Much has been written in the last several years regarding the declining value of a college education. According to Gallup, the percentage of Americans who expressed confidence in higher education fell from 57% to 36%. A recent article in the Wall Street Journal, “Why Americans Have Lost Faith in the Value of College,“ states that “nearly half of parents say they would prefer not to send their children to a four-year college after high school… 2/3 of high school students think they will be just fine without a college degree.”
This perspective is significantly different from the previous 50 years. As stated in the WSJ article “between 1965 and 2011, university enrollment increased nearly fourfold to 21 million.”
So the obvious question is: Why is the value of a college education declining in America?
As usual, I may not have the answers, but I definitely have some opinions.
After the end of World War II there was a belief that virtually all Americans should own a home. It took some time to realize that maybe it was best for some people not to own a home. The subprime mortgage crisis certainly drove this fact home. My sense is that we made the same mistake regarding college. The perspective that everyone should attend a four-year college assumed that it would be in the best interests of each person to do so. In reality, people who have natural abilities and/or passion for occupations like mechanics, carpentry, or construction that don’t require a college education may be far better off attending trade schools and apprenticeships.
Meanwhile, the cost of a college education has continued to skyrocket, becoming without question a significant barrier for many students and families. The WSJ article states that “the real cost of a four-year college education climbed 180% between 1980 and 2020.” This increase is significantly higher than any measure of inflation during this period. The fact that the annual cost of attending many universities is almost as high as the annual income of a family of four is clearly a major issue. Simply put, many prospective students and their families simply can’t afford the cost of a college education.
Given the (artificially) inflated demand for a college degree and the skyrocketing cost, it really shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that more and more people are questioning whether college even makes economic sense for them. In the 1960s and 70s people could expect with a fairly high level of confidence to generate higher incomes with a college degree versus without one. It is clear that this is no longer necessarily the case. There are many professions today which offer compensation without a college degree much higher than those with a college degree.
Given all of this, those of you who know that I attended a liberal arts college as an undergraduate, typically ask me: “Harry, given the high cost and the diminishing returns of higher education in America, how do you justify pursuing a liberal arts education that doesn’t necessarily train you for a specific job?”
My opinion here is that while it does not make sense for everyone, a liberal arts education definitely makes sense for individuals who can find their way around the cost issue. I realize I may be somewhat biased, but I believe that having a strong liberal arts education gives you a unique ability to make sense of the world and our place in it. Having the ability to understand the sciences, the humanities, and the arts provides one with a unique ability to cultivate a global perspective. It instills in you a deep curiosity and arms you with the tools to question, to debate, and to understand multiple perspectives. Frankly, I believe that if more of our leaders in business and government had the benefit of a strong liberal arts education, the world would be in much better shape than it is today. To quote the motto of Lawrence University, the small liberal arts college that Julie and I both attended (in addition to my daughter, Suzie, and son, Andrew): “Light! More Light!”
There’s definitely a lot of work to be done to rejuvenate faith in the American higher education system, starting with making it more affordable and adapting it to suit modern needs. As we do so though, I remain committed to my belief that there are certain parts of it – liberal arts, for example – that must not be undervalued and should be sustained.
