Blog - The HEA Group

As the cost of college rises and confidence in its economic value declines, students and families increasingly need clear information about what different degrees and credentials deliver. This report analyzes federal earnings data for 276,963 graduates across 2,958 programs, 225 fields of study, and 386 California institutions to show how outcomes vary by field and credential level.

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. Supported by ECMC Foundation, the project addresses critical information gaps regarding postsecondary earnings, equips state and institutional leaders to adapt to a changing economy, and strengthens the state’s data i…

Are certificates worth it? For which programs? Do they align with Colorado's future economy? With a new short-term Pell Grant program launching on July 1, 2026, The HEA Group President Michael Itzkowitz argues that Colorado policymakers have a real opportunity to boost the state’s economic prosperity if they can answer those questions.

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. This new platform allows users to easily search, compare, and analyze earnings outcomes for undergraduate certificate programs across the United States.

The HEA Group’s three-year anniversary reflects its significant role in shifting higher education toward the use of earnings and ROI data to evaluate institutional and program effectiveness, influencing federal policy, accreditation, and student decision-making. Our research has helped drive new accountability measures, transparency tools, and policy reforms at both the state and national le…

HEA Group President Michael Itzkowitz argues that higher education institutions have moved through stages resembling the five stages of grief (denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance) as they confront increasingly transparent data on graduates’ earnings and economic mobility. Itzkowitz contends that once institutions reach acceptance, they can use outcomes data constructively t…

At a time when students and families are questioning the value of college and higher education leaders face difficult decisions about improving outcomes and economic mobility, Michael Itzkowitz of the HEA Group hosted a timely conversation with Former U.S. Secretary of Education and current SUNY Chancellor John King.

The HEA Group is proud to have worked with the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges' (ACCJC's) on its new framework highlighting how program specific outcomes offer a more precise and actionable understanding of how individual fields of study contribute to students’ long-term economic mobility.

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.

Harlan Cohen sat down with Michael Itzkowitz, director behind the College Scorecard and founder & president of The HEA Group.

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.

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.

Season four of the Rant Podcast kicks off with a deep dive into educational value and economic mobility. Host Eloy Ortiz-Oakley welcomes returning guest Michael Itzkowitz to discuss their groundbreaking "Golden Returns" report examining which California community colleges and certificate programs deliver the strongest financial returns for students.

Michael Itzkowitz, founding director of the College Scorecard and head of the HEA Group, joins CLASP’s The Post “PLUS” Podcast to unpack how the conversation around value in higher education has evolved. From the early days of measuring cost and graduation rates to today’s 2,000+ data points, he shares how transparency, ROI, and new federal requirements are reshaping what college means for s…

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.

A first-of-its kind regional analysis of California’s community and certificate-granting colleges shows that while some institutions offer a rapid economic return to students, far too many provide little to no ROI, especially in underserved regions of the state.

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.

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.

College Futures Foundation and the HEA Group prioritize economic mobility as a cornerstone of their missions and recognize that postsecondary education provides a critical pathway to a better life for underserved learners across California. The inaugural California Mobility Index (CMI) includes 82 four-year institutions that together enroll 785,576 undergraduate students. It describes the ex…

In this webinar, HEA Group President Michael Itzkowitz joins James Cryan of Willow Education to discuss strategies on how to assess—and improve—ROI at institutions and college programs across the United States. They provide an overview of the kind of returns that students can expect after enrollment and upon completion of their program.