Attaining a college degree may benefit more than just your pocketbook, says a new College Board report released last week.
The third and final installment of “Education Pays: the Benefits of Higher Education for Individuals and Society,” released on Sept. 21, finds that bachelor’s degree-holders will be better off throughout their lives in terms of salaried earnings, healthy lifestyles, job satisfaction, employment opportunities, health care and pension benefits, and even parenting abilities.
The general findings of the report go further than the 2004 and 2007 installments, delineating how a college-educated workforce is more likely to vote, send their children to college and ease the burden on fellow taxpayers by keeping in good health.
According to the report, the median income of bachelor’s degree-holders working year-round, full-time jobs in 2008 was $55,700, while the median yearly income of a similar worker holding only a high school diploma was $33,800. In terms of job satisfaction, 58 percent of college graduates and individuals with some four-year college education, along with associate degree-holders, reported being “very satisfied” with their current employment in 2008. Comparatively, 50 percent of high school graduates and 40 percent of individuals without a high school diploma reported having enjoyable occupations.
The College Board report also said that a college degree may correlate to healthier diets and lifestyles. Between 1998 and 2008, college-educated adults were less than half as likely to be smokers (around 10 percent) than high school graduates (almost 30 percent). Degree-holders are less likely to be obese in every age group, and even children living in households with more educated parents are less likely than their peers to be obese.
Jessica Wilson, a nutritionist with the University Health Center, said recreational activities and nutrition awareness on college campuses helps students develop and maintain healthy habits.
“There are far more opportunities in post-secondary education to learn about healthy eating for little or no cost compared to the general public,” Wilson said. “Universities and colleges provide a lot of opportunities to access information to help students create behavior changes like one-on-one nutrition education, nutrition courses, emotional and spiritual health services, and free recreational activity services, and these can contribute to creating healthier lifestyles and behavior changes.”
Sandy Baum, co-author of the report and policy analyst for the College Board, is quick to note that the report’s purpose is not to convince all potential college students that a post-secondary degree is necessary. Baum simply wanted to provide data and point out overall trends so that people can make up their own minds about pursuing additional education.
“Nobody is saying everybody should get a bachelor’s degree … we need all kinds of people in all kinds of jobs,” Baum said in the report. “Our goal is not to be convincing people of something so much as it is to provide solid information to which people can refer in order to reach conclusions that are based not on anecdotes but on evidence.”
Some members of the University administration share the report’s sentiment in that the pursuit of higher education benefits more than just individuals.
“There is no question in my mind that a college education is one of the most important investments an individual and a society can make,” Vice President for Finance and Administration Frances Dyke said. “Education is the very foundation on which a strong and free society is built.”
At the same time, Dyke feels that the group of potential students who can reap the benefits associated with a college degree is shrinking due to declining publicly-sponsored educational opportunities for the middle class.
“The challenge (surrounding) the rising price of tuition is that public support has declined dramatically and below acceptable levels,” Dyke said. “The unfortunate consequence of (this) is that students also must acquire additional loans … and universities must make prudent decisions that ensure both quality and access.”
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