Degrees of Doubt: When Higher Education Misses the Mark
I perhaps have a contrarian view of the utility of some higher education courses. This opinion has developed over the last 20 years or so, talking and interacting with younger staff I employed within my past business. Degree courses seem to have somewhat transformed into a business model, more influenced by volume over suitability of the course and proper weight being given to the future earning and retirement outcome expectations the course will achieve.
To use a fishing analogy, casting the net wide doesn't necessarily provide the optimal catch quality, although the quantity of catch can still generate a higher revenue overall if the university business model is more focused on income generation over academic success.
I question the suitability of some degree courses that, to my mind, are not well matched to employer needs. Not being an educator, my expertise is very limited and is based solely on observation. But I found that the one thing I always expected from an employee with a degree-level education was the ability for critical thinking. This has sadly not been the case on numerous occasions. Could this be related to the "cast the net wide" analogy? On balance, it seems probable.
Moving on from academic quality or maybe I should use a less inflammatory “mismatch with the demand side for graduates” wording we come next to earning and retirement outcomes. With this subject we can get onto more of a data driven firmer footing than my previous personal impressions. For instance, studies indicate that approximately 20-28% of all undergraduates, depending on the specific degree course and various contributing factors, may achieve lower lifetime earnings and consequently poorer retirement outcomes than individuals who do not pursue a university degree. This significant minority underscores my earlier point about a 'mismatch with the demand side for graduates,' demonstrating that not all degree paths lead to the promised financial uplift.
Here are the studies that provide data for this claim:
Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS): "The impact of undergraduate degrees on lifetime earnings" https://ifs.org.uk/publications/impac... (This study states that "around one in five undergraduates would have been better off financially had they not gone to university.")
FREOPP: "Is College Worth It? A Comprehensive Return on Investment Analysis" https://freopp.org/whitepapers/is-col... (This analysis finds that "Twenty-eight percent of bachelor's degree programs have negative ROI when adjusting for the risk of non-completion.")
A rough estimation for new undergraduate enrollments in a typical year would likely be in the range of 2.5 to 3.5 million students. This includes those starting associate's or bachelor's degrees for the first time. If we use very conservative figures and assume 15% of 2 million students achieve lower income and retirement outcomes because of degree unsuitability or labour mismatch the figures become quite stark. Approximately 300,000 possible lower retirement outcomes.
If we think about this yearly number and extend it over a single typical working lifetime of 40 years we have a 40 year pipeline of graduates heading towards poorer living and retirement standards. That's 12 million people. This strongly indicates that starting a degree course may be a poor life decision for a very large number of people. Pause and think of the scale. 12 million poorer retirements just to “Experience the university lifestyle” I hope the memories are worthy because the course mismatch makes the financial outcome unworthy for a large minority who would possibly have been better served with a vocational educational experience.
I advocate strongly for vocational and higher education. There's no doubt in my mind that education is a vital component of our early life and continuing through a career. My issue is with the suitability of courses that are driven more by a commercial ethos rather than an educational ethos that lead to suboptimal outcomes. Thinking of our children and grandchildren going forward it would be wise of us to pay attention to this problem when helping them form opinions and choices for their future education needs. Be mindful that not all education experiences are equal.
To use a fishing analogy, casting the net wide doesn't necessarily provide the optimal catch quality, although the quantity of catch can still generate a higher revenue overall if the university business model is more focused on income generation over academic success.
I question the suitability of some degree courses that, to my mind, are not well matched to employer needs. Not being an educator, my expertise is very limited and is based solely on observation. But I found that the one thing I always expected from an employee with a degree-level education was the ability for critical thinking. This has sadly not been the case on numerous occasions. Could this be related to the "cast the net wide" analogy? On balance, it seems probable.
Moving on from academic quality or maybe I should use a less inflammatory “mismatch with the demand side for graduates” wording we come next to earning and retirement outcomes. With this subject we can get onto more of a data driven firmer footing than my previous personal impressions. For instance, studies indicate that approximately 20-28% of all undergraduates, depending on the specific degree course and various contributing factors, may achieve lower lifetime earnings and consequently poorer retirement outcomes than individuals who do not pursue a university degree. This significant minority underscores my earlier point about a 'mismatch with the demand side for graduates,' demonstrating that not all degree paths lead to the promised financial uplift.
Here are the studies that provide data for this claim:
Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS): "The impact of undergraduate degrees on lifetime earnings" https://ifs.org.uk/publications/impac... (This study states that "around one in five undergraduates would have been better off financially had they not gone to university.")
FREOPP: "Is College Worth It? A Comprehensive Return on Investment Analysis" https://freopp.org/whitepapers/is-col... (This analysis finds that "Twenty-eight percent of bachelor's degree programs have negative ROI when adjusting for the risk of non-completion.")
A rough estimation for new undergraduate enrollments in a typical year would likely be in the range of 2.5 to 3.5 million students. This includes those starting associate's or bachelor's degrees for the first time. If we use very conservative figures and assume 15% of 2 million students achieve lower income and retirement outcomes because of degree unsuitability or labour mismatch the figures become quite stark. Approximately 300,000 possible lower retirement outcomes.
If we think about this yearly number and extend it over a single typical working lifetime of 40 years we have a 40 year pipeline of graduates heading towards poorer living and retirement standards. That's 12 million people. This strongly indicates that starting a degree course may be a poor life decision for a very large number of people. Pause and think of the scale. 12 million poorer retirements just to “Experience the university lifestyle” I hope the memories are worthy because the course mismatch makes the financial outcome unworthy for a large minority who would possibly have been better served with a vocational educational experience.
I advocate strongly for vocational and higher education. There's no doubt in my mind that education is a vital component of our early life and continuing through a career. My issue is with the suitability of courses that are driven more by a commercial ethos rather than an educational ethos that lead to suboptimal outcomes. Thinking of our children and grandchildren going forward it would be wise of us to pay attention to this problem when helping them form opinions and choices for their future education needs. Be mindful that not all education experiences are equal.
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