The student with the student success resume…Or the student with the learning outcomes resume? Which do most universities know more about?
This was the topic of conversation at my presentation at the 2025 Illinois Association for Institutional Research conference in Naperville, What’s in a Grade?: Connecting GPA, Student Success, and the Labor Market. More information later!
Disclaimer
This post does not assume the singular goal of a university is to prepare students for careers. Nor does it assume earnings are the only or best outcome of higher education. Higher education is associated with all kinds of economic and non-economic benefits to individuals and society. These include health and wellness, being good stewards of the environment, human rights, and democratic engagement, to name a few. Walter McMahon has covered these benefits extensively.
Still, for many students, a college degree represents an escape from poverty and ending a cycle of intergenerational inequality. It represents a job with health care, retirement benefits and meaning. It doesn’t mean everything, but it counts for something.
