Rice University Report

January 2026

Dr. Adem Ekmekci of Rice University has released a new report, Outcomes of Allied Healthcare Education in Texas, finding that allied health certificate and associate degree programs at Texas for-profit career colleges outperform similar programs at community colleges in the state.

The study examines the outcomes of allied healthcare education in Texas at for-profit career colleges compared to community colleges by evaluating graduation rates and economic mobility after graduation. The findings show that career colleges have substantially higher graduation rates for both certificate and associate programs compared to community college students. Among certificate programs, career college students have a 51.8% graduation rate compared to 28.6% at community colleges. Among associate degree programs, career college programs have a 48.6% completion rate compared to a 21.2% completion rate at community colleges. Breaking it down further, the report found that, across, all racial groups, career college students consistently outperform community college students in graduation rates.

Career college students also graduate several months ahead of community college students with an average completion time of 0.79 years for certificate programs and 1.29 years for associate degree programs. Community college students tend to complete their programs in an average of 1.43 years for certificates and 1.89 years for associate degrees. A faster time to degree allows students to enter the workforce more quickly to begin their careers and start earning a reliable salary.

After graduating, career college students also experience larger wage gains than community college students. For certificate programs, career college graduates experience an average wage increase of $8,704 compared to $6,309 for community college graduates. This economic mobility is true of most racial groups evaluated by the analysis, especially Asian, African American, and White/Caucasian students. Associate degree program graduates of career colleges experience an average wage increase of $22,832 compared to $18,821 for community college graduates. Again, this economic mobility is true of most racial groups evaluated, particularly Asian, African American, and international students.

These results encompass a wide range of allied health programs at the certificate and associate levels, including but not limited to medical assisting, dental assisting, veterinary technicians, licensed practical nursing, registered nursing, and pharmacy technicians. The results show the key contributions of career colleges to the healthcare workforce, and recommendations put forth in the research highlight how student access and outcomes can be improved across sectors.

Please direct inquiries to Riley Burr, Executive Director of the CECU Research Foundation, at riley.burr@career.org.