MDOL Launches New Data Tool Showcasing Graduate Earnings in Maine

June 16, 2021

For Immediate Release: June 16, 2021

MDOL Launches New Data Tool Showcasing Graduate Earnings in Maine

The Maine Post-Secondary Outcomes Report Displays Economic Outcomes of Graduates by School, Program, and Credential

AUGUSTA-The Maine Department of Labor's Center for Workforce Research and Information (CWRI) is excited to announce the launch of the Maine Post-Secondary Outcomes Report (MPSO), a MaineEARNS data series that provides the employment and earnings outcomes of graduates from the University of Maine System (UMS) and Maine Community College System (MCCS). We encourage you to explore the new Maine Post-Secondary Outcomes Report with expanded features and newly available data here: https://www.maine.gov/labor/cwri/mpso

"MaineEARNS is a wonderful resource for Maine people interested in using data to make decisions related to education and training. The tool provides insight into salary and industry of employment for Maine graduates," said Laura Fortman, Commissioner of the Department of Labor. I encourage you to take a look and explore the new features.

MPSO is a longitudinal data series, containing aggregated graduate records beginning in 2009, three cohorts of graduates and up to nine labor market outcomes years of data after graduation. Available data includes the industries graduates enter, age at graduation, newly available outcome years, wages adjusted for inflation, and rollups that contain all students across all cohorts to increase sample sizes.

For ease of navigation, the new MPSO website displays data that can be viewed from different perspectives including by Broad Fields of Study, by Program, by School, and for General Research purposes. The published data is searchable by credential or degree, area of study, and school, displaying aggregated information for cohorts of graduates ensuring individual confidentially.

The data system serves as a platform for understanding what happens to cohorts of students after completing post-secondary credentials and as they progress through the workforce. It can be used to address such questions as: - How many graduates go on to work in Maine? - What do they earn? - How do the wage and employment outcomes for various credentials compare? - In which industries do graduates find employment?

We invite you to view the data, which can be used to find post-secondary credentials available in Maine, and is an excellent resource for prospective students, their parents and any others exploring or advising others about higher education.

This dataset shows how much you can earn after spending just one or two years at a community college. Looking to earn more than $60K? This data shows that there are many programs at the community colleges - including electrical lineworkers, telecommunications tech, healthcare, precision machining, computer science, business - that can get you there, said David Daigler, president of the Maine Community College System. Reliable, specific wage data can be hard to find. This new searchable database puts detailed information at everyones fingertips, allowing them to make smart choices about their careers and education. Thats a good thing.

A college degree can improve wages and opportunities across generations, said University of Maine System Chancellor Dannel Malloy. MaineEARNS provides students and their families with information that can help them make the right choices about their college and career pathways. Providing better insights on the impact of higher education also creates the incentives we need to engage more people with our programs and build a stronger, more highly qualified workforce for Maine.

MPSO is a MaineEARNS product, built in partnership with UMS and MCCS. Grants from the U.S. Department of Labors Education and Training Administration including the Workforce Data Quality Initiative grant (WDQI) grant provided the majority of the funding for the project, with additional state support. MaineEARNS was originally launched as a pilot in 2014. Data from participating education and training programs are matched with available unemployment insurance wage records. To learn more about the many capabilities and limitations of the MPSO report, please visit: https://www.maine.gov/labor/cwri/mpso/about.html