The Impact of Higher Education in Transition Students-Graduates in Socio Economic Level and Employment: Colombian Case

The objective of this article is to examine how higher education contributes to students' employment rates and socioeconomic standing once they graduate. A literature review has been conducted, looking to identify the main particularities that exist in the study of higher education’s impact in the employment and social status. For the empirical application this study uses a unique primary dataset that includes information about their employment status and socioeconomic standing at the start and at the end of their studies between 2016 and 2021 for 5400 students at Universidad de la Costa. This study employs a multinomial logit model, the result shows that the transition of student-graduates’ increases (from 12.4% to 44.4%) the number of persons who are employed when they obtain their degrees. In contrast with the evidence showing significant changes in socio-economic level, there are no significant differences between men and women regarding employment status. The findings of this paper offer relevant information to government and education policymaker to design strategies that promote the higher education in Colombia.