Overview

Developed by the Postsecondary Value Commission (PVC), the Postsecondary Value Framework (PVF) is designed to help colleges and universities identify and measure their own inequities in access, completion, and post-college outcomes in ways to encourage action to improve equitable outcomes and postsecondary value. 

The framework explores the pipeline to equitable value for learners from specific backgrounds, and the value for learners and society that institutional, state, and federal policymakers can deliver. 

The framework includes a series of economic value thresholds that measure whether learners experience different economic returns over time. To account for access and institutional diversity, the framework uses two additional methods: 

• Economic Value Index (EVI) - calculated by multiplying the percentage of learners from a specific population who meet an economic value threshold by the percentage of learners from that population who are enrolled in the institution.
   
• Economic Value Contribution (EVC) - disaggregated thresholds which measure of the economic contribution that an institution generates by boosting economic returns for a specific population. 

These thresholds and indices are based on research reviewed and conducted by the commission and are detailed in Chapter 3 of the Postsecondary Value Commission’s Final Report.

The PVC also provides the Equitable Value Explorer, an interactive dashboard that allows users to analyze and compare institutions against the PVF.

Resources

Postsecondary Value Commision. (May 2021). Final Report -Equitable Value: Promoting Economic Mobility and Social Justice through Postsecondary Education. PDF 

Institute for Higher Education Policy. (2023, December 8). Seven research teams will explore how to equitably improve postsecondary value for student. [Research based on PVF] https://www.ihep.org/press/seven-research-teams-will-explore-how-to-equitably-improve-postsecondary-value-for-student/

Equitable Value Explorer