National Overview
The debate over whether college is worth it tends to swing between two familiar claims: that bachelor’s degrees lead to strong earnings gains and that too many graduates struggle to find good jobs. But how can both be true? These contradictory claims exist because the benefits of higher education are usually calculated either on average or for the median student.
The students’ college education was supported by the Strada HBCU Initiative, which focuses on leadership development and elevating the transformative influence of historically Black colleges and universities. Forty-seven HBCUs partner with Strada as part of the initiative.
The 2025 State Opportunity Index Looks at Achievement After Graduation
Over the course of her career, Strada Executive Vice President Gabriella Gómez has focused on how to use federal and state policy to provide better access to opportunities in education.
The longtime insurance brokerage executive and Strada trustee begins his second term as board chair.
Cobert, who has extensive public and private sector experience, will oversee the Strada affiliates and relationships with other nonprofits.
Ellspermann, Flores, and Williams will provide leadership and support for Strada’s strategic plan, with a goal of creating more effective links between education and employment.
The State Opportunity Index was developed to help states build a stronger connection between education after high school and equitable pathways to opportunity so students realize the full value of their education and employers have the workforce they need to fill high-demand jobs.
The education policy advocate brings extensive federal experience to shape policy solutions that strengthen pathways to opportunity.
Reindl, Rigdon, and Valle-Palacios will head newly established teams that will focus on collaboratively shaping policy at the state and federal levels to create pathways to opportunity for more people.
The initiative,designed to support aspiring leaders at HBCUs through scholarships and work-based learning opportunities, expands to 50 schools.
The higher ed leader will provide collaborative leadership to help Strada strengthen the link between education and opportunity in America.
The recognition, awarded to Strada plus all four organizations that make up Strada Collaborative — CAEL, Education at Work, InsideTrack, and Roadtrip Nation — signals continued prioritization of DEI efforts.
Austin will assume the role permanently after leading Strada’s financial operations through a leadership and strategy transition as interim CFO.
The postsecondary education policy leader will oversee the nonprofit organization’s advocacy work with state and federal policymakers.
The experienced corporate leader and legal expert brings a diverse range of experience to guide Strada’s legal team and serve the organization’s board of trustees.
The former U.S. Commerce Department official will head the social impact organization’s strategy and innovation team.
Higher education’s measurement of student success is in the midst of an evolution. For nearly five decades, success efforts focused on access, then two decades with completion as the horizon for success, and now the focus is extending to student outcomes beyond completion.
Strada’s prior research on undergraduate perceptions of the value of their education demonstrates that students value their education most when they receive support to connect their education and career interests.
In the wake of historic pandemic-related enrollment declines, postsecondary institutions have responded by developing and expanding innovative approaches to engaging learners.
Students can see the high costs of education, but a clear and predictable career path is more opaque in an ever-shifting labor market transformed by remote work, gig work, outsourcing, automation, artificial intelligence, and global supply chains.
Steep declines in undergraduate enrollment during 2020 and 2021 threaten to widen existing equity gaps in college completion and career opportunities.
Nondegree credentials have been growing rapidly for decades. During the COVID-19 economic crisis, interest in nondegree credentials and skills training options was especially high. Questions about their quality and value, however, remain.
The high school classes of 2020 and 2021 have endured massive disruption to their education.
In order to inform solutions for how to reconnect with young adults whose education plans have been disrupted, Strada Education Network is conducting a multiphase research study with high school graduates from 2020 and 2021.
The pandemic has led to a national crisis of widespread disruption to both work and education for millions of adults in the U.S., especially those from historically marginalized groups.
Already, an estimated 28 million Americans have canceled education plans, results from the fifth week of this nationally representative survey* show.
Over the past 15 years, the number of student loan recipients has increased by 51 percent and the debt associated with those loans has more than doubled.
In the recovering economy, employers will play a central role as Americans look to reskill, upskill, and compete in the workforce.
This week’s data are based on the Strada Student Viewpoint and Strada-Gallup Education Consumer surveys.
The economic impact of COVID-19 is widespread, but the ramifications are felt disproportionately among people of color.
