the value of higher education essay

The Value of Higher Education Essay

Malcolm Forbes once said, “Education’s purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one”

Education is undoubtedly the one factor that eventually decides the level of progress attained by a nation or a people; it is what separates the third world from the developed world and the poor from the rich. Although the process of formal education starts at the kindergarten level and goes on till a student graduates from high school, in today’s competitive world, this is not enough.

Basic education is a necessity and must be pursued by one and all, but it only suffices the basic needs of life. In order to meet the growing demands of the global job market and to be recognized professionally, higher education is not only a need but a necessity. Higher education acts as a stepping stone between college and the world of employment, it helps one to obtain a better salary by becoming a more attractive alternative for employers and also broadens one’s horizons in terms of knowledge and experience by allowing a person to specialize and excel in a particular field.

Although pursuing higher education is an expensive affair in most developed countries like the USA or UK, but the benefits are immense. On the last count, there were more than 53000 courses at 329 higher education institutions within the UCAS scheme in the UK. The benefits that graduates enjoyed included an approximate 17% higher earnings than those with just school leaving certificates, and the figure rises to approximately 25% for those who pursued courses in

engineering, law or medicine. In addition to this, only about 6% of the graduates remain unemployed six months after graduation.

Thus, to summarize, not only does higher education offer life benefits such as the experience of greater perspectives, increased confidence in one’s field of choice, and in-depth knowledge of how to deal with situations that may arise in your career but also increases one’s employability and assures a greater starting salary. The benefits of obtaining a higher education far outweigh its risks and make it a valuable asset in a person’s life and career.

Malcolm Forbes. The Malcolm Forbes Quotations page.
Vikki Pickering. The meaning of employability and its relationship with future earnings. The Value Of Higher Education. p4.
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What’s the Value of Higher Education?

Have political and fiscal debates about higher education lost sight of the value of education for individuals and society? Dr. Johnnetta Cole discusses how universities can inform and inspire.

Dr. Johnnetta Cole President Emerita, Smithsonian National Museum of African Art; President Emerita, Spelman College and Bennett College

This interview was conducted at the Yale Higher Education Leadership Summit , hosted by Yale SOM’s Chief Executive Leadership Institute on January 30, 2018.

The value of a college degree can be measured in a number of different ways: increased lifetime earnings potential, a network of classmates and fellow alumni, subject-matter expertise, a signal of stick-to-itiveness, potentially a marker of class or the capacity to move across classes. There are also less tangible benefits, like becoming a more well-rounded individual and part of a well-informed public.

Yale Insights recently talked with Dr. Johnnetta Cole about how she measures the value of higher education. Cole is the former president of Spelman College and Bennett College, the only two historically black colleges and universities that are exclusively women’s colleges. After retiring from academia, she served as the director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art. In addition, she served on the boards of a number of corporations, including Home Depot, Merck, and Coca-Cola. She was the first African-American chair of the board for the United Way of America.

Q: Why does higher education matter?

I would say that we could get widespread agreement on what I’m going to call the first purpose of higher education: through this amazingly powerful process of teaching and learning, students come to better understand the world.

There might be some disagreement on the second purpose. I’d say it is to inspire students to figure out how they can contribute to helping to make the world better. Certainly, higher education is about scholarship, but it’s also about service. It’s about creativity. It’s about matters of the mind, but it’s also, or at least it should be, about matters of the heart and the soul.

Q: Has the public perception of universities changed in recent years?

Throughout the history—and herstory—of higher education, there have been doubters, those who have critiqued it. But I have a concern, and some polls tell us, in this period in which we are living, many people believe that higher education is not contributing in a positive way to American life.

That’s something that we need to work on, those of us who are deeply engaged in and care about higher education, because I think when one looks with as much objectivity as possible, the truth is, and it’s always been, that higher education contributes substantially.

Q: You’ve led two historically black colleges for women. What is the role of special mission institutions?

In my view, we still need special mission institutions. Remember Brandeis, Notre Dame, and Brigham Young are special mission institutions.

With respect to historically black colleges and universities (HBCU), not every African American wants to or does go to an HBCU. The same is true of women and women’s colleges. But for those who wish that kind of education, and if the fit is right, it’s almost magical.

I think it is as basic as having an entire community believe that you can. On these campuses, we believe that black students can do whatever they set their minds to do. On the women’s campuses, we believe that women can reach heights that have not been imagined for women.

HBCUs are not totally free of racism. Women’s colleges are not utopias where there are no expressions of gender inequality or sexism. But they come far closer than at our predominately white and co-ed institutions.

Q: One of the big issues with higher education now is cost. How do we solve the affordability problem?

The affordability question is highly complex and serious. James Baldwin said, “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed that is not faced.” I believe that this is a perfect example. Colleges and universities are not just raising tuitions so they can make big profits. Pell grants are no longer at least a reasonable response to the affordability question.

We’ve got to figure this out because, in a democracy, accessibility to education is fundamental. The idea that something as precious, as powerful, as a solid education is only accessible to some and not to others, is an assault upon democracy.

Q: You came out of retirement to lead the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art. Why was the draw so strong?

I’ve managed, systematically, to get a failing grade in retirement.

I grew up in the South, in the days of legalized segregation—you could also call it state-sponsored racism. I didn’t have access to symphony halls. I didn’t have access to art museums. I still remember the library that I went to in order to travel the world through books, was the A. L. Lewis Colored Public Library.

As a young girl, I fell in love with the visual arts, especially African and African-American art. I went off to Fisk University at age 15 and began to see the real works of art for which we only had reproductions in my home. From Fisk, I went to Oberlin, where the Allen Memorial Art Gallery was a special place of solace for me

The opportunity with the Smithsonian wasn’t something I sought; I was asked to apply. My doctorate is in anthropology, not art history, so I was reluctant, but they told me they were looking for a leader, not an art historian. It was one of the most extraordinary experiences of my life. The work was an almost indescribable joy.

Generally, our museums across America do not reflect who America is, nor do they reflect how our world looks. They need to be far more diverse in terms of their boards, staff, exhibitions, educational programs, and visitorship.

What the African art museum has is a unique opportunity because it can speak to something that binds us together. If one is human, just go back far enough, I mean way back, and we have all come from a single place. It is called Africa.

Here’s a museum that says to its visitors, “No matter who you are, by race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, age, ability or disability, or nationality, come to a place where the visual arts connect you to the very cradle of humanity.”

During those eight years when I had the joy of being the director of the National Museum of African Art, I would greet our visitors by saying “Welcome home! Welcome to a place that presents the diverse and dynamic, the exquisite arts of Africa, humanity’s original home.”

Q: Do you think that our education and cultural institutions are properly valued in our society?

I have to say no. Because if we did, we would take better care of them. If we did, we would make sure that not some but all of our educational institutions from kindergarten through post-secondary education, into graduate and professional schools, have the means to do what needs to be done.

If we really value all of our cultural expressions, whether it’s dance or music, visual arts, theater, when there is a budget shortfall, we wouldn’t say, “These are the first things to go.” We wouldn’t say, “Kids can do without music in their public school.” It’s one thing to say we love an institution; it’s another to care for and protect an institution. I think we can do far better.

Essay Editor

The Value of Higher Education

1. importance of higher education.

In modern society, many students seek higher education either full-time or part-time. Along with the increasing cost of this education and the rising amounts of student loans, the question of whether a higher education is necessary for a successful life is being asked. There are several reasons why an academic degree is considered essential for a good professional career. The first reason is that many employers are looking for well-educated employees with good work skills. For instance, if students have not learned the basic computer skills by the time they graduate, they will be in trouble. On the other hand, employers might assume that students know how to use a computer as a tool; thus not only students need to learn how to use it, but also learn how to apply computer skills in a working environment. Besides, for employers, good written and verbal communication skills in English as well as the ability to work in a team are key attributes that they look for. Higher education will expose students to social people and activities that will enable them to learn how to be social and build confidence and competence in oneself. Last but not least, a good income would be better with a higher education. More job opportunities and better job positions which will equal a heavier payroll; since companies need to show how they could utilize the knowledge from the applicants. Higher education provides programs that help people learn new knowledge and skills, expand their intellectuality and develop their professional potential. It also provides an environment where students can develop better ways to interact with others and develop their self-discipline and self-confidence as they move through their courses and discover the tasks and challenges of daily life. By comparison, the crowdedness that too many students in a classroom in a secondary school would make the teaching environment even worse, but in university or other higher education institutes that are totally different. Many teachers and student feel comfortable to hold an open discussion in class and understanding the given materials would be much easier by using the advantages of small groups' active work on projects. Higher education leads to the growth of an individual. Through learning facts and theories as well as relevant skills in the chosen field, one will be more confident as a person and perhaps become more useful in the chosen career in the near future. There is also the possibility that one's mind is being stretched all the limits because the quantity of information that he is being processed is being increased. Higher education also provides opportunities for the exchange of ideas, attitudes and experience with people from different nationalities and language background and prepare students for the independence in everyday life. However, pursuing higher education also has a dark side.

