College Affordability and Value: Are We Having the Right Conversation?

Over the last several years, there have been numerous articles and opinions concerning college affordability coupled with the declining value of a degree. Most recently, notable publications like The Wall Street Journal[1]  and The New York Times[2]  have published commentary on the matter, sparking debate about the value of higher education overall. Debate or not, the fact remains that a college education is the strongest vehicle we have for social and economic mobility—not the only vehicle, and certainly not the right vehicle for everyone, but arguably the most robust.

The stock market has returned about 10% per year since 1957; in 2020, returns on a college education varied from 13.5% to 35.9%[3] . By mid-career, according to Forbes[4] , college-educated workers are earning $18,000 more a year than high school-educated workers. Show me a better investment.

Our conversations and debates should not be about the affordability of college. Factoring in more affordable colleges and significantly discounted tuition for learners most in need of support, even at elite institutions, the average annual cost of tuition and fees for a full-time student is approximately $14,000[5] . In present dollar value, this represents a threefold increase since 1960. And while this is no small hardship for individuals struggling to afford basic needs in an economy where average earnings have only increased 1.3 times[6]  over the same period, it pales compared to the ninefold increases in housing and healthcare[7] , without similar ROI.

The real question is, how do we get more students to a credential and employment with as little debt as possible?

The percentage of the population that holds a degree rose from 7.7% to 37.7% between 1960 and 2020[8] . Congratulations to the U.S. for such great progress in educating your citizens. However, the rate at which students drop out of college and are burdened by debt without a degree is unacceptable and contributes to debt without ROI.

Further, there is a far greater impact on Latinx and Black learners. Almost half of all Black and Latinx students drop out as compared to 30% for White learners. And with changing demographics, we will serve more and more diverse learners. The personal and societal repercussions of noncompletion are not sustainable.

Higher education has to reimagine how to serve today’s learner and provide a pathway to the future. The university of the future must embrace several key elements to remain relevant and achieve its full potential as a public good and an engine of economic mobility.

1. Reduce costs for students

Institutions must find a way to keep costs in check for our students. At NLU, we’ve reviewed every aspect of the institutional enterprise to improve efficiency and efficacy, resulting in an undergraduate tuition structure with zero out-of-pocket costs for students in the lowest income bracket who receive maximum state and federal financial aid.

Utilization of e-books, adaptive learning platforms, and creative course delivery models have reduced costs and built pedagogical efficiencies that improve quality and student outcomes. Advising has become far more sophisticated and efficient by automating administrative minutia and implementing predictive analytics. With inefficiencies in check, the institution’s number one priority can be deploying resources to drive student success.

2. Embrace a lifelong learning model

We need to broaden the way we define successful credential attainment and move to a true model of lifelong learning where learning is engineered to build toward increasingly higher credentials.

NLU’s Accelerate U program focuses on building short-term credentials that lead to employment and “stack” toward a degree. So, if a student quits or cannot afford a four- to six-year journey to a bachelor’s degree, they can still begin their journey to economic mobility in smaller doses. Students earning a Medical Assistant, Registered Behavior Technician, Cisco Certified Network (IT) Associate or other credential through Accelerate U are able to improve their employment prospects until they’re ready to continue their education journey.

3. Focus on employment outcomes

Employment outcomes should be a key measure of success. Currently, 37% of learners are first generation students[9]  who are more likely to come from lower socioeconomic backgrounds and face more obstacles to remaining in college. To help them achieve the ROI of their education investment, institutions must intentionally help these students gain competence in durable soft skills, career development, and placement. Every student deserves support from education to employment, and first -generation students, in particular, will require even more support to build networks and navigate the journey from completion to employment.

We can continue to react to the sound bites from political pundits who regale us with questions about the affordability or value of higher education distracting us from the real issues underpinning these questions. Or we can get down to work to innovate on behalf of our students to keep costs in check and build pathways to economic and social opportunity for all our learners, building strong individual lives, communities, and a vibrant economy.