The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation has awarded a grant of more than $100,000 to the Center for State and Local Finance at Georgia State University to evaluate the impact of college degrees received at a later age on wages, employment stability and retirement income.

Although the benefits of a college education are well-documented, most of that research centers on students who enter college soon after high school. There is little research pointing to outcomes for those receiving a bachelor’s degree at a later age, particularly for people over 50.

The CSLF study will examine this specific population, looking closely at whether later-age degrees result in job opportunities with higher wages and increased retention in the workforce beyond the traditional retirement age of 65. Data from the University System of Georgia and Georgia Department of Labor will be analyzed.

The results will not only provide new insights on college education for older adults, but it will also help inform new policy initiatives in higher education and labor as the number of older workers continues to rise.

The research project is led by Sally Wallace, dean of the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies and director of the Fiscal Research Center. Tom Mroz, a Georgia State professor of economics, and Alex Hathaway, a CSLF research associate, are also part of the research team.

The project is expected to be completed by fall 2019.