Economic Returns on a College Education

I'm a first generation college graduate, the only one of five inner-city siblings to desire a scholarly life. I desperately loved sticking my nose in books and I was determined. My parents were puzzled. 

Now, in one generation, society has changed the narrative to "everybody should go to college." We herald the New Traditional Student: first generation, minority, over 25, young parent, limited financial resources. To meet their needs, we saw the rise of the for-profit schools, rapid growth of public universities, and a national commitment to access: a nation going to college. Part of this narrative is that college is the "ticket to the middle class." Everybody says so.

Until three researchers published a paper that questioned some of the assumptions (and societal changes) built into the value of that ticket. What happens when you're a male, heavily in debt from the rising cost of a degree, and graduating from a second tier school? What happens when you start, can't complete, and leave college with debt and no degree? Read it and weep: 

Benson, Alan and Esteva, Raimundo and Levy, Frank S., Dropouts, Taxes and Risk: The Economic Return to College under Realistic Assumptions (January 26, 2015). Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2325657 

My conclusion, once I let the tables, graphs, numbers and variables slide into my assumptions is that we in higher education have the obligation to do less harm. We have to change, to be aware, to not put our students' futures on the line. 

Here are a few things that I think my urban-serving campus - and other well-meaning,  campuses - CAN & SHOULD do to mitigate the harm of creating greater risk of lifetime financial distress:

• Use DATA to determine who is at risk of failing, leaving, incurring debt without a degree. We should be proactive and get them the help they need to complete. Intervene early and let them know we have resources to help. Insist they use them. We have the ability to do this; we need the awareness and the will.
• DECREASE time to graduation. One of the most prominent factors in risk of financial distress is the rising cost of college. I graduated in four years, debt free. This now seems impossible. According to the study, "among 580 US public four- year institutions, only 50 report four-year graduation rates above 50%." As long as we take little responsibility for seeing that students take the courses they need, when they need them - we are doing harm. Other institutions are providing road maps with guarantees that students will graduate on time IF they focus, take the right courses, and commit to a schedule that maps their path to graduation. We can learn from these schools, and from others creating 3-year degrees, online course options, competency-based courses, hybrid and flipped courses - modern pedagogy focused on engaged and personalized learning. Many of our students are working 30+ hours, are adults, are parents, are commuters traveling long distances to campus. We can and should do what we can to support their efforts.

The data is in, the evidence is clear. We can do better.

-Colleen 

With thanks to Bryan Alexander at http://ftte.us/ for directing me to the study.