Essay Is higher education really worth it? By Benjamin Woodward	フレームで見る  英文をプリントする  脚注をプリントする
高等教育は本当に受ける価値があるか 経済は沈滞し、働き口が減り、貧富の差が広まる中、アメリカでは大学に進学する人の数が増えているという。それもたいていは、数十年かけて返済するローンを組んでのことだ。どうしてまで学士号を取る意味が果たしてあるのだろうか。

Despite the dire state of the economy, with fewer jobs and growing wealth inequality, more Americans than ever are electing to go to college. But in doing so, most are compelled to take out hefty loans to pay the ever-increasing fees for the four years it takes to complete a bachelor's degree -- loans that can take decades to repay. So is college worth it? This is the question that many media commentators have been asking over the past few months.

Undergraduate tuition has tripled over the last 30 years and student-loan debt has soared. Total student-loan debt has now surpassed total credit-card debt at more than $800 billion (¥62 trillion), and two-thirds of students graduate owing an average of $24,000 (¥1.9 million). Add to this reports of rising unemployment for recent graduates, as well as increasing corporatization and falling standards in colleges. Perhaps college isn't really worth it.

Whether college ultimately justifies the expense depends largely on one's expectations (and one's parents' pockets). Some students undertake a degree for vocational training or as a step toward entering law or medicine. Others believe in expanding their intellectual horizons, or see it as a place to meet and mingle with their peers. Some see it as a means of escaping a disadvantaged background. Others see it as just that thing you do after high school and before you get a job.

The problem, though, of asking if college is worth it is that many of its benefits are not immediately quantifiable. Grades may measure one's intellectual ability, but for many people wondering whether they should go to college, the sheer expense and the prospect of debt demands more concrete proof that higher education is worth it, particularly in a society that prioritizes getting more bang for one's buck. Hence the preoccupation with future income -- and here a college education does apparently put one ahead. In 2008, the difference in annual income between someone with a bachelor's degree and someone with only a high school education was more than $25,000 (¥1.9 million).

There is nevertheless something disheartening about reducing college and all one's experiences there to this utilitarian perspective. It can be misleading, too, as the logic behind claims that higher education for all means better-paying jobs for all is flawed. Lured by talk of higher incomes, more people apply and take on debt at cash-strapped colleges. The result is an often sloppy education, a glut of fresh graduates (in a recession no less), and a consequent devaluing of the degree.

Meanwhile, behind the debate over the worth of a college degree lies the failure of high schools to provide young people with a basic education. Inadequate public funding for high schools means many are not getting the education they need despite the best efforts of teachers, and a common lament on college campuses is that new students are not equipped with even the basic skills and knowledge. So, perhaps the answer to the question "Is college worth it?" is: Yes, because it makes up for the deficiencies of high school. But surely there is something wrong with a system where that is the case.

Shukan ST: August 26, 2011

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