Overview

The Postsecondary Commission will accredit existing and new institutions that produce strong economic mobility gains for their students, agree to be held accountable for student outcomes, are transparent about their results, and pursue innovative designs in search of improvements to their student outcomes.

PSC will accredit institutions that produce high rates of economic mobility for their students. 

Measuring Economic Mobility

To assess an institution’s economic mobility outcomes, PSC will measure how much the actual wages of students – after they exit the institution – exceed a baseline estimate of the wages the students would have experienced if they had not enrolled in the institution or pursued further higher education elsewhere. 

Why Economic Mobility

Students and families choose higher education for a variety of reasons. However, surveys repeatedly show that economic mobility is the number one reason students pursue higher education. PSC prioritizes economic mobility because of this. Better jobs and wages are not the only reasons students attend higher education, but they are the most common and most important reasons.

PSC will hold institutions accountable for delivering strong student outcomes, particularly strong economic outcomes. PSC is committed to holding institutions accountable for student outcomes as a way to protect students who invest time and money in higher education and taxpayers who, via their state and federal governments, finance higher education.

PSC will require its institutions to disclose to prospective and existing students as well as to the general public a wide range of information that can help those stakeholders understand and evaluate institutions’ designs and outcomes. Beyond federally required performance and financial data, PSC institutions will disclose the economic mobility outcomes of their students, helping consumers make more informed choices about their higher education investment.

PSC anticipates that its institutions will often utilize innovative educational models in their search for strong student outcomes. Examples of such designs include high-dosage student tutoring and advising, designs that maximize flexibility for students in scheduling and pacing their course work, and designs that engage employers in the delivery and design of programs.

More on the Postsecondary Commission’s process to become an accreditor can be found on the Frequently Asked Questions page.