1.1. Expanding Knowledge and Skills

Higher education provides an opportunity to build and expand knowledge and skills. For those of us who are curious and academically minded, it is a great environment in which to learn - in both structured and independent ways. It can be a very rewarding experience and can offer you opportunities to explore and research a subject that you are passionate about. You will be supported by lecturers, but you are also expected to engage with independent study, to read widely, and to explore knowledge. This type of learning may be very different from what you have experienced so far - perhaps in school or sixth form. You will be required to think in greater depth, to be more analytical, and to think critically about the world around you. You will need to be able to communicate your learning - whether this be on written assignments or in projects - and this communication can take place in a variety of forms. This is all valuable for life after higher education, not just in employment but also in personal development. Higher education also allows many people to meet new people from different social backgrounds. This is beneficial as it can provide us with a broad general knowledge and often working with others equips us for when we relinquish our academic life and enter the world of employment. Also, the material that is taught frequently is not confined to the theoretical; lecturers often focus on the practical application of such theories in a work environment. This keeps students engaged and provides them with an understanding of how exactly their work may manifest in employment. All of these opportunities serve to prepare individuals for the challenges of the workplace and enable them to develop sustainable, financially rewarding employment thereafter. The more academically equipped an individual, the higher the likelihood of a substantive career and subsequently higher earning power. It is suggested by the Labour Force Survey that those with a level 4 qualification or above are more likely to find employment in a job that is well remunerated. It is possible to work long hours with only a moderate income or conversely to have a generous wage without too much in the way of working hours, but it is very difficult, without some kind of academic preparation, to secure both of these aspects. Higher education is something that will influence a great part of your future. The insights offered by advanced study may help not only to develop you in a professional capacity but also could provide you with new skills in which to find employment. Also, many undergraduate degrees have a strong emphasis on the development of written and oral communication; the ability to present distinct subject matter in a coherent and fluent manner. These skills are transferable and may help individuals when they are applying for jobs and attending subsequent job interviews.

1.2. Enhancing Career Opportunities

In addition to expanding students' knowledge and skills, higher education is also directly beneficial to the economic and social well-being of individuals and society as a whole. One of the most obvious and widely recognized benefits of higher education is the "enhanced career opportunities" in terms of economic and social gains. As a most valuable asset in the modern global economy, people are eager to pursue higher education in order to get a good job and a bright future, not only for the purpose of seeking higher profitability in the job market but also out of the wish to realize their own potential. In many social science and humanities disciplines, at the master's or doctoral level, higher education, a part-time or full-time job experience is required for many advanced positions; therefore, it will take many years for students to obtain a well-rounded work experience, apart from the professional background. Expanded knowledge of new and advanced research in different research fields will provide students with the chances of making use of the most cutting-edge possibilities. In college and university study, students need to pay for such expenses as tuition, fees, books, and supplies, transportation, and personal expenses. However, education-irs can claim the tuition and fees deduction, and both American Opportunity Credit and lifetime learning credit are available for the first four years of college or career. There are many occupations in the job market that require a person to have a degree, and not having a degree would lead to a life of being unable to meet ends in society's view. It is widely believed that degree holders of the future will have a competitive edge over others in the job market. As more and more occupations are saturated with degree holders, the future of an individual will be affected in obtaining such a good job if he or she does not have the required credentials. Therefore, a significant value from the viewpoint of a student's future will be the advantages in the job market by having a higher education.

1.3. Personal Growth and Development

Furthermore, the environment of higher education also supports the development of a student's independence, confidence, self-esteem, social skills and more. Students are encouraged to explore and learn on their own. This kind of environment and experience is very precious and valuable in terms of personal development. Gandhi once said, "Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever." I strongly believe higher education is the next step forward to the development of every individual. It has to lead us to the right path of reaching growth and exploration, and finally success. Personal growth is the top development that an individual should aim and look forward to. With all the advantages that higher education provides, it is very much logical for you to go for it, and higher education will become very important for you, fulfilling the demands of success in your life and career. Higher education in general, it is a long term process of personal growth and intrinsically. The world needs quality people and each one of them has a unique and special gift to give. With the new knowledge that is gained from higher education, we will have a better understanding about things around us and we will become much wiser. Keep gaining knowledge and success will definitely come. So, choose the right path for your life now, and aim yourself for the highest and your future will be bright. Higher education is important for your personal growth and can have a major impact on your future and the future of the others surround you. Higher education is important as it provides more challenging and complex learning. Higher education will provide me with a platform that I can use to pursue my dreams and ambitions. High education provides the opportunity to develop new friendships. This is possible because the people you meet are from different parts of the world, and they are all coming to look for the same thing - their futurity. Such opportunity to develop close connections is also called a professional and social network. Higher education has been premium from the most recent decade and its criticalness is relentless growing. The first and most clear impact of higher education is economic progression. On the off chance that country runs with the power with its souls and psyche then advancement in GDP will increment at a relentless pace. At the perspective of individual level, higher education empowers understudies to interpret the acquired information in a moved manner.

2. Economic Benefits of Higher Education

Higher education provides extensive economic benefits. According to the US Census Bureau, a worker with a college degree earns substantially more than workers with only a high school diploma. The income gap between the two groups has increased from about 15 to 40 percent since 1980. In 2015, the median earnings of those with a bachelor's degree was $24,396 more than for those with a high school diploma - a difference of 67 percent. And for those with an advanced degree, the difference was even greater. The unemployment rate for college graduates is generally lower than that for those with only a high school education. And the unemployment rate continues to drop as the level of education rises. Also, the strength of the economy is related to the amount of education of the workforce. The US continues to shift from a manufacturing-based economy to a knowledge-based economy, and higher education is increasingly the gateway to that economy. We as a nation need to continue to provide access to higher education because it is an important institution in our society. With a better-educated workforce, we can save money because of lower unemployment and poverty rates and we won't have to spend as much on social programs. Instead, the economy will grow and stabilize and we'll see the standard of living going up. Higher education is key to the economic development of our nation.

2.1. Higher Earnings Potential

The article, "The Value of Higher Education" underscores the fact that, by and large, the higher degree a person pursues, the higher his potential for earnings will be. The census bureau has found that, on average, a person with a bachelor's degree will earn approximately $51,206 per year. A person with a high school diploma can expect to collect, on average, around $27,915 per year. This is a difference of $23,000, which is quite substantial. That's not to say that there aren't exceedingly wealthy individuals who have no college degree; there certainly are. However, according to a study by Pew Research Center, the median income for a high school graduate in 2009 was roughly $29,000. For a college graduate, it was about $54,000 - that is a difference of $25,000. Combining this with the aforementioned average increase from year to year, property and business search agent site "Koovs.com" found that those holding a bachelor's degree will, on average, one million British pounds more over their lifetime than those with just a high school education. This shows that education, particularly higher education, really does end up paying for itself and providing many times over what was originally invested or spent. Moreover, this leaves ample opportunity for those who pursue higher education to really secure their financial futures by increasing income potential over the course of their working life. In addition to these statistics, higher education is in itself an indicator of higher earnings in the workforce. In the majority, office and administrative work as well as professional work require a bachelor's degree or higher. More technical and skilled trade work in the industry requires an advanced degree as well. As a result, people holding higher degrees are able to seek more rewarding and higher-paying jobs. The advantage of earning potential for degree holders is even greater among the group of employed people. Specifically, in recent waged and salary workers, people with advanced degrees make more than double in median annual earnings compared to those with less than a high school diploma. This coincides nicely with the fact that the employment rate also generally increases with the level of education. However, people with less than a high school degree are very much the minority in that 3.7% are unemployed. For a high school diploma, it is 6.5%. For a bachelor's degree, it is just 2.8%. For people with a degree higher than a bachelor's degree such as the doctoral or professional degree, the unemployment is a staggering low 1.7%.

2.2. Job Stability and Security

Career advancement, the flexibility to change jobs, and the potential for increased job satisfaction and earning are all possible advantages of job stability. A fourfold increase in job turnover brought about by financial insecurity, spurred by a lack of education, can cling to your coat tails for decades. It can hurt you almost every place you go. Such a statement was shared by Larry Griffin, Deputy Commissioner of Office of Training and Technology at the Social Security Administration, and he truly pointed out that job instability might result from financial insecurity. According to the research he conducted in 1993, the facts are quite evident; those who only attained a lower grade of education had a higher turnover compared with those who had obtained higher education. His research revealed that the lower the education, the higher the rate of job turnover. It is amazing to find out that the rate of job turnover among those with less than a high school education is more than double or even triple the rate among those with at least a college degree. His conclusions sounded too great to be real, yet we cannot ignore the striking differences between people with diverse educational levels. It is universally accepted that education has significant impact on job stability. I think, most people believe that what Mr. Griffin's research has suggested is quite convincing to them, including me. When people can maintain a stable job, it is more likely that they can continue enhancing career achievement and personal fulfillment. On the other hand, the fear of sudden job loss will instill stress and bring about a negative impact on both working efficiency and family relationships. In essence, he highlighted three words, namely "skills, knowledge and experience". It is the power of these three elements that contribute to high job stability for people in professional careers. When one illustrates a lack of any of those elements, job instability will be the first issue that he has to face. However, the importance of education in promoting job stability has caught up the attention of researchers long ago. It will be a common goal to many of us to work firmly and ardently for a stable job, and yet, the rising unemployment rate in particular places arouse our concern for securing a job. The reality of job instability directs all of us to emphasize repeatedly the compelling necessity of obtaining sound education. This is an indispensable element which protecting us from the torment of job insecurity.

