This plenary session considered whether the choices students make in college are likely to ensure their future labor market success. Panelists presented evidence on whether students are choosing programs with strong earnings and employment outcomes and whether the particular college pathways they pursue—such as transferring to a four-year institution or combining work with study—are advantageous. Panelists also considered whether colleges are making the decisions that students must make about courses, programs, and pathways too complicated, and how these options might be simplified so that students can maximize their benefits from college.
