People without education past high school earn significantly less than those with bachelor’s degrees and are more likely to be unemployed and live in poverty. They’re more prone to depression, live shorter lives, need more government assistance, pay less in taxes, divorce more frequently, and vote and volunteer less often.
Higher ed promotes critical thinking, independent thought, inquisitiveness, and curiosity. It exposes people to diverse ideas and culture. It helps people better understand basic principles of democracy and equality, how to deal with complexity and difference in society, and it teaches them that the resolution of disagreement through compromise is not capitulation, it is a sign of a healthy, fact-driven, democratic, human existence.
Educational attainment alone is now a more powerful predictor of a region’s economic success than everything else combined.
The economy’s shift from high-paying manufacturing jobs to technology-mediated office work requiring college education has made life more challenging, broadening the popular appeal of authoritarianism. While a global phenomenon, we’re seeing the growing appeal of strict obedience to authority at the expense of personal freedom here in the United States.
Read more: Higher ed’s role in democracy, citizenship, and our overall prosperity »
Education has a long-recognized role in promoting community-driven values like citizenship and democracy. That means working to help more people obtain credentials of value that will strengthen economic prosperity, while preserving human dignity and promoting active civic engagement.
A new GALLUP/Lumina report reveals we're defining higher ed’s value too narrowly. The report provides powerful evidence that Americans with college-level learning—even those who haven’t earned a degree—benefit in ways beyond enhanced earning power. So do their communities and this country.
Learn More
