Exploring the Geography of College Opportunity

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E D U C A T I O N P O L I C Y P R O G R A M Exploring the Geography of College Opportunity Data and Methodology Kristin Blagg and Victoria Rosenboom April 2018 (updated May 2018) Data Our analysis

1 E D U C A T I O N P O L I C Y P R O G R A M Exploring the Geography of College Opportunity Data and Methodology Kristin Blagg and Victoria Rosenboom April 2018 (updated May 2018) Data Our analysis builds on the work we completed in an earlier brief (Rosenboom and Blagg 2018). Much of this section relies on a similar methodology and provides more details on the alternate definitions of access to physical education. Our study uses data from five sources (table 1). Many of the variables are straightforward, but a couple require additional definition. The maximum advertised upload and download speeds are based on what individual providers offer in a census block. These values come from the Form 477 that providers file with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) twice a year. Additionally, centroids are the center of the block group area, weighted by population, which we downloaded from the Missouri Census Data Center. Methodology First, we collapsed all the FCC data from providers at the census block level to the census block group level, taking the highest of the maximum advertised upload and download speeds for consumers. Because educational attainment and other American Community Survey variables are not available at the census block level, we aggregated data to the census block group level. With these data now at the block group level, we merged them with other block group level population data from the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series and the Missouri Census Data Center s centroids. In the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) data for 2014, we determined which institutions are both public and broad access, based on the institutional control variable and the number of applicants and admissions. Broad access is defined as admitting at least 75 percent of applicants or being identified as open-access in IPEDS. Two-year public universities are those that

2 offer an associate s degree as the highest degree, or the institution s highest degree awarded was a bachelor s degree or higher but less than 50 percent of the degrees awarded were below a bachelor s degree. IPEDS also provides the longitude and latitude of the institution s location in this year. TABLE 1 Data Sources and Relevant Variables Source Years Data American Community At the census block group level: Survey (via IPUMS) a Educational attainment for the population ages 25 and older Median household income in the past 12 months (in 2015 inflation-adjusted dollars) Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System b Federal Communications Commission c Missouri Census Data Center d Higher education institutions: Longitude and latitude Number of admissions and applicants Number of two- and four-year degrees awarded Institutional control (public, nonprofit, or private) Institutional status, which indicates whether the school was consolidated with another school for reporting, among other indicators of status 2016 For each provider at the census block level: Maximum advertised upload and download speeds offered to consumers and residents in the census block 2010 At the census block group level: Longitude and latitude of centroids Population as the weight US Census (via IPUMS) a 2010 At the census block group level: Total population Urban and rural Race Hispanic or Latino origin by race Age Note: IPUMS = Integrated Public Use Microdata Series. a For information about IPUMS, see the website for the National Historical Geographic Information System at b Use the Data, National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, accessed January 18, 2018, c See Explanation of Broadband Deployment Data, Federal Communications Commission, last updated November 20, 2017, d See MABLE/Geocorr 14: Geographic Correspondence Engine, Missouri Census Data Center, last updated December 20, 2017, Most of the IPEDS data we used are from 2014, but we also identified 331 institutions that were consolidated for reporting reasons between 2001 and Using the same variables as we did for the 2014 data, we used the 2001 data to determine which institutions were broad-access public institutions and two-year, broad-access public institutions. IPEDS did not provide the longitude and latitude of the institutions in this year, so we geocoded the addresses using the Google Maps geocoding application programming interface. While we include these institutions that now report as one unit, not all of the 2 E X P L O R I N G T H E G E O G R A P H Y O F C O L L E G E O P P O R T U N I T Y : D A T A A N D M E T H O D O L O G Y

