Is Higher Education Worth It? Perspectives From Full-Time Higher Education Practitioners

• In Event: Labor, Socioeconomics, and Class Dynamics in Higher Education Practice

Abstract

The rising cost of college and subsequent student loan debt in the United States has led many stakeholders, college students included, to ask themselves the question, “Is higher education worth it?” An under-researched population—and a critical stakeholder group in college students’ journey—are higher education practitioners. As a result, this study engaged with 30 full-time higher education practitioners to explore how these practitioners view the economic value of higher education. Findings suggest practitioners view tuition costs to be too high, practitioners also acknowledged the problematic role that student loans play in institutional pricing. However, practitioners overwhelmingly viewed higher education as the surest path to upward socioeconomic mobility. Implications for research, policy, and practice are addressed.

Authors

• Elizabeth A. Rainey, Loyola University New Orleans

• Zach Taylor, John Burton Advocates for Youth

• Patrick Ziegler, Earnest Financial

• Debra Carter, University of Kansas

• Allison Maldonado, Stanford University

• Dana George, University of Alabama

• Karla A. Weber Wandel, University of Wisconsin - Madison