2.3. Contributing to Economic Growth

The knowledge and skills attained in higher education empower people to become more innovative and productive, both in their jobs and their own entrepreneurship. Research shows that each level of academic qualification achieved in higher education - for example, a diploma, a higher diploma, and a bachelor's degree - the average pay will increase at every level. For instance, a bachelor's degree holder will earn an average of over HK$1.28 million in his/her whole lifetime, which is 66% higher than the salary of a form five graduate (i.e., HK$0.77 million). Education is also a key requisite for the economic development of a country. With education, we can produce highly skilled, knowledgeable, and intelligent manpower, which is necessary for the country's economic and social development. The data proves that if higher education is given the right attention and sufficient resources - for example, increasing the expenditure in education, enhancing the quality of curriculum, improving the facilities in universities, and expanding the quantity of student places - it can definitely enhance economic growth. The impact of the increasing number of people entering into higher education in recent years is also clearly manifest in the economy. If the education of a society is responsible for the well-being of the society, then it is also a key contributor to the standard of living and social prosperity. Every single success that stems from higher education, such as the success of cultivating a world-wide famous physician, a Nobel Prize laureate, or a world leader, will significantly boost the overall quality of the society and many aspects of the economy in the long run. The continued success of building a knowledge-rich world will strengthen the international competitiveness of the city, and the innovation that drives economic development nowadays thrives on knowledge and skills that originate in higher education, not only in teaching and research activities. Higher education plays a key role in helping the country to economic success and sustainability. In fact, more and more companies are using the internet to find talents and skills these days. Studies show that eighty-four percent of online recruitment advertisements require candidates to have a higher education qualification. Also, the top four most popular methods for candidate selection in Hong Kong, namely career fairs, employment centers, recruitment agencies, and employee referral programs, are progressively being replaced by the cheaper and more efficient method of internet recruitment, indicating that online job seeking will become the mainstream in the coming years. Last but not least, the economic growth which has been seen in recent years is very clear evidence showing that more younger generations pursue higher education up to some extent than before. As such, it cannot be denied that if a country characterizes by a knowledge-based economy, leading the world in the field of innovation and technology, education will definitely be the key to open the door of success in this challenging century. Higher education is considered as an engine of the gateway of development of the society and the solution to all socioeconomic problems.

2.4. Lower Unemployment Rates

The labor market in the United States is perpetually evolving. The globalized, knowledge-based economy and technological advancements are changing the way we live, the way we work, and the skills employers demand. We see an economic shift to high-skill labor with less demand for low-skill workers. As a result, the difference in earnings between those with a college degree and those with a high school diploma has never been higher in the modern era. Not to mention that the employment rate of bachelor's degree and associate's degree holders is a lot higher than those with only high school diplomas. According to the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median of usual weekly earnings in 2018 for a bachelor's degree holder was $1,198, while the number for a high school diploma holder was $746; that's a $452 difference every week. And the unemployment rate for high school graduates was twice as high as for college graduates - 4.1% compared to 2.2%. These statistics illustrate that having a higher education leads to lower unemployment rate and higher earnings potential. This pattern is consistent among the states across the country and it is predicted that it will continue on. With the world rapidly moving towards an economy that requires more and more good quality, higher education is now more important than ever. So, we need to think about how we can prepare our youth for the future being informed by these statistics. Surely taking measures to enable the young individuals to pursue opportunities in higher education should be a top priority for the government, the educators, and the parents. This is especially true for those in the society who are currently underrepresented in pursuing college education. As lower unemployment rate and higher salary give a good reason for a smooth transition after a higher education.

3. Social Benefits of Higher Education

Higher education, it says, should generate social benefits. It emphasises the importance of cultivating the mind through example, developing key skills such as critical thinking, analysis and problem solving - leading to deep learning and the ability to respond, both to a possible lifetime in varied employments and to the many rapid and ongoing changes in our environment, such as the impact of technology on all areas of work and leisure. However, research and analysis give academic subjects a stronger emphasis, that is essentially an argument for units of higher education. Because the possession of power and the ability to participate and change according to shared principles are important features of meaningful lives, higher education has to be of sufficient quality to lead to improvement in key capacities. It is a means to make sure that human beings have the intellectual capacity to create a better world and the conditions to promote understanding and to share in the development of better values through active participation in higher education. To create the possibility for general human development and social critique overall, the main goal in this kind of intellectual growth is to fan the desire to inquire, especially, to inquire in one's own mind. In this process, it focuses on encouraging habits of mind that ask for the respect. On the critical strategies in achieving ends shared in associated practices and also on mutual activities, a sense of internal harmony and the relationship of the mind to a fulfilled citizenship with power, virtues and material built on a deep leisure are possible to be created. By studying the research of critical thinking as the goal of instruction and the conditions that may better foster and the tests to which critical thinking may be submitted, scholars hope that their increased understanding will provide a sound basis for its widespread diffusion. Finally, it aims to develop a reasoned judgement and capacity for innovation and creation.

3.1. Increased Civic Engagement

One of the main topics being discussed in the text is that of increasing civic engagement. Civic engagement is defined as working to make a difference in the civic life of our communities and developing the combination of knowledge, skills, values, and motivation to make that difference. The writer points out that a study conducted in 2017 found that voters with a college education turn out in higher numbers than those without a degree. This is despite the fact that everyone in society is encouraged to vote and put forward their beliefs and ideas. It is also found that those with a higher education are more likely to engage in activities that require a commitment of time and energy to a larger group. For example, they are more likely to take part in local groups or community associations. This heightened civic engagement is beneficial to society as a whole. When more individuals in society work together to solve problems and respond to the challenges that face the community, we begin to develop a mutual responsibility for the welfare of society. This can only serve to move us forward. Moreover, historical data from the National Election Study shows that those with a tertiary education were significantly more likely to sign a petition. This is significant and certainly helps provide more evidence to support the view that higher education is linked to a greater output of civic engagement. It is suggested that this stronger pursuit of social and communal objectives comes from the sense of fulfillment that fostering change can bring. Realizing that higher education provides a core foundation for such positive and participative behavior can further the notion that college and university life is beneficial to both the individual and the community. In other words, the writer suggests that encouraging people to engage in these activities prompts the kind of know-how and leadership skills that will benefit society as a whole. This increased output of civic engagement plays into a positive feedback loop. As the individual becomes more productive and useful to society, they consecutively report higher happiness with their day-to-day lives. This is arguably because the feeling of purpose and enjoyment derived from making a change enriches personal life as well. This would undoubtedly increase the ability of the individual to work and contribute effectively to society. It is demonstrated through numerous studies, and the writer's own personal experience, that the tone of political and social matters is set through those with the loudest voices. If we wish to see a society where every opinion is valued and each person works to improve their communities as part of a greater team, then increasing levels of civic engagement are crucial. Higher education is seen to be the variable that has a continued positive influence on the realization of a better society for all, and we should continue to champion participation in communal activity everywhere.

3.2. Improved Health and Well-being

Moreover, higher education is associated with improved health and well-being. Studies have shown that higher levels of education are correlated with a lower risk of chronic diseases and mental health disorders. For example, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, individuals with higher levels of education are less likely to report being in fair or poor health and are at a lower risk for conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. Furthermore, better health outcomes can lead to lower healthcare costs and less of a burden on healthcare providers and facilities. It is suggested that the knowledge and lifestyle behaviors that are developed through higher education may contribute to these positive health outcomes. For instance, higher education provides individuals with the critical thinking skills and know-how to navigate and take advantage of the wealth of health information that is available in this digital age. Additionally, increased health literacy and an overall understanding of the healthcare system may allow individuals with higher education to make more informed decisions about their health and well-being. This is supported by the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, which highlights that individuals with higher levels of education are better equipped to search for, find, and evaluate health information. Similarly, the Library of Congress emphasizes that educational programs and resources in various community health settings are particularly beneficial to those with a higher level of education. Lastly, higher education can serve as a launching point for becoming a more valuable, keen, and informed advocate for personal and community health, as it opens the doors to opportunities for public health research and the ability to contribute in meaningful ways to community health initiatives and outreach. By discussing the ways in which specific skills and knowledge developed through higher education can have real impacts on health and well-being, the essay persuasively argues for the significance of a college education for individual health and lifetime wellness. The connection between higher education and improved physical and mental health is an important take-away from this section in order to substantiate the claim that higher education has lasting effects on personal well-being. All in all, the information and arguments in this section help to validate the idea that higher education is more than a personal investment; it is a means through which individuals can secure greater overall prosperity and a healthier, better quality of life.

