Learning is a process that begins at birth and continues until death that results from interactions between oneself, other people and the environment. To avoid learning is to cease improvement; the more you learn, the better prepared you are to face the world. Learning is deeply ingrained into society, serving as a pathway to greater opportunities and experiences. And yet, the price of learning at a higher level of education has risen drastically, leaving students with high debts to pay fresh out of school.
One would think it would be okay to be a little bit in debt because a higher education equates to more opportunities in the job market, right? While it’s true that a bachelor’s degree can significantly improve a person’s employability, it’s becoming easier for people who only hold a high school diploma to become employed. According to the Burning Glass Institute, the number of jobs requiring a college degree fell from 51% in 2017 to 44% in 2021. Companies have been consistently removing requirements from roles (like a bachelor’s degree) in an effort to privatize skills over degrees, creating a more diverse workforce and increasing the number of applicants. Although the presence of a bachelor’s degree has the potential to hold its own on a resume, its value is depreciating, putting the bachelor’s degree in a strange limbo.
Some pursue higher education because they must and others because they want to, but ultimately, those who choose to do so are spending time and money to achieve greater knowledge and better prepare themselves for the different environments they might find themselves in. Yet the exorbitant tuition costs required to attend many undergraduate institutions stand as a tall barrier for many students. Furthermore, the financial aid process can be tricky to navigate, especially for first-generation college students. Higher education allows for personal growth, which translates to economic growth, equality and social mobility. For these reasons, higher education should be affordable, and although this is often not our current reality, there are a few things institutions (and the government) could implement to make degrees more accessible to earn:
1) Increasing federal funding
Taxes could be used to place money in an institution's hands and the institution could use the money given to fill the pay gap that students can’t fill themselves. Taxes are based on income and essentially, higher-income taxpayers would provide funding for these students to attend college.
2) Offer online learning options
Although learning online may not necessarily be ideal for all, having classes online does cut costs significantly, and depending on the program and classes, one may be able to finish in a shorter amount of time than if taken in person.
3) Prioritize grants over loans
When offering financial aid to students, institutions should prioritize suggesting/giving grants rather than loans. The major difference between the two is: A grant is a gift that doesn't need to be paid back, while loans are funds that need to be paid back within a specified time period, and often need to be paid with accrued interest. Grants would make it easier for students to pay their way through college and not have to worry about paying off debt fresh into the workforce.
The job market is in constant development, and only time can tell what future job security will look like and whether one’s field of study is a safe bet in our current economy. Although I hold different views about my eligibility in the workforce, I do believe that the job market will have something for me, whether or not that job pertains to my major. At the end of the day, in spite of the prices of higher education and the uncertainty of the job market, we are all learning to adapt and survive in this ever-changing world.
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of Andrews University. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, Andrews University or the Seventh-day Adventist church.