There has been a lot of debate recently on the importance of increasing the number of college graduates in the US.  Proponents of efforts to increase the enrollment and graduation of students in US colleges and universities argue that unless we increase the level of education of our workforce we will not be able to maintain our standards of living due to the increasingly competitive and interconnected world we live in.  The fear is that unless we can raise the level of education in the US, American workers will be increasingly limited to low wage opportunities, while the rest of the world continues to grab a larger share of the type of jobs that require a higher level of education and intellect, and therefore command higher wages.

But many oppose this idea that we should be pushing American students to pursue an academic degree.  Their argument is that college is not for everybody, and many of these students would be better off attending some type of apprenticeship program where they can quickly obtain critical skills required to enter the workforce.  They point out that many students are accumulating an inordinate amount of debt pursuing an elusive college degree that never gets completed, or does not lead to the types of highly paid positions that one would expect, either because these students don’t excel or because the education that they attain does not directly translate to marketable skills.

In an article published recently in the USA Today it was reported that an increasing number of educators, economist and policy analysts question whether it is realistic to push students into college even if the odds of academic success is low.

A recent debate on this subject was televised on PBS, and you can view it here:

 

For those of us interested in the art and science of success, this discussion leads to the subject title of this article – Is a College Degree Critical to Success?  Many people will quickly point out that there are plenty of examples of extraordinary success obtained by people who either never went to college or simply dropped out.  Perhaps the world’s most well known example is Bill Gates.  But even Bill is a proponent of increasing the rate of college graduations, and he is putting his money to action to reinforce his belief.  Bill has poured more than $2 billion into programs and scholarships to help more students complete college.

But despite of the skepticism, more and more people are convinced that a college degree is a very important component of a person’s success journey.  In fact, according to Public Agenda, which has conducted multiple surveys on the topic, since 2000 the percentage of Americans who believe college is essential to success in today’s world has gone from 31% to 55%.  Public Agenda’s Jean Johnson points out in a USA Today article that “There’s beginning to be a lot of concern among the American public that … if you don’t get into that upper tier, you’re going to struggle your whole life”.

There is no guarantee that a college degree will bring you success.  In fact, studies by Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce have found that about 25% of those with a bachelor’s degree earn less than those with two years degree.  But research consistently shows that, on average, people that earn a college degree are more successful than those that don’t both economically and beyond.