3.3. Promoting Social Equality and Mobility

One of the most important ways that higher education contributes to social and economic mobility is by allowing a greater number of people to increase their human capital. Human capital is a sociological concept that refers to the skills, knowledge, and experiences a person possesses that make him or her valuable in the workforce. Through education, training, and experience, people are able to grow and increase their human capital over time, becoming more valuable in the workforce and commanding higher salaries as a result. In the past, the traditional view held that economic success led to greater levels of education and personal development. However, more recent research draws strong correlations between increased levels of education, beginning with an undergraduate degree, and improved economic and social mobility. In fact, stories in the national news and research findings from entities such as the American Council on Education and the Pew Charitable Trust, among others, share common themes in support of these propositions. Yet in the United States, we currently face a system that is both unjust - for it continues growing unequal economic and social classes - and impractical, for it is guided by political and economic philosophies that have proven to be increasingly ineffective over time. The term human capital is used in economics to refer to the stock of knowledge and technical or soft skills in a workforce and to the embodied habits, personality, and creativity available in living human beings. Famous 20th-century economist and Nobel Laureate Theodore Schultz introduced the term to academic literature in the early 1960s, and it has since grown to be one of the central ways in which economists think about and discuss the value and potential of both individuals and education as a practice. By increasing every generation's capacity for self-sufficiency, economic growth, and personal well-being, Schultz's concept of human capital neatly describes not only the advantages education can present in terms of earning potential but also the lesser recognized societal and institutional development that can be traced back to equal shares of human capital among the population.

4. Challenges and Criticisms of Higher Education

There has been a trend of cutting down the public funding of higher education, which is why the tuition fee keeps on rising. This is a real problem for many students. If the higher education is not public and funded by the state, the society has to pay the real cost of the education. Therefore, the normal people should not be priced out of the market and the access to higher education should be a right, rather than a privilege. The state should aim for a well-educated society to strengthen the economy and to reduce income inequalities - the wealth should not be the predominant factor in determining who should receive a good quality education. Moreover, too many degrees are academic and 'detached', not practical and useful - regardless of the rising of the tuition fees. This phenomenon was criticized by many business leaders, saying that students seem not to be taught the appropriate skills in university to be successful in a workplace. Many employers are concerned about the decline in the availability of the higher education system to provide suitable graduates for today's workforce, and recent research in the UK shows a reduction in the satisfaction of employers with the graduates' employability. This, as a result, created a vicious circle - in order to enhance the value of the degree, some people may accept to pay more for their higher education. However, by doing so, they are further contributing to the commodification of university degrees, i.e. seeing anything that can be marketed with a set price as compared to everything having a social value. On the other hand, the increase in the tuition fees leads to a commercialization of higher education - the students begin to regard themselves as customers, expecting a service in return for their custom. That encourages institutions to compete in the market by leaping up in the rankings, investing in state-of-the-art facilities, and focusing their resources on the expensive subjects that can attract more funding. Instead of pursuing knowledge for the sake of knowledge, this kind of education that is driven by commercial interests instills "cynicism and disillusionment," and silence having a 'sheep' attitude is encouraged.

4.1. Rising Costs and Student Debt

One of the most significant challenges facing higher education is the rising cost of attending college. Over the past several decades, the cost of tuition, fees, room and board, and other expenses has far outpaced the rate of inflation. Although public institutions are more affordable, the cost of going to college still presents a barrier for many low-income and minority students. As a result, many of these students have been forced to take on heavy debt loads or to forgo college altogether. Similarly, the cost of graduate education is rising and the costs are passed on to graduate students and those who seek advanced degrees. As a result of the rising costs, millions of students are borrowing larger amounts of student loans. Another related issue is the lack of financial support for part-time students. Part-time students are often juggling work and family obligations in addition to their studies. However, the financial aid system is not designed to support part-time students. Many are not even able to receive any financial aid. Moreover, students' family and financial situations are not taken into account when awards are calculated. Many students receive aid packages that consist of large loans and little or no grant money. As a result, students have to either take on significant amounts of debt or look for other sources of financial support, such as outside scholarships. Student debt has reached record levels, which has caused a great deal of concern in both the public and academic sectors. According to the New York Times, student debt has nearly tripled over the last decade. With an increasing number of people burdened with student loan payments, consumer spending will be further curtailed. In the long-term, this will limit both household growth of wealth and potential future investments. At the same time, it could lead to the next financial crisis. Moreover, according to U.S. News & World Report, the college class of 2016 graduated with over $37,000 of student loan debt per student on average. With this level of debt, it is becoming increasingly difficult for graduates to build a secure future. For example, many may not be able to buy homes, start families, or contribute to the economy in other ways. These challenges are compounded by the fact that many of the traditional ways of dealing with financial difficulties, such as tax refund checks, are also being threatened.

4.2. Skills Gap and Relevance of Education

In the contemporary world, the skills gap has become a frequent concern in many countries. When companies inform that they have jobs but cannot find qualified people, even though the unemployment rate is high, it indicates that the skills gap is severe, and it may continue to be a real problem. A 2013 Harvard Business Review article took the stance that the main reason behind the skills gap is simply the "unwillingness of the employed to seek new jobs". The article pointed out that many employees become complacent and would rather accept some level of dissatisfaction in their current job instead of taking an initiative to improve their skills, broaden their capabilities, and seek new opportunities. This view may reflect the common thought among businesses that employees are not motivated to undertake self-improvement programs and courses. On the other hand, from the employees' perspective, they may argue that the employers should take a more "active role in helping close the skills gap, working with educators and others to make sure that what is taught in schools and universities matches what job seekers need to find jobs". This is a concern about the relevance of education: whether the things our students are learning in high school/college have to do with what they will find valuable when they obtain a job. Dr. Jeffrey S. Drylie, a full-time faculty member in the School of Business at American Military University, listed some possible reasons of the skills gap and pointed out that how education is utilized can also be part of the problem. According to Dr. Drylie, in certain industries, especially on the technology and engineering fields, newer and disruptive technologies may "make large portions of the labour pool redundant overnight". If the affected employees fail to adopt and use the new technologies quickly, they will soon fall into "the skills gap highlighted by businesses": the employees cannot catch up with the pace the technologies are advancing. This may indicate a changing nature of skills gap, that is, as our world is becoming more and more technologically advanced, the relevance of education and the challenge of keeping up with rapid advancements in technology have become critical issues that require attention and support from both the government and local communities. No matter what opinion is taken, it should be taken seriously because skills gap can directly affect our lives. We should not only pay attention to this growing issue, but also seek ways to aid people overcoming their obstacles to gain a fantastic life. Skills gap is a common problem in the manufacturing industry with an increasing number of baby boomers retiring and the quick development of technology. This causes a high demand of skilled workers who able to operate newer machines and software but less and less workers have qualified skills when the demand is booming. As a result, workers who have updated skills or new hires are vital for companies to remain competitive in the market and adapt to new technology. An article on skills gap published from The Society of Human Resource Management indicated that manufacturers mentioned skills gap more than non-manufacturers and the shortage of skilled production workers has worsened from 2016 to 2017. This is due to the reason that the manufacturing industry is having digital transformation that requires advanced knowledge and analytical skills to cope with new technologies, like 3-D printing, robotics and artificial intelligence, which most of the baby boomers do not have as they are used to the traditional way of manufacturing.

4.3. Inequality in Access and Outcomes

In the United States, we have a highly stratified system of higher education. This means that students who come from different socio-economic, racial and ethnic backgrounds often do not have the same access to top colleges and universities or the same success in graduating from these institutions. As a result, our higher education system can be seen as perpetuating social and economic inequality—a belief that some sociologists have termed the "reproduction thesis." In recent years, the reproduction thesis has become stronger. This is partly because the importance of higher education to America's financial and social mobility, or opportunity, has increased over time. In the mid-20th century, there were many well-paying job opportunities for people without college degrees. From factory work to the post office, there were ways to make a decent living without a college education. But with the collapse of industry and the rise of service-sector work over the past thirty years, job opportunities for people with college degrees have increased dramatically in number and in quality. As a result, the income gap between people with a college degree and people without a college degree has grown to the largest levels in recorded history. People without college degrees increasingly find themselves stuck in low-wage jobs that offer little chance for advancement—a phenomenon that sociologists refer to as "stalled mobility." In contrast, people with college degrees are able to obtain better jobs with the hope of achieving greater financial rewards over the course of their careers.

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Value Of Higher Education

Category Education
Subcategory Higher Education

The success of a person is measured through the amount of knowledge the individual has received through four years of undergrad or graduate school, while being disciplined to see that the more degrees or higher education the individual has obtained is value. The value of a university is the start of a higher education for a better lifestyle. Experiencing different classes in college through medicine, engineering, law, nursing and much more gives young people an idea of what career they see themselves in. Personal development benefits the individual by connecting their higher education to important and realistic enhancements to their life such as, better communication, greater sense of discipline, realization of passions and much more. Instead of dropping out, an individual having a higher education can experience practical benefits proven through economic trends, healthier choices, and civic involvement. Education is a powerful tool making it worthwhile as a life experience to receive career preparation, broader practical benefits, and personal development.

Career preparation gives a student who received higher education to map out their future clearly. Having a clear mind from experiencing your pre career pathway in college such as pre business, premedical, prelaw and more, gives a person an idea of how their career preparation will continue into a higher level. “Many students also pursue double majors in a helping profession and a liberal arts discipline such as American studies, environmental studies, mathematics, or the visual arts” (Katz 10) to add something extra for a competitive and successful application as a future employee. Also, “business leaders report that they want to hire college graduates who possess both a broad education and specific workforce skills” (Katz 5) that appreciates gaining workforce experience while taking their coursework seriously for a distinct background of knowledge and service. “Conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers found that 80 percent of all bachelor’s degree graduates had achieved a positive career outcome—defined as full-time employment, self-employment, military or other public service, or continuing education—within six months of receiving a diploma” (Katz 5) that also results in a successful pay rate from obtaining the value of higher education.

