Do colleges have an effect on the labour market success of their graduates?

This article explores the following questions: first, "Do colleges of higher vocational education vary in the mean success of their graduates on the labor market?" and, second, "Are the differences between these colleges stable over time?". The analysis drew upon school effectiveness, quality assurance and labor market research. The school effectiveness literature shows that schools differ in the educational output of their students. The relationship between the organizational context and structure and the paradigms of these colleges affect the quality of the outcomes of educational policy. The leading assumption in human capital theory is that since education makes people more productive, education is an investment in human capital. An annual survey of graduates of colleges in the Netherlands collects information about destination, labor market entry, unemployment spells and the jobs held by graduates. Statistical analysis showed: (1) systematic differences between departments and colleges in the labor market outcomes of their graduates even after controlling for student and regional factors, (2) stable department effects with respect to the length of unemployment and job level; (3) difference between the net and gross quality indicators of a department; and (4) no correlation between a department's improving graduates' chances of finding work and the quality of work.