Overview
Tracer studies are employed by many countries around the world to provide both quantitative and qualitative data in order to facilitate a better understanding of the relevance of education (VET, Higher Education) to the labour market and society. The surveys generate retrospective evaluations of the connection between education and the labour market by indicating the employability of graduates, their paths in education, or societal engagement, especially in the period immediately following graduation.
Tracer studies address the expectations and needs of a variety of users:
- Government and policy institutions
- Education and training providers
- Learners
- Researchers
- Employer and investors
What are tracer studies?
Synonymous terms:
- Graduate tracking studies (GTS)
- Graduate surveys
- Alumni research
- Follow-up studies
- Graduate career tracking
A tracer study or graduate survey is a survey of graduates from education and training institutions, which takes place some time after graduation or at the end of a training course. The subjects of a tracer study can be manifold, but common topics include questions on study progress, the transition to work, work entrance, job career, use of learned competencies, current occupation and bonds to the education institution (school, centre, university).
Graduates of VET/HE institutions (regardless of the kind of degree) form the target population for tracer studies, with students surveyed after graduation. The studies employ a combination of statistical and administrative data.
Objectives of tracer studies
✔ Skills demand
Relevance of education: to ascertain the employability of graduates and their performance in the labour market (labour market information)
✔ Skills supply
Quality of education: to gather feedback from graduates in order to improve the quality of study programmes (retrospective evaluation)
✔ Accountability
Accreditation and performance accountability: to evaluate the performance of education and training providers
✔ Informed decisions
Informing stakeholders: to keep students, parents, lecturers and administrators, as well as decision-makers, fully informed of relevant issues
High demand for tracer studies
Tracer studies are invaluable in:
- Highlighting labour market relevance as a key indicator of the quality of education;
- Demonstrating the importance of assessment and the further development of study/training programmes, taking labour market feedback into account;
- Examining the accreditation and performance accountability of education and training providers.
Users
Governments can use information about the labour market and graduates' successful experiences in further education:
- To assess the quality of the VET and higher education sectors and institutions in meeting labour-market demand
- To inform the planning of reforms in education and training
- To let students and parents know about expected labour-market outcomes by academic speciality and/or institution
- To analyse potential supply and demand issues and skill mismatches (in combination with information from other data sources)
- To underpin financing (e.g., the allocation of state-funded study places to VET and academic specialities and institutions) and quality assurance policies
Education and training providers can draw on the data:
- To plan curriculum renewal and improvements
- To review the knowledge, skills and competences behind qualifications
- To monitor the quality of academic offerings in terms of labour-market relevance, facilitating decisions on whether to further invest in strong programmes and/or terminate those showing poor performance
- To improve the conditions and provisions for learning
- To brand the quality and attractiveness of their programmes and different qualifications
Learners can use tracer studies:
- As a source of information for their own career management
- To make informed decisions in the selection of relevant education and training programmes, qualifications, or institutions
- To understand the employment potential of different disciplines and inform their jobseeking
Researchers can utilise the information supplied:
- To analyse further the relationships between VET, higher education and the labour market (using both raw and published data)
- To devise ways to combine data from different sources – both administrative and survey data
Employers can also use the data:
- To keep abreast of successful educational programmes and qualifications, and maintain an understanding of issues related to the recruitment of graduates
- To identify potential vocational and academic programmes and institutions for candidate recruitment
- To identify potential vocational and academic programmes and institutions for further collaboration in curriculum development or redesign
- To promote their sector among prospective and current students
Organisational settings of tracer studies
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Centralised approaches |
Hybrid approaches |
Decentralised approaches |
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Typically led by the Ministry of Education or Employment or a specific agency related to them. |
National ministries and higher education institutions co-lead the process together. |
Individual VET providers and universities lead the process and develop their own system for graduate tracking to best fit their needs. |
Advantages and disadvantages of approaches
Success factors
- WHY?
There should be a definition of the specific objectives of the study – this will depend on the reasons WHY the study is to be undertaken.
When considering the connection between education and the labour market, what specific research questions do you have? How are the results intended to be utilised? To assess quality? To inform the allocation of state-funded study places? To influence curriculum redesign? What are the issues that each of the system’s key stakeholders wants to understand better?
The answers to these questions will lead to additional considerations that will have implications for the design of the study.
- WHO?
A clear definition of the target population is required.
The target population for the study should be students who finished their education at the same point in time, what is called a generation or graduation ‘cohort’.
The study may cover all the graduates (from a cohort) (i.e. a census) or a part of them (i.e. a sample).
- WHEN?
A decision should be made regarding how long after the graduates have finished their education should the study be conducted.
Depending on the overall labour market situation, it may be advisable that the study is carried out no sooner than one or two years after graduation so most graduates will have managed the transition to employment and will have obtained some work experience.
If the study is planned to be conducted regularly, how often? How frequently will the study be replicated for a new cohort? Will the same cohort also be followed up to observe changes over time (longitudinal or 'panel' studies)? Many regular studies survey the same cohort 4–5 years later to track changes and progression.
- WHAT?
A decision should be made on the scope of the study: which institutions, study programmes and degrees should be covered?
Will the study include all tertiary education institutions such as universities and technical institutes, or will it focus on a subset of them? Will all study programmes offered by these institutions be included?
Will the study cover secondary, post-secondary, masters or doctoral graduates?
- HOW?
The type of research design needs to be defined.
After considering the resources and the timeframe available, what is the appropriate level of complexity for the survey ?
The complexity of the instruments can vary considerably. One-time assessment (cross-section: one survey given to each graduate) differs from the longitudinal approach (panel: a number of surveys administered to each graduate, at several points in time).
Different survey methods can be used: face-to-face, telephone, mail or online. Surveys may be complemented by in-depth interviews and focus groups.
Data Sources
Student profiles from HEIs/VET institutions
- Enrolments and graduation information
- Programme and course history
- Records of students' performance (e.g. scores or grades)
- Students' background (if available)
- Contact information
Survey data
- Graduates' background
- Subjective information
- Specific links between education and work
Administrative data from government databases
- Taxpayers' register
- National security records
- Higher education information management system(s)
Key implementation steps
- Step 1. Concept: Defining the key objectives, target population and survey method and timeframe (time after graduation)
- Step 2. Preparation: Preparing the online platform, assembling equipment and resources, training the team
- Step 3. Information: Gathering contact data and liaising with graduates, schools, etc.
- Step 4. Questionnaire: Defining, preparing and testing with graduates
- Step 5. Implementation: Regularly checking the response rate, data coding and storage
- 6. Interpretation: Analysing the results and producing reports
- Step 7. Dissemination: Informing policy-makers, education and training institutions, students and future students
Most used method: one cohort of graduates surveyed 1–2 years after graduation
1. If the graduates are asked too soon after graduation they cannot provide meaningful information about employment and work:
- Six months after graduation is too early
- At least one year after graduation is recommended
2. Only one cohort = graduates who finished their studies/training at the same time moment
- A mixed cohort approach provides results that are too heterogeneous
- The participation rate of the youngest cohort is often much higher
Main challenges
- Defining clear objectives
- Creating a good quality structured questionnaire of the proper length
- Finding an institutional setting with clear roles and responsibilities and capacity
- Achieving a good response rate
- Interpreting the results appropriately, and with the right level and depth of analysis
- Compiling a thorough method report
- Disseminating the results
Questionnaire structure
Example of a questionnaire structure:
EU support to graduate tracking
