<p>IU Public Policy Institute Releases Report on Private, Public Value of Higher Education</p>
<p>When I read this I kept thinking, DUH! but if it helps anyone in there decision. </p>
<p>Among the report's findings:
College-educated people earn more. In the last quarter of 2010, the median weekly earnings for a full-time worker age 25 and over with less than a high school diploma were $438. A similar worker with a high school diploma could expect to earn $633. For those with a bachelor's degree, weekly earnings were $1,139 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2010).
College-educated people are less likely to be unemployed. In the last quarter of 2010, the unemployment rate for those with less than a high school diploma was 15.4 percent, compared to a rate of only 4.9 percent for those with a bachelor's degree or higher (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2009).
College-educated people are more likely to get workplace benefits. The percent of adults without health insurance is three times higher for those with only a high school diploma compared to those with a bachelor's degree or higher.
College-educated people are less likely to live in poverty. In 2009, 25.7 percent of those with less than a high school diploma lived below the poverty level. By merely completing high school, the percentage of those who lived below the poverty line is halved to 12.5 percent. For those with a bachelor's degree or higher, the percentage living below the poverty level falls to 3.9 percent (U.S. Census Bureau, 2009).
High-school dropouts are a cost to society while college-educated people contribute to society. Theaverage high school dropout will have a lifetime net fiscal contribution to society of approximately -$5,200 compared to +$793,079 for those who earn a bachelor's degree (Khatiwada et al., 2009).
College-educated people are less likely to be incarcerated. During 2006-07, nearly 10 percent of male high school dropouts ages 16-24 were incarcerated. The incarceration rate for those with a bachelor's degree or higher, the rate falls to only 0.2 percent.
College-educated people are healthier and their health costs are lower. One example: For chronic smokers - those who reported smoking daily - 25.3 percent have less than a high school diploma, compared to only 5.1 percent for those with a bachelor's degree. In Indiana, the percentage of chronic smokers by education is even more severe. In 2009, 32.9 percent of Hoosiers with less than a high school diploma were chronic smokers compared to a rate of only 5.1 percent for their peers with at least a bachelor's degree.
College-educated people are more likely to participate in our democracy. More than 61 percent of those with a bachelor's degree voted in the 2006 mid-term election compared to only 25.2 percent for those with less than a high school diploma (U.S. Census Bureau, 2008).</p>
<p>Full report:
Public</a> Policy Institute :: Policy Choices Home</p>