new church life: march / april 2014
productivity and a sense of well-being, then liberal arts colleges stack up well.
Private liberal arts colleges are actually doing an impressive job of
delivering value, in lots of ways. Here are seven:
1. Graduation rate: students are more likely to graduate in four years
from a private college than in six years from a public university.
2. Earning power: On average, a college degree garners $1 million more
over a lifetime than does a high school diploma.
3. Intellectual and creative development: liberal arts study allows one
to furnish one’s mind; develop talents and interests; realize a human
return on investment.
4. Affordable tuition: For all the outcry about rising tuition, real tuition
(the amount after institutional aid is subtracted) has gone down at fouryear private colleges over the past five years.
5. Manageable Debt: One in three private college students graduates
with no debt at all. Average debt for a college graduate is $27,000, which
equates to a modest car payment. A car will wear out in 10 years; a
college education appreciates over a lifetime.
6. Sense of well-being. Throughout their lives, college graduates report
high levels of satisfaction with their college experience, and high levels
of well-being in general (based on results from Gallup polls for 50
years).
7. Ability to contribute to the common good. Admittedly, the
“common good” can be an abstract concept, but speaking in practical
terms, college graduates are reliable tax payers and informed
participants in society. Compared to those who do not go to college,
college graduates use less federal resources, vote more, and volunteer
more.
So, if some categories of institution are doing an obviously poor job of
accomplishing what they promise, and other categories are doing a good job
of delivering more than they promise, why is there so much undifferentiated
criticism these days about the value of higher education?
In large part there is heightened concern and scrutiny because of financial
crises, desperation about unemployment, and alarm over America’s lost
standing in education worldwide, and this in spite of a lot of public money
poured into education. America lags behind in testing, is losing ground in
STEM (science, technology, engineering, math), and has very poor completion
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