Here comes a new poll by Issues & Insights. It finds that the public has soured on college education as the universal panacea for career success in our difficult environment, a role it has held since the late 1940s. They report:
The national online poll, taken Feb. 24 to Feb. 27, asked 1,456 adults: “Do you believe a four-year college degree is worth the cost for most Americans today, or not?”
The answer indicates serious erosion in how Americans view the value of higher education. Overall, of those responding, 59% selected “Not worth the cost,” while just 24% picked “Worth the cost.” Another 16% weren’t sure. The poll has a +/-3.0 percentage-point margin of error.
(By comparison, as recently as 2013, a Gallup Poll found that 70% of Americans believed college was worth the price.)
I'm thinking higher education has finally jumped the shark. It has gotten so expensive, so ideologically driven, and so impractical that its former luster is gone.
On a personal note, the DrsC were fortunate to hit the higher ed "sweet spot" of post-war growth and boom times. Also fortunate to retire before the momentum faded and the emphasis on merit was lost.
We can take credit only for recognizing opportunity when it showed up, and jumping aboard. Most of the decline has occurred since we retired - which we did just a skosh early.
