Opinion 2: Higher Education's ROI
By Jack Calareso
Special to the Worcester Business Journal
In the 2006-2007 school year, college students received more than $130 billion in grants, federal loans, federal work study and tax credits. But the alarming trend is the increase in private loans necessary to meet the costs. In the past year, private loans amounted to more than $18 billion and represented 25 percent of all education loans.
Cost Controls
There are obvious remedies to this challenge. Federal and state governments can increase funds available to students and include all colleges and universities in the eligibility for grants and loans. All colleges and universities, including Anna Maria College, need to work harder to control costs and provide access for students with the greatest need.
But the one irrefutable fact is that higher education is a good investment, both personally and professionally for the graduate, and for society. This is especially true for those who complete a four-year degree.
In 2004, The College Board began a study entitled, "Education Pays 2004: The Benefits of Higher Education for Individuals and Society," which described differences in earnings, lifestyles and behavior patterns corresponding to differences in education levels. The study has been replicated annually and the 2007 report reflects the consistency of the findings.
College graduates have access to a wider range of personal and financial benefits than those who do not hold a degree. The typical bachelor's degree recipient can expect to earn about 75 percent more over a 40-year working life than the typical high-school graduate. Average lifetime earnings for doctoral-degree recipients are between 2 1/2 and three times higher than average lifetime earnings for high-school graduates, and even higher for professional-degree recipients.
The benefits to society from the investment in higher education are even more impressive:
The government spends between $800 and $2,700 per year less on social programs for individual 30-year-old college graduates than for high-school graduates of the same age, gender and ethnicity.
Higher levels of education are associated with higher levels of participation in volunteer activities. Among college graduates, the volunteer rate is 43 percent compared to 19 percent for high school graduates.
Almost 2 percent of adults who had not graduated from high school were incarcerated in 1997, as were 1.2 percent of those with a high school diploma, compared to only 0.3 percent of adults with some college experience and 0.1 percent of college graduates. With the annual cost of maintaining one prisoner about $26,000, keeping more people in school and out of the penal system saves millions of tax dollars.
Adults with higher levels of education are more likely to vote. In the 2004 presidential election, 76 percent of citizens who were college graduates between the ages of 25 and 44 reported voting, compared with 49 percent of high-school graduates.
A baccalaureate degree has a high rate of return for students from all racial and ethnic groups. It is equally true for women and for men. And it offers the same high rate of return for all of society.
It may be difficult to afford a college degree, but it is clearly a good investment. Higher education, state and federal authorities and local communities must work together more effectively to encourage college attendance and overcome the barriers to access. There is no substitute for a good education - let's make sure that everyone receives one!
Jack P. Calareso is president of Anna Maria College in Paxton.
WBJ Web Partners
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments