| Abstract: |
It is not hard to imagine why some students and families question pursuing degrees, opt out of pursuing a degree, or struggle to complete degrees once they enroll. Going to college can be inaccessible, expensive, and present a major risk if one has to take on debt to do it. However, decades of research and economic trends show that individuals with a college degree have better outcomes--economic, psychological, social, physical--across their lifetimes than those without. These individuals go on to help build stronger communities, healthier societies, more productive economies, and inclusive democracies. The way people talk about college degrees and the full range of benefits they may bring, though, is not reaching students and families. In Michigan, high school graduates are not pursuing higher education like they used to. Since 2012, fewer Michigan high school graduates have enrolled in college (69.6% in 2012 versus 58.4% in 2022). Additionally, the state's Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) completion rates, one of the best indicators of whether students will enroll, have long hovered around 50 percent. It is evident that the reasons given to Michigan students and families to pursue a higher education are not overcoming the reasons to not enroll. Pew and Gallup polls show that confidence in institutions of higher education and their impact on students has declined, particularly among Republicans, over the last 10 years. Too often, however, conversations on the value of higher education do not include the long-term benefits. "How College Affects Students" is a 700-page tome that outlines research findings on how going to college affects students from enrollment to later in life from about 1960 to 2015. Instead of asking anyone to "do their own research," this report aims to make these findings more accessible and use them to drive aspirations and inform conversations about making educational and career decisions after high school. |