Table of Contents
Our goal for Building a Talent Strong Texas
- 550,000 students will complete postsecondary credentials of value each year by 2030.
Degrees and certificates open doors and increase earning potential.
Postsecondary education benefits students in many ways. For example, it’s associated with higher levels of earnings, not just in the short term but also over a lifetime (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2019). It’s also increasingly necessary for landing and retaining high-quality positions in the workforce. One study estimates that by 2030, more than 6 out of 10 Texas jobs will require at least some postsecondary education (Carnevale et al., 2020).
Texas continues to increase production of degrees, certificates, and credentials every year. We must not only continue but accelerate that progress to strengthen our workforce and support the needs and dreams of families across the state.
The number of degrees and certificates is increasing but not by enough.
As shown below, the number of Texans earning degrees and certificates has increased every year between 2015 and 2021. A 1.8% decrease in certificates and degrees occurred in 2022, followed by a 0.7% increase in 2023 – the number of earned degrees and certificates has yet to rebound back to 2021 levels. Overall, the rate of increase between 2015 and 2023 has not been enough to meet our goal. To reach 550,000 by 2030, we need to add more than 30,000 degrees and certificates earned every year. Between 2022 to 2023, the number increased by about 2,200.
Still, we have reason to be hopeful. The rate of increase for some racial/ethnic groups is quite high, including the rate for students who are African American, Hispanic, or Asian. The largest jumps for most of these groups are among associate and bachelor’s degrees.
Traditional degrees dominate the landscape.
Currently, among degree types, traditional credentials like bachelor’s and associate degrees are much more prevalent than others. Increasing production of postsecondary certificates that provide valuable skills and knowledge is vital to our economic competitiveness. Also, while not everyone is expected to seek more advanced degrees, to meet its strategic higher education goals, Texas needs to increase the number of research doctorates awarded each year.
The number of women attaining credentials rose almost every year since 2015.
The number of women earning degrees and certificates increased steadily from 2015 to 2021 before falling slightly in 2022 and 2023. For men, the number peaked in 2019.
The data consistently show more women earn credentials than men. Compared by degree level, in recent years, women earned more credentials than men in every degree except short-term certificates and research doctoral degrees, where men tended to earn as many or more degrees than women. This contrasts with the roughly 50-50 gender balance in the state population at large. But it matches the trend we see for postsecondary enrollment in Texas as well as global trends in enrollment and completion that have persisted for decades.
Why have more degrees and certificates gone to women in recent years? Cultural shifts expanding the opportunities and roles expected of women may play a part (DiPrete and Buchmann, 2013). Another reason may be that it’s easier for men to find decent-paying work without a postsecondary degree or certificate (Evers, et al., 2006).
Regardless, we’d like to see degrees and certificates awarded more equally among men and women. The economic benefits associated with postsecondary credentials are significant and should be accessible to everyone.
Take a deeper dive with our interactive degrees and certificates dashboard.
llowing dashboard provides a deeper dive into state data on degrees and certificates, with opportunities to view institution-level details and other insights.
To explore more granular data, view our interactive dashboard.
References
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (February 2019). Education pays: Median weekly earnings by educational attainment, 2018. U.S. Department of Labor.
- Carnevale, A.P (2022). Net New Jobs that Will Require Postsecondary Education and Training Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce.
- DiPrete, T.A., & Buchmann, C. (2013). The rise of women. The growing gender gap in education and what it means for American schools. Russell Sage Foundation.
- Evers, F., Livernois, J., & Mancuso, M. (2006). Where are the boys? Gender imbalance in higher education. Higher Education Management and Policy, 18(2), 107-120.