This week’s data are based on the Strada Public Viewpoint and Strada Student Viewpoint surveys, which together collected more than 25,000 responses this year.
Our mission is to improve lives by forging clearer and more purposeful pathways between education and employment.
Breaux, Jenkins, and Olinger join the governing board; Coulis is selected as board chair for the national social impact organization focused on strengthening education-to-employment pathways.
Seven months into the COVID-19 pandemic, Americans feel stuck at work and unconvinced a good job or opportunities to advance are within their reach.
COVID-19 is Disrupting Students’ Confidence in the Value of Higher Education
These insights are from the Strada Student Viewpoint survey, which collected more than 4,000 responses from students at four-year institutions between Sept. 10 and 25.
The nationally representative Public Viewpoint survey, with more than 17,000 responses collected between March 25 and Sept. 3, is intended to provide insights to the education and training providers, policymakers, employers, and individual Americans who are navigating the COVID-19 crisis.
The nationally representative Public Viewpoint survey, with more than 16,000 responses collected between March 25 and Aug. 20, is intended to provide insights to the education and training providers, policymakers, employers, and individual Americans who are navigating the COVID-19 crisis.
Five months into the pandemic, Americans are now three times more likely than they were in April to believe COVID-19’s impact will last more than a year.
The nationally representative Public Viewpoint survey, with more than 14,000 responses collected between March 25 and July 23, is intended to provide insights to the education and training providers, policymakers, employers, and individual Americans who are navigating the COVID-19 crisis.
The COVID-19 crisis continues to touch nearly every aspect of American life, but the latest Strada Public Viewpoint research shows Americans’ interest in online learning would be significant with or without the effect of the pandemic.
This week’s data also shows what is motivating the workers looking to change fields—and for about half, the decision isn’t about finances or career advancement.
COVID-19 is taking the lives of Americans and disrupting the fabric of work, education, and daily living for the entire nation, but the impact is disproportionately affecting people of color.
After weeks of impact to Americans’ emotional and economic well-being because of COVID-19, many are beginning to consider what will come next in their lives.
Responses from more than 7,000 adults now are included in this survey*, updated weekly and designed to track the impact of the pandemic on American lives, work, and education.
Responses from more than 6,000 adults now are included in this survey*, updated weekly and designed to track the impact of the pandemic on American lives, work, and education.
Two-thirds of Americans remain concerned they may lose their jobs. About half are worried COVID-19 will have a negative impact on their finances.
This nationally representative survey* of 1,000 American adults will be updated weekly.
In a collaborative study of more than 40,000 Americans who started attending college, but did not finish with a degree, this report from Strada Education Network, Lumina Foundation and Gallup Research provides insights into the reasons they stopped out of college, and what could help them return.
A “How To” Playbook for America’s Governors
What do Americans value in their education? We haven’t really known, because too often learners have been absent from the conversation.
Prior research has shown that the skills and knowledge veterans gain in the U.S. military are often under-recognized and undervalued by civilian employers.
The number of job openings in the United States now surpasses the number of people available and qualified to fill them. Through the Strada-Gallup Education Survey, we talk to Americans about their desire for more education and skills training and explore what motivates them to return to school.
Strada and Gallup share findings from their Strada-Gallup Employer Survey of a representative national sample of 1,139 adult employees involved in hiring decisions who participated in an online survey.
Choksi, Dyke and Markell join the governing board for the national social impact organization focused on strengthening education-to-employment pathways.
In the future, the most valued workers will be those who combine technical skills with uniquely human skills, such as critical thinking, problem solving, and communication.
We’re getting mixed messages about the outcomes of liberal arts graduates. Depending on who you ask, these graduates are either headed for a lifetime as a barista or are capable of doing absolutely anything. The answer lies somewhere in the middle.
The 2017 Strada-Gallup College Student Survey showed that students who had these types of conversations are more likely than other students to feel confident about their future upon graduation.
An Early History of Strada Education Network 2014-2017
The 2017 College Student Survey, a new nationally representative survey of current students examining their perceptions about preparation for the workforce and the career-related support they receive from their institutions.
