The unusual and uncertain times experienced by the college Class of 2021 in its final year was reflected in its outcomes, which improved from last year, but remained down from pre-pandemic levels, according to NACE’s First Destinations for the College Class of 2021 report.

NACE’s First-Destination Survey Standards and Protocols were developed by a task force of practitioners, and reflect feedback provided during a public comment period by more than 100 career services professionals. The standards/protocols are designed to address the needs of individual institutions to track graduate outcomes, and can be used to address growing demand by accrediting bodies and governmental agencies.

The College Scorecard limits post-graduate information to salary for the school as a whole. In this article, NACE's research director looks at how three factors—type of school, demographics, and academic program—affect salary results.

Nearly 60% of Class of 2019 bachelor’s grads were employed in full-time positions with a traditional employer and nearly 19% were going on for an advanced degree by the end of 2019.

Class of 2020 graduates got fewer jobs than any other class since NACE first began reporting on employment trends with the Class of 2014.

As was the case with bachelor’s level outcomes, the employment outcomes for graduates earning master’s degrees declined in 2020 in comparison with 2019.