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A recent Wall Street Journal/NBC news survey shows that the public is losing faith in the value of a college education.

Skepticism about higher education is most prevalent among adults without college degrees, who have never taken college courses and who live in rural areas.

Republicans and people who identify themselves as poor or working-class are more likely to say they don’t believe a college degree is worthwhile. On the other hand, more women than men have faith in the value of a college education as do urban residents and Democrats who consider themselves middle and upper class.

The primary reason cited by those who have diminished opinions about college is cost. This opinion is bolstered by increasing college tuition in recent years and by student debt which has surged to $1.3 billion. In short, the general public, prospective students and their parents are questioning the return on investment of a college degree.

Despite the hefty price tag, an investment on a college degree still makes a great deal of sense.

On average, college graduates earn 56 percent more over their working years than new non-graduates.

While the return on investment for a college education has diminished slightly since the Great Recession, total earnings for college graduates range between $850,000 and $ 1 million dollars more in real income over a lifetime.

The unemployment rate for college graduates is 2.7 percent while those without a college degree face a 5 percent unemployment rate. During the Great Recession, the difference in unemployment between college and non-college unemployment was even greater. And of course, society benefits from college graduates. Those with degrees pay more taxes, are less of a drain on social services and are more philanthropically inclined than are individuals without a college education.

They also vote more often.

Students and parents are indeed correct to worry about the cost of a higher education, but there are simple things that help reduce these costs:

• Graduate in 4 years. If you think the cost of higher education for one year is expensive, try adding an extra year or two. Not only will you pay more for room and board for the extra years, but you will forgo the opportunity of earning a salary for those years you are still in college.

• Check out the average time to degree completion at a college before you attend. The Department of Education publishes time- to-graduation rates for all institutions, but reports them as six-year rates. Make sure you ask for a college’s four-year graduation rates.

• Don’t take courses in your major early on in your college career. Changing majors may result in lost credits for courses that do not count as part of the graduation requirements or your new major.

• If you think you might transfer, make sure you get in writing the courses that the institution to which you are transferring will accept.

• If at all possible don’t work more than l8 hours a week when you are in college. Studies show that working more than 18 hours weekly adds to graduation time.

• Above all, don’t live like you have a job when you are in college. If you do, you will have to live like you are in college when you have a job.

Colleges and universities also need to re-double their efforts to keep costs down and quality up.

And they need to do one more thing. Occasionally those associated with higher education publicly profess opinions that run counter to the mainstream values of Americans. In my many years in higher education, I have always found the clear majority of faculty, staff and students to be level headed and fair minded.

However, they often hesitate to speak out when colleagues, who are less so, advance ideas that diminish the credibility of their institution and higher education in general.

With opinion about higher education on the decline, can those in academe continue to be oblivious to what the public thinks of us? This does not mean that academics should give up the spirit of inquiry and debate that helps shape opinions. It does mean, however, that a modicum of self-control should be exercised when it comes to publicly engaging in visible and controversial issues.

Misericordia
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Michael A. MacDowell

Guest Columnist

Michael A. MacDowell is President Emeritus of Misericordia University and managing director of the Calvin K. Kazanjian Economics Foundation.