3 branch campuses of various institutions were reported separately to IPEDS. For example, Colorado Mountain College reports as one unit in IPEDS but has 11 campuses. Using the longitude and latitude of the centroids (Missouri Census Data Center) and institutions (IPEDS), we linked each census block group to the nearest institutions. This allowed us to identify which census block groups are physical education deserts. Using the different definitions of physical education desert described in table 2, we identified which census block groups have broad-access public institutions within 25 miles and within 50 miles of straight-line distance. Using the maximum advertised speeds, we defined online education deserts as those not meeting the FCC s definition of broadband that is, where the maximum download speed was less than 25 megabits per second or the maximum upload speed was less than 3 megabits per second (FCC 2016). With these definitions of physical and online education deserts defined, we identified which block groups met both definitions or just one. TABLE 2 Defining Each Specification of a Physical Education Desert Specification No nearby access to a fouryear, broad-access public institution or only a single two-year institution (original definition) No nearby access to either a two-year or a four-year, broad-access public institution (alternate definition 1) No nearby access to a twoyear, broad-access public institution (alternate definition 2) No nearby access to a fouryear, broad-access public institution (alternate definition 3) No nearby access to both a four-year and two-year, broad-access public institution (alternate definition 4) Definition In line with an existing definition of physical education deserts, a we define physical deserts as either having no colleges or universities within XX miles or having access to a single community college as the only broad access public institution within XX miles. Altering the original definition, this specification allows a single community college to be the only broad-access public institution nearby. We define this type of physical education desert as having no four-year, broad-access public institutions within XX miles and having no two-year, broad-access public institutions within XX miles. If the area has one of these types of institutions nearby, it is not defined as a physical education desert. If it has neither, it is a desert. Honing in on access to community colleges, we define this specification of physical education desert as having no two-year, broad-access public institutions within XX miles. Looking at access to four-year institutions, we define this specification of physical education desert as having no four-year, broad-access public institutions within XX miles. As the strictest definition for access in our blog post, we define this specification of physical education desert as having no four-year, broad-access public institution within XX miles or having no two-year, broad-access public institution within XX miles. If the area has one type of institution nearby but not both, it is defined as a desert. a Nicholas Hillman and Taylor Weichman, Education Deserts: The Continued Significance of Place in the Twenty-First Century (Washington, DC: American Council on Education, 2016). E X P L O R I N G T H E G E O G R A P H Y O F C O L L E G E O P P O R T U N I T Y : D A T A A N D M E T H O D O L O GY 3

4 We used American Community Survey and US Census Bureau data to sum the number of people living in each education desert by age, gender, race, ethnicity, urban or rural designation, educational attainment, and unemployment. To determine the median household income of each type of education desert, we weighted the median income by the total population of each block group. Appendix Data We reference the share of adults living in a complete education desert in the blog post to compare our results for the different specifications with the findings from our previous work. But we also examined the share of adults living in a physical education desert, either a physical education desert or a complete education desert, to see how these results vary (figure 1). FIGURE 1 Share of Adults Living in a Physical Education Desert, by Race or Ethnicity No nearby access to a four-year, broad-access public institution or only a single two-year institution (original definition) No nearby access to a two-year, broad-access public institution (alternate definition 2) No nearby access to a four-year, broad-access public institution (alternate definition 3) Share of adults 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% White Black Hispanic Asian American Indian or Alaska Native Race or ethnicity Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander Note: People who identified themselves as non-hispanic white are included in the white category, and all people who identified themselves as Hispanic are included in the Hispanic category. 4 E X P L O R I N G T H E G E O G R A P H Y O F C O L L E G E O P P O R T U N I T Y : D A T A A N D M E T H O D O L O G Y

5 Additionally, we discuss how increasing the straight-line distance for our physical desert definition increases the share of adults with access to a physical college. We conducted the same analyses with our four alternate definitions for a 50-mile radius to see how these results change (table 3). TABLE 3 Share of Adults Living in Each Type of Education Desert, within a 25-Mile Radius and a 50-Mile Radius Not a desert Online desert Physical desert Complete desert Physical desert definition No nearby access to a four-year, broad-access public institution or only a single two-year institution (original definition) 81.5% 0.8% 16.3% 1.3% Within 25 miles No nearby access to either a two-year or a four-year, broadaccess public institution (1) 90.9% 1.3% 6.9% 0.9% No nearby access to a two-year, broad-access public institution (2) 88.0% 1.2% 9.9% 1.0% No nearby access to a four-year, broad-access public institution (3) 47.2% 0.3% 50.6% 1.9% No nearby access to both a four-year and two-year, broadaccess public institution (4) 44.2% 0.2% 53.6% 2.0% Within 50 miles No nearby access to either a two-year or a four-year, broadaccess public institution (5) 97.1% 2.0% 0.7% 0.2% No nearby access to a two-year, broad-access public institution (6) 96.2% 2.0% 1.6% 0.2% No nearby access to a four-year, broad-access public institution (7) 69.0% 1.1% 28.8% 1.1% No nearby access to both a four-year and two-year, broadaccess public institution (8) 68.1% 1.0% 29.7% 1.2% For this blog post, we do not provide an interactive map to take a closer look at how changing the specifications of physical education deserts alter how access looks in every community. But we selected four states and two specifications as examples (figures 2 9). E X P L O R I N G T H E G E O G R A P H Y O F C O L L E G E O P P O R T U N I T Y : D A T A A N D M E T H O D O L O GY 5

6 FIGURE 2 California: No Community Colleges within 25 Miles 6 E X P L O R I N G T H E G E O G R A P H Y O F C O L L E G E O P P O R T U N I T Y : D A T A A N D M E T H O D O L O G Y

7 FIGURE 3 California: No Four-Year, Broad-Access Public Institutions within 25 Miles E X P L O R I N G T H E G E O G R A P H Y O F C O L L E G E O P P O R T U N I T Y : D A T A A N D M E T H O D O L O GY 7