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Personal development comes from improved communication, critical thinking, personal skills, realization of passions and a sense of accomplishments and discipline. Improved communication is proven by being enrolled in classes with requirements to give a presentation, speaking assignments to a classmate, or a group interaction “strategy of psychological and educational assistance in pedagogical interaction with them” (Orlov, Pazukhina, Yakushin, Ponomareva 76). Critical thinking skills from higher education is crucial in life and “students will grow substantially in their ability to correctly apply critical thinking and problem-solving techniques to problem situations” (Roberts 2). Identifying the personal skills that you’ve developed after receiving higher education and then creating new skills, gives the person a higher chance to excel in complex areas. Having a broader foundation of skills, can better your expectations in knowledge to receive higher education. Realization of passions from personal development, puts a young person in a desirable high education setting with a better perspective that are increasing their list of passions for personal growth. Greater sense of discipline will intertwine as having the natural discipline to be responsible in a higher education environment and then putting your academic achievements as a top priority to gain higher education. Having the sense of accomplishment will help a young person be motivated towards their goals as a student for higher education as they choose to enter a higher education setting. Personal development is an overall achievement from receiving higher education as the person undergoes valuable development stages.

Broader practical benefits are economic, health, and civic involvement while obtaining higher education. “In seeking to ensure that higher education policy is designed to maximize benefits to individuals and to society as a whole” (Courage 29), people who are applicable will be prioritized and prepared substantially in life. For a person “to go to university would bring economic and social benefits” (Courage 35) would receive higher education and “potential income whilst at university could be seen as an investment in higher potential salaries after graduating” (Courage 42). An example of health benefits for choosing higher education are the “benefits from the G.I. Bill on veteran’s general health status and smoking behavior. Veterans who used the education benefits will be in better health” (Rumery 2). Students with higher education are more likely to be educated in politics and community affairs that has to do with civic involvement. Devoting your higher education for more knowledge then your degree or increasing your education, will give the person many benefits.

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Is College Worth The Cost: Value of Higher Education

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The investment in knowledge, career opportunities and earnings potential, personal development and skill building, network and social connections, contributions to society, weighing the costs and benefits, alternative paths and trade-offs.

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The World Might Be Better Off Without College for Everyone

Students don't seem to be getting much out of higher education.

I have been in school for more than 40 years. First preschool, kindergarten, elementary school, junior high, and high school. Then a bachelor’s degree at UC Berkeley, followed by a doctoral program at Princeton. The next step was what you could call my first “real” job—as an economics professor at George Mason University.

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Thanks to tenure, I have a dream job for life. Personally, I have no reason to lash out at our system of higher education. Yet a lifetime of experience, plus a quarter century of reading and reflection, has convinced me that it is a big waste of time and money. When politicians vow to send more Americans to college, I can’t help gasping, “Why? You want us to waste even more?”

How, you may ask, can anyone call higher education wasteful in an age when its financial payoff is greater than ever? The earnings premium for college graduates has rocketed to 73 percent—that is, those with a bachelor’s degree earn, on average, 73 percent more than those who have only a high-school diploma, up from about 50 percent in the late 1970s. The key issue, however, isn’t whether college pays, but why. The simple, popular answer is that schools teach students useful job skills. But this dodges puzzling questions.

First and foremost: From kindergarten on, students spend thousands of hours studying subjects irrelevant to the modern labor market. Why do English classes focus on literature and poetry instead of business and technical writing? Why do advanced-math classes bother with proofs almost no student can follow? When will the typical student use history? Trigonometry? Art? Music? Physics? Latin? The class clown who snarks “What does this have to do with real life?” is onto something.

The disconnect between college curricula and the job market has a banal explanation: Educators teach what they know—and most have as little firsthand knowledge of the modern workplace as I do. Yet this merely complicates the puzzle. If schools aim to boost students’ future income by teaching job skills, why do they entrust students’ education to people so detached from the real world? Because, despite the chasm between what students learn and what workers do, academic success is a strong signal of worker productivity.

Suppose your law firm wants a summer associate. A law student with a doctorate in philosophy from Stanford applies. What do you infer? The applicant is probably brilliant, diligent, and willing to tolerate serious boredom. If you’re looking for that kind of worker—and what employer isn’t?—you’ll make an offer, knowing full well that nothing the philosopher learned at Stanford will be relevant to this job.

The labor market doesn’t pay you for the useless subjects you master; it pays you for the preexisting traits you signal by mastering them. This is not a fringe idea. Michael Spence, Kenneth Arrow, and Joseph Stiglitz—all Nobel laureates in economics—made seminal contributions to the theory of educational signaling. Every college student who does the least work required to get good grades silently endorses the theory. But signaling plays almost no role in public discourse or policy making. As a society, we continue to push ever larger numbers of students into ever higher levels of education. The main effect is not better jobs or greater skill levels, but a credentialist arms race.

Lest I be misinterpreted, I emphatically affirm that education confers some marketable skills, namely literacy and numeracy. Nonetheless, I believe that signaling accounts for at least half of college’s financial reward, and probably more.

Most of the salary payoff for college comes from crossing the graduation finish line. Suppose you drop out after a year. You’ll receive a salary bump compared with someone who’s attended no college, but it won’t be anywhere near 25 percent of the salary premium you’d get for a four-year degree. Similarly, the premium for sophomore year is nowhere near 50 percent of the return on a bachelor’s degree, and the premium for junior year is nowhere near 75 percent of that return. Indeed, in the average study, senior year of college brings more than twice the pay increase of freshman, sophomore, and junior years combined. Unless colleges delay job training until the very end, signaling is practically the only explanation. This in turn implies a mountain of wasted resources—time and money that would be better spent preparing students for the jobs they’re likely to do.

T he conventional view— that education pays because students learn—assumes that the typical student acquires, and retains, a lot of knowledge. She doesn’t. Teachers often lament summer learning loss: Students know less at the end of summer than they did at the beginning. But summer learning loss is only a special case of the problem of fade-out: Human beings have trouble retaining knowledge they rarely use. Of course, some college graduates use what they’ve learned and thus hold on to it—engineers and other quantitative types, for example, retain a lot of math. But when we measure what the average college graduate recalls years later, the results are discouraging, to say the least.

In 2003, the United States Department of Education gave about 18,000 Americans the National Assessment of Adult Literacy. The ignorance it revealed is mind-numbing. Fewer than a third of college graduates received a composite score of “proficient”—and about a fifth were at the “basic” or “below basic” level. You could blame the difficulty of the questions—until you read them. Plenty of college graduates couldn’t make sense of a table explaining how an employee’s annual health-insurance costs varied with income and family size, or summarize the work-experience requirements in a job ad, or even use a newspaper schedule to find when a television program ended. Tests of college graduates’ knowledge of history, civics, and science have had similarly dismal results.

Of course, college students aren’t supposed to just download facts; they’re supposed to learn how to think in real life. How do they fare on this count? The most focused study of education’s effect on applied reasoning, conducted by Harvard’s David Perkins in the mid-1980s, assessed students’ oral responses to questions designed to measure informal reasoning, such as “Would a proposed law in Massachusetts requiring a five-cent deposit on bottles and cans significantly reduce litter?” The benefit of college seemed to be zero: Fourth-year students did no better than first-year students.

Other evidence is equally discouraging. One researcher tested Arizona State University students’ ability to “apply statistical and methodological concepts to reasoning about everyday-life events.” In the researcher’s words:

Of the several hundred students tested, many of whom had taken more than six years of laboratory science … and advanced mathematics through calculus, almost none demonstrated even a semblance of acceptable methodological reasoning.

Those who believe that college is about learning how to learn should expect students who study science to absorb the scientific method, then habitually use it to analyze the world. This scarcely occurs.

College students do hone some kinds of reasoning that are specific to their major. One ambitious study at the University of Michigan tested natural-science, humanities, and psychology and other social-science majors on verbal reasoning, statistical reasoning, and conditional reasoning during the first semester of their first year. When the same students were retested the second semester of their fourth year, each group had sharply improved in precisely one area. Psychology and other social-science majors had become much better at statistical reasoning. Natural-science and humanities majors had become much better at conditional reasoning—analyzing “if … then” and “if and only if” problems. In the remaining areas, however, gains after three and a half years of college were modest or nonexistent. The takeaway: Psychology students use statistics, so they improve in statistics; chemistry students rarely encounter statistics, so they don’t improve in statistics. If all goes well, students learn what they study and practice.

Actually, that’s optimistic. Educational psychologists have discovered that much of our knowledge is “inert.” Students who excel on exams frequently fail to apply their knowledge to the real world. Take physics. As the Harvard psychologist Howard Gardner writes,

Students who receive honor grades in college-level physics courses are frequently unable to solve basic problems and questions encountered in a form slightly different from that on which they have been formally instructed and tested.

The same goes for students of biology, mathematics, statistics, and, I’m embarrassed to say, economics. I try to teach my students to connect lectures to the real world and daily life. My exams are designed to measure comprehension, not memorization. Yet in a good class, four test-takers out of 40 demonstrate true economic understanding.

