In recent years, critics of higher education have increasingly questioned its value, arguing that the cost of tuition often outweighs the benefits of a college degree. In response, education advocates have begun to push back, offering counter narratives that emphasize the obvious virtues and time-tested benefits of the country’s colleges and universities.
Much of the counter messaging has focused on the practical value of our postsecondary education system and its outputs – the scientific research conducted on university campuses, the manifold technologies that result, and the training of our nation’s workforce, among much else.
It is hard to argue with any of these, as there is no shortage of data that can be adduced in their support. Of course, there’s also the matter of preparing young people for better-paying jobs, a concern that is top of mind for a great many students and parents. Fortunately, here too there is much evidence to support the contention that college is a worthwhile investment.
According to a comprehensive analysis of 53,000 degree programs released last May by the Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity, bachelor’s degree holders earn a median $32,112 more annually than workers possessing only high school diplomas. Over a lifetime, this translates to additional aggregate earnings of approximately $625,000 (accounting for the opportunity cost of being out of the workforce during college among other assumptions.)
Results vary widely by degree program, of course, and as you would expect programs in engineering, computer science, and nursing consistently show the highest return on investment. Computer engineering graduates from top programs, for example, can expect lifetime earnings that exceed those of high school graduates by as much as $7 million. But even liberal arts majors enjoy lifetime earnings premiums, according to numerous studies.
As education advocates remind us, college graduates also enjoy greater retirement security, employment stability, and health outcomes on average.
Valid points all. I would like to add another, and an underappreciated one at that, at least in some quarters: Our postsecondary education system is singularly effective in bolstering the wellbeing of families, particularly those of lesser means, and in creating generational wealth.
I see this all the time in my work at the Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara. Approximately half of our scholarship recipients each year are first-generation college students. Time and again we’ve seen their degree attainment transform the outlook of their families – materially and financially, but also emotionally.
For many in our community and nationwide, college represents hope – hope for a brighter future, more abundant opportunities, and greater life fulfillment. Seen in this light, postsecondary education and its attendant traditions are about more than cutting-edge research or technological breakthroughs or even the changing life trajectories of those fortunate enough to share in its blessings.
For untold numbers of families, college is about the promise of better tomorrows.
I make no claims as to the rightness or desirability of the education policies being championed by the Trump administration and its political allies. In some instances, funding cuts or curriculum reform may be justified, or at a minimum worthy of further discussion. Beyond that, I have no interest in fueling partisan passions by staking out specific policy positions on one side or the other.
Rather, my interest is in highlighting an unassailable truth: Our institutions of higher learning produce much that is good and noble in our society, as they have for many decades. However much we may agitate to reform or restructure them, we must not lose sight of their intrinsic value.
A version of this commentary appeared in the Santa Maria Times.