Looking at a college degree as a return on investment is always an interesting consideration. When looking internationally, in a country like France, the “return on investment” argument essentially disappears, given the cost of tertiary education rarely exceeds a few hundred dollars per year. However, the proportion of the population who acquires a bachelors is not much different than that of the United States. I wonder what factors contribute to the lack of increased utilization of tertiary education abroad when the return on investment case becomes moot.
The argument doesn't disappear. Someone still pays for the student's education: the taxpayer. What they consider their return on investment may be different, though. As to enrollment, I'll speculate that many European countries have better vocational paths that students follow, so they don't go to college (a good thing, I think). The U.S. vocational tracks aren't as robust and certainly aren't respected. Hence, more students go to college as the "only" thing to do.
I wonder how much business students, who earn a nonliberal arts degree, affect the difference between liberal and nonliberal arts degrees. The compensation in finance is outsized and successful business majors are often the biggest donors to their Alma Maters.
Good question. The nonliberal arts group is too big. I only stuck with it for comparison to the Brookings article. There is a lot more to explore and understand with this data. A future post.
Looking at a college degree as a return on investment is always an interesting consideration. When looking internationally, in a country like France, the “return on investment” argument essentially disappears, given the cost of tertiary education rarely exceeds a few hundred dollars per year. However, the proportion of the population who acquires a bachelors is not much different than that of the United States. I wonder what factors contribute to the lack of increased utilization of tertiary education abroad when the return on investment case becomes moot.
The argument doesn't disappear. Someone still pays for the student's education: the taxpayer. What they consider their return on investment may be different, though. As to enrollment, I'll speculate that many European countries have better vocational paths that students follow, so they don't go to college (a good thing, I think). The U.S. vocational tracks aren't as robust and certainly aren't respected. Hence, more students go to college as the "only" thing to do.
I wonder how much business students, who earn a nonliberal arts degree, affect the difference between liberal and nonliberal arts degrees. The compensation in finance is outsized and successful business majors are often the biggest donors to their Alma Maters.
Good question. The nonliberal arts group is too big. I only stuck with it for comparison to the Brookings article. There is a lot more to explore and understand with this data. A future post.