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UC Berkeley Engineering Commencement, May 16, 2010. Ben Chaney via Flickr

A recent Pew Research Center survey reflects a growing public discontent with the cost and value of higher education in the United States.

According to the telephone survey, 75% of Americans surveyed say college is too expensive to afford, while 57% surveyed believe that “higher education in the U.S. fails to provide a good value.” Almost half of all college graduates say student loan payments made it difficult to “pay other bills”, and 48% of those without a college degree said “they could not afford to go to college.”

However, the same survey shows that 94% of parents “expect their child to attend college.” In addition, most adults “believe that they are earning $20,000 more a year as a result of” getting a college education. Interestingly enough, 86% of graduates believe college to be a good personal investment.

The survey, released this past May, delivers statistics essential to a growing debate about the value of a college education.

Student Debt Increases

The Project on Student Debt reports that college costs are rising at three times the rate of inflation. The report adds that the average debt accrued by a college graduate was at $23,200 in 2008. According to Education Trust, a non-profit research organization out of Washington, D.C., the cost of attendance covered by the Federal Pell Grant dropped from 77% in 1980 to 36% in 2007.

Does College Prepare You for a Career?

The Pew Research Center survey shows that almost three-quarters of four-year college graduates said college “helped them grow intellectually”, while just over half said college “prepared them for a career.” This battle over the mission of higher education is demonstrated in the following statistic: 47% of the general public believes the purpose of higher education is to “teach work-related skills and knowledge” as opposed to 39% who believe it is for personal and intellectual development.

The Great Debate

Opponents of college education have begun making headlines, including one who caused a national stir by offering 20 current college students $100,000 to quit school and start a business. Yet, a recent report from Georgetown University’s Center on Education shows that today’s college graduate are earning 84% more in their lifetimes than those without a college degree.

Lumina Foundation Head Jamie Merisotis said the report “explodes once again the myth that somehow a college education is worth less than it used to be.

Leadership Learning Circle’s “secret sauce” of success word cloud. Beth Kanter, April 4, 2011 via Flickr, Creative Commons Attribution.

A report released last year by the OECD shows the United States falling from world leader to average in the areas of math, science and reading education.

Karin Zeitvogel, of AFP reports “The three-yearly OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) report, which compares the knowledge and skills of 15-year-olds in 70 countries around the world, ranked the United States 14th out of 34 OECD countries for reading skills, 17th for science and a below-average 25th for mathematics.”

While there are speculations about the political, economic and sociological causes of this fall, the main blight of the United States education model lies in the system itself.

Reinvent the System

For years, students have been taught under an educational system that measures learning by the use of standardized tests. This method utilizes an input/output form of education, where the student simply memorizes material only to “regurgitate” it later on an exam. Alternatively, today’s students need a learning environment that encourages independence, initiative and discovery Author and Forbes columnist Steve Denning debunks this, calling for education to be “reinvented” using these five fundamental, interdependent shifts.

Challenge and Inspire Students

Teachers can no longer depend on their own knowledge to prepare students for future success. Through the Internet, students in the 21^st century have access to virtually any field of knowledge in the world. Teachers must recognize this and shift from being the “source” of knowledge to the “enabler” of learning. Inspiring students to seek out these learning opportunities will benefit them in the future, making them life-long learners. Nationally recognized generational expert Tim Elmore cites an example of an associate dean who makes learning an experiential process for his students.

Develop a Culture of Learning

In today’s fast paced world, information travels instantaneously through social media and online blogs. Administrators must challenge teachers to remain informed about current trends and events, while engaging students in real-world examples. This will create a culture of learning that will not only benefit the teacher, but also enhance student engagement in and out of the classroom. For example, utilize city building plans or current construction projects as math problems. Providing students with real-world examples can remove the monotony and irrelevance associated with learning basic math, science and reading skills. Also, by utilizing current technology, students are more apt to produce quality work.

By reframing the approach to the way we teach and learn, our educational system will resume producing life-long learners that make an impact on the world.