The New York Times ( NYT ) reported on the 5th (local time) that awareness of the necessity of college education is rapidly decreasing among Americans . While the total cost of graduating from college, including tuition, has risen significantly, the perception that attending college is an “unprofitable investment” is growing because a college diploma does not guarantee stable profits.
According to the results of a survey conducted by public opinion research firm Gallup last June, only 36% of Americans had confidence in higher education. This is a significant decrease from 2015 (57%) and 2018 (48%). In another poll, 45% of Generation Z (born between 1995 and 2004) responded that “a high school diploma is enough to earn a sufficient income.” Gallup’s 2021 survey found that 46% of American parents said they did not want their children to attend a four-year college after graduating from high school.
The number of students enrolled in universities continues to decline. While the number of undergraduate students enrolled in universities across the United States exceeded 18 million in 2010, the number fell below 15.5 million in 2021. The number of people has decreased by as much as 2.5 million in 13 years.
Until 2016, more than 70% of high school graduates entered college, but the college enrollment rate has recently decreased to 62%.
This pattern of change in the United States is completely opposite to the increase in the number of college graduates in other developed countries. Since 2000, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development ( OECD)) The bachelor’s degree acquisition rate among young people in member countries increased by more than 20% on average. The number of undergraduate students in the UK increased by 12% compared to 2016, while in the US it decreased by 8% over the same period. In Canada, 67% of adults aged 25 to 34 graduated from a two- or four-year university, which is about 15 percentage points higher than in the United States.
NYT analyzed, “The cost of receiving a college education in the United States is rapidly increasing, but the income earned after graduating from college is decreasing.” In the United States, the ‘wage premium’, which refers to the wage gap between college graduates and high school graduates, has gradually increased since the 1980s. In the early 2000s, the wage gap between them exceeded 60% and has hovered around 65% since then.
However, last year, tuition at four-year메이저사이트 private and public universities in the United States nearly doubled compared to 1992. The total cost of attending a private university in the United States for one year, including living expenses, is estimated at $58,000 per year. As the number of college students taking out tuition loans to cover costs has increased, their total debt has increased to $1.6 trillion, more than three times higher than in 2007 ($500 billion).
In comparison, tuition at public universities in Canada and Japan is about $5,000 per year, and tuition at universities in France, Germany, Denmark, and Germany is free.
It has been found that 40% of college students in the United States do not graduate, and the likelihood of receiving a high salary varies depending on the major. According to a study by Professor Douglas Weber of Temple University, if you have a degree in business administration or engineering, there is a 75% chance of receiving a high salary, but if you major in arts or humanities, it is difficult to guarantee a high salary.
NYTpointed out, “The decline in college graduates will cause an economic loss of $1.2 trillion in the U.S. economy by 2030, which must be borne by American society.” According to a report by consulting firm Korn Ferry, there will be a shortage of 6.5 million college graduates in the U.S. labor market by 2030.