Friday, October 18, 2019

COLLEGE DEGREES EARNED BY
BOISE DISTRICT ALUMNI, 2011-18

NOTE: The data for the following 3 posts were provided by the Boise School District. The information contained in the posts was derived from files provided to the district by the National Student Clearinghouse, an organization which compiles college enrollment record for schools districts, among other research information. Districts in Idaho have access to NSC information for their students. These blogs are intended to show the kind of information districts can glean to inform their patrons about college enrollments and graduation for their students.

A few years ago, the Boise District made a post detailing the major areas of the most popular degrees earned by Boise District alumni, detailing subject cluster areas and examining demographic characteristics of the degree-earners. This post and the two following it will examine the data using data from  ore recent graduating classes.

District officials looked at certificates and degrees earned by students from the high school classes of 2011 to 2018. Obviously, the vast majority of the degrees came from the classes of 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015. The classes of 2016, 2017, and 2018 have earned many fewer than 100 certificates and degrees, since they've been in college fewer than four years.

Here are some of the data we gleaned from our analysis. In terms of the number and type of degrees:






There were also 40 Master's Degrees earned by alumni from  these classes. However, for purposes of this comparison we will look at 4-year college grads for the remainder of the post, since they are the vast majority of the diploma earners.




STEM degrees are clearly the most popular among District alumni, followed by Social Science degrees and degrees in Business, Accounting. and Management. The paucity of degrees in education may be a bit misleading, since prospective secondary teachers often get their degrees in a field like History , English, or Math and then add a secondary teaching credential. However, it's concerning when we look at the changes in degree area percentages since the District's previous investigation.




So, Business and STEM degree percentages have increased, while percentages of Social Science, Eduication, and Performing Arts/Art degrees have declined. Not too surprising - with the amount of attention given to STEM in Boise's schools, it makes sense that more students would be attracted to majors in those areas.








PLAYING CATCH UP

Written by Don Coberly. RISE/TVEP Executive Director During Governor Little's Task Force meetings last fall session,  Idaho legislato...