education
Public Agenda and The HEA Group announced a two-year collaborative initiative to improve data transparency and economic mobility across California’s higher education landscape.
Understanding the Value of Short-Term Credentials in Colorado
Are certificates worth it, and do they align with Colorado’s future economy? With short-term Pell launching July 1, 2026, HEA Group President Michael Itzkowitz argues Colorado has a real opportunity to boost economic prosperity if it can answer those questions.
Certificate Earnings Explorer: A National Tool for Exploring Certificate Program Outcomes
The Certificate Earnings Explorer includes actual earnings outcomes for 5,592 certificate programs, representing more than 462,000 graduates across all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Three Years of Changing How America Thinks About College Value
The HEA Group’s three-year anniversary reflects its role in shifting higher education toward using earnings and ROI data to evaluate institutions and programs, helping drive new accountability measures, transparency tools, and policy reforms at the state and national levels.
Colleges Are Finally Confronting Their Outcomes Data
HEA Group President Michael Itzkowitz argues that colleges have moved through stages resembling the five stages of grief as they confront transparent earnings data, and that once they reach acceptance, they can use it to redesign programs and improve advising.
New Earnings Test Data: Only 2% of College Degree Programs at Risk
The HEA Group has analyzed all 32,578 undergraduate programs in the Education Department’s new data determining which college programs may remain eligible for federal student loan participation.
Is College Still Worth It? The Harlan Cohen Podcast with Michael Itzkowitz
Harlan Cohen sat down with Michael Itzkowitz, director behind the College Scorecard and founder & president of The HEA Group.
Equity Chat 2.0 with Michael Itzkowitz: Return on Investment in Higher Education
In this episode of Equity Chat 2.0, Dr. Keith Curry sits down with Michael Itzkowitz, a nationally recognized higher education policy expert with more than 15 years of experience inside and outside the federal government.
Why America has lost faith in college and what to do about it
A new op-ed by Michael Itzkowitz argues that our higher education institutions must be willing to demonstrate their value through the transparency and accountability that students, families, taxpayers and our national economy rightfully demand.
“Golden Returns: Which Community Colleges Deliver the Best Economic Outcomes” on The Rant Podcast with Eloy Ortiz Oakley of College Futures Foundation
Season four of the Rant Podcast opens with host Eloy Ortiz Oakley and returning guest Michael Itzkowitz discussing their “Golden Returns” report on which California community colleges and certificate programs deliver the strongest financial returns.
“The New Accountability Era: Michael Itzkowitz On Data, Value, and the OBBB” on CLASP’s The Post “PLUS” Podcast
Michael Itzkowitz, founding director of the College Scorecard and head of The HEA Group, joins CLASP’s podcast to discuss how transparency, ROI, and new federal requirements are reshaping what college means for students, institutions, and the workforce.
Op-Ed: 50 States, 50 Opportunities for Economic Mobility
A new op-ed by Michael Itzkowitz argues that abundant and transparent data, plus best practices, can mean the world to students looking to move up the economic ladder.
Op-Ed: Clamping down on good, publicly available higher education data will send our system into a dark spiral
A new op-ed by Michael Itzkowitz argues that clamping down on good, publicly available higher education data will send our university system and its students down a dark spiral.
Making College Worth It: How Data Can Transform Higher Education
To truly ensure students’ education pays off long-term, colleges need support to turn program-level data insights into concrete improvements. A new blog post by the HEA Group’s Laura Jimenez and Michael Itzkowitz.