E conomists’ educational bean counting can come off as annoyingly narrow. Non-economists—also known as normal human beings—lean holistic: We can’t measure education’s social benefits solely with test scores or salary premiums. Instead we must ask ourselves what kind of society we want to live in—an educated one or an ignorant one?

Normal human beings make a solid point: We can and should investigate education’s broad social implications. When humanists consider my calculations of education’s returns, they assume I’m being a typical cynical economist, oblivious to the ideals so many educators hold dear. I am an economist and I am a cynic, but I’m not a typical cynical economist. I’m a cynical idealist. I embrace the ideal of transformative education. I believe wholeheartedly in the life of the mind. What I’m cynical about is people.

I’m cynical about students. The vast majority are philistines. I’m cynical about teachers. The vast majority are uninspiring. I’m cynical about “deciders”—the school officials who control what students study. The vast majority think they’ve done their job as long as students comply.

Those who search their memory will find noble exceptions to these sad rules. I have known plenty of eager students and passionate educators, and a few wise deciders. Still, my 40 years in the education industry leave no doubt that they are hopelessly outnumbered. Meritorious education survives but does not thrive.

Indeed, today’s college students are less willing than those of previous generations to do the bare minimum of showing up for class and temporarily learning whatever’s on the test. Fifty years ago, college was a full-time job. The typical student spent 40 hours a week in class or studying. Effort has since collapsed across the board. “Full time” college students now average 27 hours of academic work a week—including just 14 hours spent studying .

What are students doing with their extra free time? Having fun. As Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa frostily remark in their 2011 book, Academically Adrift ,

If we presume that students are sleeping eight hours a night, which is a generous assumption given their tardiness and at times disheveled appearance in early morning classes, that leaves 85 hours a week for other activities.

Arum and Roksa cite a study finding that students at one typical college spent 13 hours a week studying, 12 hours “socializing with friends,” 11 hours “using computers for fun,” eight hours working for pay, six hours watching TV, six hours exercising, five hours on “hobbies,” and three hours on “other forms of entertainment.” Grade inflation completes the idyllic package by shielding students from negative feedback. The average GPA is now 3.2.

W hat does this mean for the individual student? Would I advise an academically well-prepared 18-year-old to skip college because she won’t learn much of value? Absolutely not. Studying irrelevancies for the next four years will impress future employers and raise her income potential. If she tried to leap straight into her first white-collar job, insisting, “I have the right stuff to graduate, I just choose not to,” employers wouldn’t believe her. To unilaterally curtail your education is to relegate yourself to a lower-quality pool of workers. For the individual, college pays.

This does not mean, however, that higher education paves the way to general prosperity or social justice. When we look at countries around the world, a year of education appears to raise an individual’s income by 8 to 11 percent. By contrast, increasing education across a country’s population by an average of one year per person raises the national income by only 1 to 3 percent. In other words, education enriches individuals much more than it enriches nations.

How is this possible? Credential inflation : As the average level of education rises, you need more education to convince employers you’re worthy of any specific job. One research team found that from the early 1970s through the mid‑1990s, the average education level within 500 occupational categories rose by 1.2 years. But most of the jobs didn’t change much over that span—there’s no reason, except credential inflation, why people should have needed more education to do them in 1995 than in 1975. What’s more, all American workers’ education rose by 1.5 years in that same span—which is to say that a great majority of the extra education workers received was deployed not to get better jobs, but to get jobs that had recently been held by people with less education.

As credentials proliferate, so do failed efforts to acquire them. Students can and do pay tuition, kill a year, and flunk their finals. Any respectable verdict on the value of education must account for these academic bankruptcies. Failure rates are high, particularly for students with low high-school grades and test scores; all told, about 60 percent of full-time college students fail to finish in four years. Simply put, the push for broader college education has steered too many students who aren’t cut out for academic success onto the college track.

The college-for-all mentality has fostered neglect of a realistic substitute: vocational education. It takes many guises—classroom training, apprenticeships and other types of on-the-job training, and straight-up work experience—but they have much in common. All vocational education teaches specific job skills, and all vocational education revolves around learning by doing, not learning by listening. Research, though a bit sparse, suggests that vocational education raises pay, reduces unemployment, and increases the rate of high-school completion.

The Future of College?

What does college teach.

The Weight I Carry

Defenders of traditional education often appeal to the obscurity of the future. What’s the point of prepping students for the economy of 2018, when they’ll be employed in the economy of 2025 or 2050? But ignorance of the future is no reason to prepare students for occupations they almost surely won’t have—and if we know anything about the future of work, we know that the demand for authors, historians, political scientists, physicists, and mathematicians will stay low. It’s tempting to say that students on the college track can always turn to vocational education as a Plan B, but this ignores the disturbing possibility that after they crash, they’ll be too embittered to go back and learn a trade. The vast American underclass shows that this disturbing possibility is already our reality.

Education is so integral to modern life that we take it for granted. Young people have to leap through interminable academic hoops to secure their place in the adult world. My thesis, in a single sentence: Civilized societies revolve around education now, but there is a better—indeed, more civilized—way. If everyone had a college degree, the result would be not great jobs for all, but runaway credential inflation. Trying to spread success with education spreads education but not success.

This essay is adapted from Bryan Caplan’s book The Case Against Education . It appears in the January/February 2018 print edition with the headline “What’s College Good For?”

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The Promise of Higher Education

Essays in Honour of 70 Years of IAU

Hilligje van't Land 0 ,
Andreas Corcoran 1 ,
Diana-Camelia Iancu 2

International Association of Universities, Paris, France

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National University of Political Studies and Public Administration, Bucharest, Romania

This book is available through open access, which means that you have free and unlimited access
Highlights the 70-year legacy of the International Association of Universities
Provides an overview of the higher education landscape, and discusses pertinent, forward-thinking topics
Gives international coverage as well as regional balance
Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

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Table of contents (65 chapters), front matter, introduction.

Hilligje van’t Land, Andreas Corcoran, Diana-Camelia Iancu

70 Years of Higher Education Cooperation and Advocacy

To cohere and act as one: iau—the global voice of higher education.

Pam Fredman

Stepping Up Global Collaboration to Protect Higher Education’s Future

Stefania Giannini

The IAU and Contemporary Global Challenges: A Latin American Point of View

Juan Ramón de la Fuente

Drivers of Globalisation of Higher Education over the Last 70 Years

Andrew J. Deeks

A Personal View on Two Decades of Recent IAU History

Eva Egron-Polak

IAU President Walter Kamba (1990–1995): A Man of Conscience

Goolam Mohamedbhai

Between Global Inequalities and World Ethics. Personal Reflections on Internationalisation of Higher Education over the Past Seventy Years

Pavel Zgaga

Creating Democratic Civic Universities in a Post-COVID-19 World: The IAU and Global Collaboration

Ira Harkavy
Remus Pricopie

Facilitating International Cooperation

The role of iau in facilitating international cooperation.

Ranbir Singh

Universities, Associations, and Internationalization: Powerful Forces for Our Time

Laura E. Rumbley

A Global View of Internationalisation: What Next?

Elspeth Jones, Hans de Wit

The Importance of Internationalization Today and the Leadership Role of IAU

Jocelyne Gacel-Ávila

International Collaboration: Necessary, But Challenging

Jeroen Huisman

Getting Unstuck with Internationalization at Home: Seizing the Post-pandemic Moment

Madeleine Green

Levelling up International Higher Education: Universities, Nations and Global Goals

This book is a collection of short essays, accessible through open access, which takes the interested reader on a tour across the global higher education landscape. It addresses pertinent themes and challenges in higher education. To mark the 70 th anniversary of the International Association of Universities (IAU) and its role in higher education since 1950, experts from around the world share their insights into higher education’s recent past, present and future. The book is divided into six parts:

Part I – “70 years of Higher Education Cooperation and Advocacy” looks back at key events in IAU’s history, its mission and significant activities over time, and remarks on the current global context informing its quest to promote academic partnerships and solidarity on a global scale.

Part II – “Facilitating International Cooperation” provides for different perspectives on the transformation of the internationalisation of higher education and the contribution of higher education to international cooperation.

Part III – “Coding the Values” debates the values upon which higher education was, is and will have to be built to provide for a democratic and inclusive society.

Part IV – “The Changing Landscape” analyses various aspects of the transformation of higher education in an evolving context across the globe.

Part V – “The Promise of Education” reflects on the role of higher education, its ideals and shortfalls and what it must do to stay true to its promise to help shape our societies.

Part VI – “Opening up – The Future of Higher Education” focuses on future scenarios of higher education and call on the reader to envision a different kind of higher education and reimagine the contribution of higher education to society, as well as future roles for the IAU.

The book will be of interest to higher education policy makers and academics. It is also of interest to the general public, as it provides a comprehensive overview of the challenges higher education institutions currently face and suggests scenarios of what the future of education might look like.

