Degree Can Change Your Life
Bruce D. Benson
President, University of Colorado
Fort Collins Coloradoan
July 28, 2008

There has been some debate recently about the monetary value of a college degree. Some say people with a bachelor's degree earn nearly $1 million more than high school graduates over a wage-earning lifetime. Others suggest that with tuition cost and lost work years factored in, the gap is less.

So who's right? In the end, it doesn't really matter. Earning a college degree certainly means more income over a lifetime, only the amount is in dispute. The larger, more-important point is that a college education changes lives. It is a path to opportunity. Along with benefits to the individual, higher education adds value to families, communities and society.

In addition to increased earning, a college education provides value in other ways. Studies show college graduates have more economic stability and opportunity, greater job satisfaction and are less likely to depend on government assistance. They have more hobbies and greater opportunities for leisure and artistic activities. They are even healthier, as are their children.

The process of earning a degree also has benefits that last a lifetime. Research shows that college graduates are generally better at analytical thinking, have the ability and desire to be lifelong learners, demonstrate an enthusiasm for challenges and responsibilities and have a broader base of knowledge to build on as they proceed through their lives. Once earned, a college degree is forever. It's a ticket to a better future whose value keeps paying off.

In addition, as Americans know from long experience, it means a higher quality of life and more opportunity for the children of those who go to college and for succeeding generations.

Higher education also has a high rate of return for communities and for society. College graduates are much more likely to vote and participate in civic life than those without degrees. They are also engaged in the lives of their communities at higher rates.

Society benefits from the responsible citizens higher education produces. It also gets an educated work force, which is particularly important in our state, with its focus on high-tech industries and health care, among other areas. Many think employers choose Colorado because of its beauty, which certainly can be a factor. But a bigger factor is that our colleges and universities provide skilled employees who help their businesses thrive. Higher education also produces businesses in its own right. Technology and innovation that emerged from University of Colorado research laboratories was responsible for the creation of 44 new companies over the past five years.

The research enterprise at colleges and universities provides society with new knowledge and innovation. In Colorado, we are fortunate to have universities conducting research in fields important to the state and nation, including renewable/sustainable energy, health care, geosciences, aerospace engineering and biomedicine.

Given these benefits, we should do all we can to continue to ensure that higher education remains important to Coloradans. It's great if students choose to attend one of the University of Colorado's campuses, but that doesn't really matter either. Whether they select CU, Colorado State University, Front Range Community College or Harvard, the important thing is that they go. The benefits are clear, but the true value is that higher education transforms lives.