The Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study (B&B) examines students’ education and work experiences after they complete a bachelor’s degree, with a special emphasis on the experiences of new elementary and secondary teachers. Following several cohorts of students over time, B&B looks at bachelor’s degree recipients’ workforce participation, income and debt repayment, and entry into and persistence through graduate school programs, among other indicators. It addresses several issues specifically related to teaching, including teacher preparation, entry into and persistence in the profession, and teacher career paths. B&B also gathers extensive information on bachelor’s degree recipients’ undergraduate experience, demographic backgrounds, expectations regarding graduate study and work, and participation in community service.

 Initial B&B cohorts are a representative sample of graduating seniors in all majors. The first B&B cohort (about 11,000 students) was drawn from the 1993 NPSAS and followed-up by survey in 1994, 1997, and 2003. The second B&B cohort (about 10,000 students) was chosen from the 2000 NPSAS and followed-up in 2001. The third B&B cohort was drawn from the 2008 NPSAS sample. This group of approximately 19,000 sample members was follow-up in 2009 and is currently being interviewed in 2012.

Research Notes:

The B&B is a nationally representative random sample of all postsecondary students in the U.S. The B&B has followed the roughly 16,000 respondents who received their baccalaureate degree in the 1992-93 academic year through 2003. The B&B utilizes data from three basic sources: survey data in 1993, 1994, 1997, and 2003; institutional records on college costs and financial aid; and snapshots from student loan administrative records in 1998 and 2003.

With extensive information about family background and demographic characteristics, student achievement as measured by SAT/ACT scores, college-related outcomes (e.g. undergraduate major, institution attended, graduate school attendance, and post-graduate degrees), labor market outcomes every few years, and student loan balances and repayment status five and ten years after graduation, the B&B offers a unique opportunity for studying student loan repayment and default behavior in the U.S. The B&B sample is relatively homogeneous in its educational attainment--all participants have a BA/BS. The lack of college dropouts and students with less than four-year degrees is unfortunate for researchers studying loan repayment, since previous research shows that repayment problems are most common among these individuals.