Open access
International Association of Universities
Relevance and value of higher education
Fundamental principles of higher education
International co-operation for higher education
Changing landscape of universities
IAU principles
70 years of IAU

Hilligje van't Land, Andreas Corcoran

Diana-Camelia Iancu

Hilligje van’t Land is Secretary General of the International Association of Universities and Executive Director of the International Universities Bureau. Over the past years, initially as Director and later as Deputy Secretary General, she co-supervised the overall programmatic activities of the IAU and the everyday work of the secretariat, she engaged in developing the IAU Membership base and strengthening the IAU membership development strategy. Prior to joining the IAU, Dr van’t Land taught comparative francophone literature at the Universities of Groningen, Laval (Québec) and Avignon et les Pays du Vaucluse. For five years she also headed the Institute for American Universities in Avignon. She has been very active in the field of Canadian Studies globally, since 1987. Hilligje van’t Land holds a PhD in comparative contemporary francophone literatures from Groningen University, in the Netherlands and completed a post doc research period at Laval University (Québec).

Andreas Corcoran took up the position as Deputy Secretary General of the International Association of Universities in 2019. Prior to joining the IAU, Dr. Corcoran was Director of Higher Education at SOFIA in Rome, in charge of financial, academic and institutional development and governance of a university in Tanzania. Previously, Dr. Corcoran worked for the University of Kent in the UK, the Federal Chancellor Willy Brandt Foundation and the German Historical Museum in Berlin. Dr. Corcoran holds a PhD in History and Civilization from the European University Institute in Florence and a Master’s from Trinity College Dublin.

Diana-Camelia Iancu is senior fellow of the International Association of Universities since 2019 and Dean of public administration, at the National University of Political Studies and Public Administration (Bucharest), since 2012. For the past decade, she has taught comparative public management in Bucharest and Nijmegen (at RadboudUniversity) and assumed different academic assignments in Greece, France, Slovenia, Spain and the US. Her research interests include international development and administrative capacity building in transitional countries, as well as quality assurance in teaching public administration. Dr. Iancu holds a PhD cum laude in public administration from the National University of Political Studies and Public Administration.

Book Title : The Promise of Higher Education

Book Subtitle : Essays in Honour of 70 Years of IAU

Editors : Hilligje van't Land, Andreas Corcoran, Diana-Camelia Iancu

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-67245-4

Publisher : Springer Cham

eBook Packages : Education , Education (R0)

Hardcover ISBN : 978-3-030-67244-7 Published: 02 September 2021

Softcover ISBN : 978-3-030-67247-8 Published: 02 September 2021

eBook ISBN : 978-3-030-67245-4 Published: 01 September 2021

Edition Number : 1

Number of Pages : XV, 442

Number of Illustrations : 3 b/w illustrations, 4 illustrations in colour

Topics : Higher Education , International and Comparative Education , Educational Policy and Politics

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The Value of Higher Education: Is College Worth it?

A college education is an essential stepping stone to a successful career and a fulfilling life. While many people debate the value of a college education in today’s economy, a college education is a crucial investment that can transform one’s life in countless ways. The benefits of a college education go beyond a job or career; it impacts personal development, civic engagement and overall well-being.

In this guide, we’ll dive deep into the career advancement and salary opportunities available for individuals pursuing a college education. In addition, we’ll take a close look at all of the ways a college student can grow personally, from a health, social and economic standpoint.

Ready to start your journey to college? Crimson Education is the world’s leading College Admissions Consulting company helping student gain admissions into top universities in the US & UK. Speak to our expert advisors to learn more about our Admissions Support Program !

Advantages of a College Degree

One of the main reasons people pursue higher education is to increase their earning potential and career opportunities. Studies have consistently shown that college graduates have higher earnings and more career advancement opportunities than those without a college degree. A college education provides specialized skills and knowledge that are highly valued in the workforce.

Additionally, college graduates have access to a larger professional network, which can lead to more job opportunities and career advancement . In this regard, a college degree can be a valuable investment in one's future, providing a path to higher earning potential and greater job satisfaction. Here’s a closer look at the economic and career opportunities available for college graduates:

Increased Job Opportunities

A college degree opens up more job opportunities than a high school diploma alone. Many employers require a college degree for certain positions, and a degree can make candidates more competitive in the job market.

Higher Earning Potential

One of the most significant benefits of obtaining a college degree is the higher earning potential it provides. College graduates tend to earn more than those with only a high school diploma, and this trend holds across various professions and industries.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics , in 2021, the median weekly earnings for workers with a bachelor's degree was $1,334, compared to $899 for those with a high school diploma only. Furthermore, individuals with an advanced degree, such as a master's or doctoral degree, tend to earn even more.

The higher earning potential of college graduates can be attributed to several factors. First, college graduates have specialized knowledge and skills that are highly valued in the workforce. They are trained to think critically, analyze complex problems, and communicate effectively, all of which are skills that are in high demand across various industries.

Second, many employers require a college degree for certain positions, especially those that involve complex tasks or require specialized knowledge. Therefore, having a college degree makes candidates more competitive in the job market and increases their chances of being hired.

Specialized Skills

Obtaining a college degree provides graduates with specialized skills and knowledge that are highly valued in the workforce. These skills and knowledge are developed through coursework, hands-on experience, and exposure to various learning environments.

Some of the specialized skills that college graduates possess include:

Critical thinking and problem-solving : College graduates are trained to analyze complex problems, identify potential solutions, and make informed decisions.
Communication skills : College graduates have honed their written and verbal communication skills , which are essential in many professional settings.
Technical skills : Depending on the degree program, college graduates may have specialized technical skills that are in high demand, such as computer programming, data analysis, or engineering.
Leadership skills : College graduates often have experience working in teams and leading projects, which can be valuable in management and leadership positions.
Adaptability : College graduates are trained to adapt to changing environments and situations, which is essential in today's rapidly evolving job market.
Cultural competency : College graduates are exposed to a diverse range of cultures and ideas, which can enhance their ability to work with people from different backgrounds.

Having specialized skills can make college graduates more attractive to employers and increase their chances of being hired for certain positions. These skills can also lead to higher salaries, as many employers are willing to pay a premium for specialized expertise.

Networking is an essential aspect of career development, and obtaining a college degree provides graduates with a valuable network of contacts. College graduates have access to a vast network of alumni, professors, classmates, and professionals in their field, which can provide numerous benefits throughout their careers.

Networking can lead to job opportunities, as many employers prefer to hire candidates through referrals. Building relationships with professionals in your field can help you learn about job openings before they are publicly advertised, giving you an advantage in the job market.

Career Advancement Opportunities

Obtaining a college degree can open up numerous career advancement opportunities for graduates. A college degree provides specialized knowledge and skills that can make graduates more competitive in the job market and eligible for higher-paying positions with greater responsibility and leadership opportunities.

A college degree can provide graduates with the opportunity to switch careers, as they have the skills and knowledge needed to transition to a new field. In addition, graduates with specialized skills and knowledge can also pursue industry certifications, which can increase their credibility and open up new career opportunities.

Increased Job Satisfaction

College graduates often work in fields they are passionate about, which can lead to greater job satisfaction. By pursuing their interests and passions, they are more likely to find fulfillment in their work. In addition, college graduates are often eligible for jobs with greater job security, such as those in government, education, or healthcare. Having a stable job can lead to greater job satisfaction, as employees feel more secure in their position.

Social Mobility and Economic Stability

College education can expose individuals to diverse perspectives, cultures, and ideas, which can broaden their understanding and empathy for others. This can help individuals develop stronger relationships, build social capital, and navigate social and economic barriers. However, that’s not all that a college education can help support social mobility. College can provide individuals with networking opportunities that can lead to job opportunities, mentorship, and access to resources that can help them move up the social and economic ladder.

In addition, a college education can provide individuals with access to a broader range of career opportunities, including those that require specialized skills and knowledge. This can lead to career advancement, which can provide individuals with greater social mobility.

As a result of a broader range of career opportunities, college graduates tend to have greater resilience to economic downturns, as they may have more skills, education, and experience to adapt to changing economic conditions. Also, college courses often include personal finance education, which can provide students with the knowledge and skills to manage their finances effectively, including budgeting, saving, investing, and managing debt. This can lead to greater financial stability and security over the long term, leading college graduates to have more economic stability.

Personal Development and Fulfillment

A college education can contribute to personal development and fulfillment through intellectual growth, self-discovery, personal growth, social connections, and a love of lifelong learning. This is because a college education can facilitate personal growth through experiences that challenge individuals to step outside of their comfort zones, take risks, and learn from their mistakes.

As a student works towards obtaining their degree, their time in college can be a time of self-discovery as individuals explore their interests, values, and beliefs. This can help individuals develop a sense of identity and purpose and make informed decisions about their personal and professional lives.

In addition, many colleges provide opportunities for social connections and community building, which can lead to a sense of belonging and fulfillment. The opportunities colleges provide for personal development can include participation in student organizations , cultural events, and community service.

Health and Well-Being

While not many people think about the ways a college can support an individual’s health and well-being, pursuing a college education can play a key role in a student’s life-long well-being.

Many colleges and universities provide access to healthcare services, including medical care, mental health counseling, and wellness programs. In addition, a college education can promote physical activity through organized sports programs, recreation facilities, and fitness classes.

In addition, a college education can provide a supportive environment for students through peer support networks, mentorship programs, and counseling services. A supportive environment can help students cope with challenges and promote overall well-being. Many campuses also promote stress management through stress reduction programs, mindfulness training, and counseling services.

Overcoming Challenges and Creating Opportunities

A college education is helpful for individuals looking to overcome challenges and create opportunities to flourish.

