College and university degrees—from associate's degrees through PhDs—are increasingly necessary credentials for lifelong personal and professional success. But maximizing the accessibility of degree programs and supporting broad student success remain elusive goals. 

NORC has decades of experience studying how and why students of all ages pursue postsecondary education and the factors that contribute to their success. Much of that work has been done through our Higher Education Analytics Center, which provides post-secondary institutions and related organizations with the data and insights necessary to improve their function and inform their policy decisions to the benefit of students, alumni, educators, academic leaders, and the institutions themselves.

In the wake of the Operation Varsity Blues admission scandal, we explored the public perception of the college admission process.  We have partnered with the University of Chicago Consortium on School Research on the Chicagoland College to Career Transition project, which examines the degree attainment, job-search experiences, and career outcomes of diverse students. Our Education and Transition to Adulthood project is using transcript data from participants in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth to improve our understanding of the complex interplay of family, education, work, and health across the life course.

NORC also conducts the Survey of Doctorate Recipients (SDR) for the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This study is the only source of data on the careers of science and engineering doctorate holders from U.S. institutions, and it provides key data on the education and training, work experience, career development, and demographics of this important population.