Higher education institution authorities are the primary recipients of the Polish Graduate Tracking System’s (ELA’s) findings. The comprehensive analysis of educational outcomes’ significance requires key information on graduates in the labour market.
Each year, in late spring or early summer, ELA’s findings on the professional circumstances of university graduates and PhD holders are presented to the public. In autumn, the data is supplemented with information on students and PhD candidates, as well as datasheets that are crucial for international rankings. ELA’s spring and summer editions are addressed not only to higher education institutions, but also to current and prospective students. ELA enables them to make informed decisions on their education and future careers. The autumn editions target higher education institution authorities and other education entities, such as individual faculties, which can utilise the findings in their administration.
In 2023, with recognition for the increased interest among universities in the transition between first- and second-cycle studies, ELA has presented new results that pertain to the circumstances of first-cycle graduates who decide to pursue second-cycle programmes.
The following is a detailed description of all aspects of the 2023 autumn edition of ELA.
1. The transition between first- and second-cycle programmes
Recent years have seen a decline in the number of students enrolled in second-cycle programmes. This has led higher education institutions to express concern, as well as assuming responsibility for failing to attract candidates to second-cycle programmes. Providing such institutions with reliable tools enables accurate assessment of the situation.
In November 2023, the ELA reports on graduates of first-cycle programmes (see the Work and continuation of studies report) were supplemented with new data on the transition between first- and second-cycle programmes. That data is presented at the study programme, university and national levels.
The percentage of first-cycle graduates who enrol in second-cycle programmes
This is presented for each consecutive year following the awarding of a degree and, jointly, for the entire monitoring period.
The percentage of students who continue their studies at the same higher education institution
This measures institutions’ effectiveness (‘power of attraction’) in retaining their own first-cycle graduates to pursue second-cycle programmes at the same institution. Nationally, these values are presented for each consecutive year following graduation and, jointly, for the entire monitoring period. At the levels of institutions and study programmes, these figures are presented for the first year following graduation and for the entire monitoring period only. The results are presented differently due to the small share of first-cycle graduates who pursue second-cycle programmes more than a year after completing their first-cycle degrees. In the second and consecutive years following graduation, the rate would have to be calculated for extremely small groups of graduates (of fewer than ten students), which could result in unreliable results at the levels of institutions and study programmes.
2. International rankings
The figures that pertain to the economic and educational circumstances of graduates, which are used in international university rankings, were made available to higher education institutions for the first time by the seventh edition of ELA. The eighth edition includes data that is used in the following rankings:
- QS World University Rankings and QS Graduate Employability Rankings
- Global Research University Profiles (the Shanghai Ranking)
- U-Multirank.
The current list of rankings and data has been developed in collaboration with the University of Warsaw, the Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Warsaw University of Technology and the Medical University of Warsaw. All higher education institutions can request modifications to the list, subject to approval. The algorithms used to determine specific numbers have been developed in consultation with the institutions responsible for the rankings.
The statistics are presented at the levels of institution and study programme. Each is accompanied by a corresponding definition. The numbers are ready to be entered into the relevant sections of ranking application forms. They are available as PDF and CSV tables.
3. Students’ education paths and professional careers
ELA offers the following reports:
The Students’ education paths report
The report describes:
- consecutive stages of education
- the intensity and dynamics of students’ modification of their study pathways (‘dropout’*, ‘stopout’** and ‘swapout’***)
- the directions of students who pursue modified study pathways
- the number of semesters studied per diploma; this rate can be used to measure higher education institutions’ or other entities’ expenses in supporting the advancement of individual graduates.
*Dropout describes a situation in which a student was admitted to a higher education institution, discontinued their studies for more than twelve months, failed to obtain their graduate diploma before discontinuing their studies and did not pursue any other programme in Poland before the end of the monitoring period.
**Stopout describes a situation in which a student was admitted to a higher education institution and discontinued their studies for more than twelve months, failed to obtain their graduate diploma before discontinuing their studies, did not pursue any other programme in Poland within twelve months of discontinuing their studies, but pursued another programme in Poland at a later point during the monitoring period.
***Swapout describes a situation in which a student was admitted to a higher education institution and discontinued their studies for more than twelve months, failed to obtain their graduate diploma before discontinuing their studies, but pursued another programme in Poland at a later point during the monitoring period.
The Professional activity of students report
The report presents:
- work experience, intensity and remuneration for various jobs during studies
- the labour market conditions that influence students’ decisions to adjust their study pathways: correlations between dropout/stopout/swapout and students’ careers.
- comparisons of the results attained by graduates and dropouts.
4. Education pathways and the professional activity of doctoral students
The Education pathways of PhD students report
The report presents:
- doctoral students’ efficiency in attaining PhDs
- the intensity and dynamics of dropout among PhD students.
The Professional activity of PhD students report
The report presents:
- work experience, intensity and remuneration in various jobs during consecutive years of doctoral programmes
- comparisons of the results attained by promoted PhD students and dropouts.