Pursuing a college education allows opportunities for innovating and creative solutions, which increases a student’s likelihood of success. A college education can expose individuals to diverse perspectives, cultures, and ideas, which can help them approach challenges and opportunities from multiple angles. College allows individuals to develop skills and exposure to diverse perspectives. These factors allow students to become more adaptable, resilient, and successful in the event of challenges.

Do you need a college degree to be successful?

If the answer to this question were a simple “yes,” then the decision to go to college would be easy. Many factors help make someone successful. But, for most successful people, college is one of those factors.

Is college necessary for a successful career?

Yes and no. College opens up opportunities both intellectually and socially that you wouldn’t have otherwise. You’re surrounded by a network of students and professionals from all walks of life. There’s a good chance one might be your connection to your future career.

As a college graduate, you’ll likely have better career prospects, higher pay, and a higher-skilled job. These factors often contribute to stability, success, and overall happiness.

Final Thoughts: Is college worth it?

Based on current evidence, trends, and statistics, yes, college is worth it . If you have a college degree, you should have an easier time finding, keeping, and enjoying your career. But, the ultimate decision is still up to you. If you’re still unsure if college is for you, consider contacting one of Crimson’s advisors. They can answer your questions, help you determine which college might be right for you, and guide you towards a path that will lead you to the career of your dreams.

Ready to start your education journey? Book a free consultation with our advisors to learn more about how Crimson can help you!

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Value of Education Essay

500 words essay on value of education.

Education is a weapon for the people by which they can live a high-quality life. Furthermore, education makes people easy to govern but at the same time it makes them impossible to be enslaved. Let us take a look at the incredible importance of education with this value of education essay.

Value Of Education Essay

Importance of Education

Education makes people independent. Furthermore, it increases knowledge, strengthens the mind, and forms character. Moreover, education enables people to put their potentials to optimum use.

Education is also a type of reform for the human mind. Without education, the training of the human mind would always remain incomplete.

Education makes a person an efficient decision-maker and a right thinker. Moreover, this is possible only with the help of education. This is because education acquaints an individual with knowledge of the world around him and beyond, besides teaching the individual to be a better judge of the present.

A person that receives education shall have more avenues for the life of his choice. Moreover, an educated person will be able to make decisions in the best possible manner. This is why there is such a high demand for educated people over uneducated people for the purpose of employment .

Negative Impact of Lack of Education

Without education, a person would feel trapped. One can understand this by the example of a man who is confined to a closed room, completely shut from the outside world, with no way to exit it. Most noteworthy, an uneducated person can be compared to this confined man.

Education enables a person to access the open world. Furthermore, a person without education is unable to read and write. Consequently, a person without education would remain closed to all the knowledge and wisdom an educated person can gain from books and other mediums.

The literacy rate of India stands at around 60% in comparison to more than 80% literacy rate of the rest of the world. Moreover, the female literacy rate is 54.16% in accordance with the 2001 population census. These figures certainly highlight the massive problem of lack of education in India.

To promote education, the government of India takes it as a national policy. The intention of the government is to target the very cause of illiteracy. As such, the government endeavours to eradicate illiteracy, which in turn would lead to the eradication of poverty .

The government is running various literacy programmes like the free-education programme, weekend and part-time study programme, continuing education programme, mid-day meal programme, adult literacy programme, etc. With the consistent success rate of these programmes, hopefully, things will better.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Conclusion of Value of Education Essay

Education is one of the most effective ways to make people better and more productive. It is a tool that can make people easy to lead but at the same time difficult to drive. Education removes naivety and ignorance from the people, leaving them aware, informed, and enlightened.

FAQs For Value of Education Essay

Question 1: What is the importance of education in our lives?

Answer 1: Having an education in a particular area helps people think, feel, and behave in a way that contributes to their success, and improves not only their personal satisfaction but also enhances their community. In addition, education develops the human personality and prepares people for life experiences.

Question 2: Explain the meaning of true education?

Answer 2: True education means going beyond earning degrees and bookish knowledge when it comes to learning. Furthermore, true education means inculcating a helping attitude, optimistic thinking, and moral values in students with the aim of bringing positive changes in society.

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The Value of Higher Education
The Value of Higher Education Essay. Malcolm Forbes once said, "Education's purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one". Education is undoubtedly the one factor that eventually decides the level of progress attained by a nation or a people; it is what separates the third world from the developed world and the poor from the rich.
What's the Value of Higher Education?
April 11, 2018. This interview was conducted at the Yale Higher Education Leadership Summit, hosted by Yale SOM's Chief Executive Leadership Institute on January 30, 2018. The value of a college degree can be measured in a number of different ways: increased lifetime earnings potential, a network of classmates and fellow alumni, subject ...
PDF Understanding the Purpose of Higher Education: an Analysis of The
providers and college students on the economic and social benefits of completing higher education may "add-value" for institutions seeking to position themselves for success (Watson, 2014). This research gap stands in stark contrast to the large number of recent studies, which have examined the significant "economic benefits" (i.e ...
The Value of Higher Education
1. Importance of Higher Education In modern society, many students seek higher education either full-time or part-time. Along with the increasing cost of this education and the rising amounts of student loans, the question of whether a higher education is necessary for a successful life is being asked. There are several reasons why an academic degree is considered essential for a good ...
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What does value in higher education mean to you and why is it so important to be talking about value at this moment? In the past, the culture in my home state of Arkansas didn't place a lot of value on earning a college degree. I'm a first-generation college student, and the first member of my extended family to get a graduate degree.
Value Of Higher Education: Essay Example, 760 words
The value of a university is the start of a higher education for a better lifestyle. Experiencing different classes in college through medicine, engineering, law, nursing and much more gives young people an idea of what career they see themselves in. Personal development benefits the individual by connecting their higher education to important ...
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1. The widespread acceptance and application of a new and better touchstone for decision-making in higher education, linked to a strong framework of essential, core principles. A touchstone is a standard, or criterion, that serves as the basis for judging something; in higher education, that touchstone must be the quality and quantity of learning.
The true value of higher ed
January 29, 2014. This essay, by UC Berkeley Chancellor Nicholas Dirks, originally appeared in the Huffington Post . President Obama's proposal to develop a national scorecard for ranking universities is a valuable contribution towards improving accountability for higher education. The national discussion about higher education, however, has ...
What is the true value of higher education?
OECD Education & Skills | What is the true value of higher education? All podcasts express the opinions of the interview subjects and do not necessarily represent the official views of the OECD and/or OECD Member countries. Some of the most striking findings from Education at a Glance, our annual report on the global state of education, focused ...
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PayScale has shoved aside the philosopher king as the arbiter of the worth of college. Higher education needs a deep and pervasive transformation of its value proposition for the American public and the global society we serve. And this value proposition should be, unabashedly, about real civic, social and moral values -- a concept that ...
Is College Worth The Cost: Value of Higher Education
Conclusion. Is college worth the cost? The answer varies for each individual based on their circumstances, goals, and priorities. While the financial aspect is a critical factor, the intrinsic value of a college education extends beyond immediate monetary returns. The knowledge gained, the personal growth experienced, the networks formed, and the contributions to society collectively make ...
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Measuring the Value of Higher Education is a new print-on-demand compilation from Inside Higher Ed.. The free booklet contains a collection of articles and essays, and is available for download here.. On Wednesday, Oct. 5, at 2 p.m. Eastern, Inside Higher Ed's editors will present a free webcast discussing the themes of this compilation.Please register for the webcast or find out more here.
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The earnings premium for college graduates has rocketed to 73 percent—that is, those with a bachelor's degree earn, on average, 73 percent more than those who have only a high-school diploma ...
The Promise of Higher Education: Essays in Honour of 70 Years of IAU
About this book. This book is a collection of short essays, accessible through open access, which takes the interested reader on a tour across the global higher education landscape. It addresses pertinent themes and challenges in higher education. To mark the 70 th anniversary of the International Association of Universities (IAU) and its role ...
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Essay on Value of Higher Education. Decent Essays. 626 Words. 3 Pages. Open Document. As a child one may be encouraged to read by the idea that reading opens your mind up to new worlds. Such can be the same with a higher education. Education is a way to develop mentally and morally. Often we think about the financial benefit of a college degree.
Experts discuss whether college is still worth it
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The Value of Higher Education: Is College Worth it?
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2021, the median weekly earnings for workers with a bachelor's degree was $1,334, compared to $899 for those with a high school diploma only. Furthermore, individuals with an advanced degree, such as a master's or doctoral degree, tend to earn even more. The higher earning potential of college ...
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Argumentative Essay: The Value Of Higher Education. 740 Words3 Pages. Higher education is an optional final stage of formal learning that comes after secondary education. This system is comprised of universities, colleges, academies, seminaries, and institutes of technology. At the end of a chosen education, a person gets awarded with a ...
Value of Education Essay in English for Students
Answer 2: True education means going beyond earning degrees and bookish knowledge when it comes to learning. Furthermore, true education means inculcating a helping attitude, optimistic thinking, and moral values in students with the aim of bringing positive changes in society. Share with friends.
Value of Higher Education Essay Example For FREE
Value of Higher Education. Abstract This paper shall argue that despite the costs of a higher education, a college or university education is of great value to every individual. Higher education prepares an individual for the working world through the imparting of specialized knowledge. A Higher education allows individuals to earn more at the ...
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