Note: While there are several four-year, public institutions in North Carolina, only one that reports to IPEDS is broad

8 FIGURE 4 North Carolina: No Community Colleges within 25 Miles FIGURE 5 North Carolina: No Four-Year, Broad-Access Public Institutions within 25 Miles System (IPEDS), and Federal Communications Commission data. Note: While there are several four-year, public institutions in North Carolina, only one that reports to IPEDS is broad access, admitting 75 percent or more of its applicants. 8 E X P L O R I N G T H E G E O G R A P H Y O F C O L L E G E O P P O R T U N I T Y : D A T A A N D M E T H O D O L O G Y

9 FIGURE 6 Pennsylvania: No Community Colleges within 25 Miles E X P L O R I N G T H E G E O G R A P H Y O F C O L L E G E O P P O R T U N I T Y : D A T A A N D M E T H O D O L O GY 9

10 FIGURE 7 Pennsylvania: No Four-Year, Broad-Access Public Institutions within 25 Miles 10 E X P L O R I N G T H E G E O G R A P H Y O F C O L L E G E O P P O R T U N I T Y : D A T A A N D M E T H O D O L O G Y

11 FIGURE 8 Texas: No Community Colleges within 25 Miles E X P L O R I N G T H E G E O G R A P H Y O F C O L L E G E O P P O R T U N I T Y : D A T A A N D M E T H O D O L O GY 11

FIGURE 9 Texas: No Four-Year, Broad-Access Public Institutions within 25 Miles References FCC (Federal Communications Commission). 2016. 2016 Broadband Progress Report. Washington, DC: FCC.

12 FIGURE 9 Texas: No Four-Year, Broad-Access Public Institutions within 25 Miles References FCC (Federal Communications Commission) Broadband Progress Report. Washington, DC: FCC. Rosenboom, Victoria, and Kristin Blagg Disconnected from Higher Education: How Geography and Internet Speed Limit Access to Higher Education. Washington, DC: Urban Institute. 12 E X P L O R I N G T H E G E O G R A P H Y O F C O L L E G E O P P O R T U N I T Y : D A T A A N D M E T H O D O L O G Y

13 Errata This methodology brief was updated in May 2018 to include a new table (table 3) and a paragraph introducing it (page 5). About the Authors Kristin Blagg is a research associate in the Education Policy Program at the Urban Institute. Her research focuses on K 12 and postsecondary education. Blagg has conducted studies on student transportation and school choice, student loans, and the role of information in higher education. Blagg spent four years as a math teacher in New Orleans and New York City. In addition to her work at Urban, she is pursuing a PhD in public policy and public administration at the George Washington University. Blagg holds a BA in government from Harvard University, an MSEd from Hunter College, and an MPP from Georgetown University. Victoria Rosenboom is a research analyst in the Education Policy Program. She supports research on K 12 and postsecondary education. Rosenboom has worked on projects about school choice, online education, and postsecondary living costs. Before joining Urban, Rosenboom was a research assistant at the Center for Research on Children in the United States at Georgetown University and a summer associate at the Congressional Budget Office. She holds a BS in political science and mathematics from Nebraska Wesleyan University and an MPP from Georgetown University, where she wrote her thesis on the relationship between problems in student-teacher interaction and chronic absenteeism. Acknowledgments This brief was funded by the Overdeck Family Foundation. We are grateful to them and to all our funders, who make it possible for Urban to advance its mission. The views expressed are those of the authors and should not be attributed to the Urban Institute, its trustees, or its funders. Funders do not determine research findings or the insights and recommendations of Urban experts. Further information on the Urban Institute s funding principles is available at urban.org/fundingprinciples M Street NW Washington, DC ABOUT THE URBAN INST IT UTE The nonprofit Urban Institute is a leading research organization dedicated to developing evidence-based insights that improve people s lives and strengthen communities. For 50 years, Urban has been the trusted source for rigorous analysis of complex social and economic issues; strategic advice to policymakers, philanthropists, and practitioners; and new, promising ideas that expand opportunities for all. Our work inspires effective decisions that advance fairness and enhance the well-being of people and places. Copyright April Urban Institute. Permission is granted for reproduction of this file, with attribution to the Urban Institute. E X P L O R I N G T H E G E O G R A P H Y O F C O L L E G E O P P O R T U N I T Y : D A T A A N D M E T H O D O L O GY 13

Exploring the Geography of College Opportunity

E D U C A T I O N P O L I C Y P R O G R A M Exploring the Geography of College Opportunity Data and Methodology Kristin Blagg and Victoria Rosenboom April 2018 Data Our analysis builds on the work we completed