The American Community Survey: Fulfilling the Promise of a Data Resource

The American Community Survey (ACS) was conceived as a data source for the entire statistical community and the recent addition of a question on the Field of Degree (FOD) of Bachelor's degree is a clear indicator of ACS's potential. The Division of Science Resources Statistics/NSF worked over a multi-year period with the Census Bureau, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and other federal agencies to add the question to the ACS to meet the needs of the science and engineering (S&E) community, the education community, and a broad range of research, professional, and policy interests. The FOD question was added to the ACS beginning in January 2009 and data from it will begin to be available in fall 2010. Over time, FOD data, in conjunction with other data from the ACS, will provide a significant method of updating the flow of immigrant scientists and engineers into the United States, as well as providing valuable information about what those with bachelor's degrees in different fields do after graduation: employment rates, types of jobs, earnings, and graduate degrees.

The presentation will discuss the joint efforts that led to the addition of a FOD item to the ACS, including the process and considerations that went into developing the actual FOD item. It will also discuss some of the multiple ways in which the FOD item can and will be used by the statistical, policy, and research communities. These uses include NSF utilizing the ACS with the FOD item as a sampling frame for a major survey and the types of analyses that will be possible using ACS data. For example, FOD data can be used to assess the qualifications of the U.S. college-educated workforce. Government agencies and employers can use these data to examine the supply of highly-skilled workers in a variety of fields and by geographic area. College administrators, educators, students, parents and professional societies use these data to assess how graduates in various fields fare in the job market. The data can inform prospective students and their parents about employment possibilities for those majoring in particular fields in college. Government agencies and researchers can use the data to analyze how labor market outcomes for graduates in various fields vary within and across fields by race/ethnicity, gender, and citizenship.