In April, Yale University released a report on the state of public trust in higher education. A year in the making, the report is a comprehensive document analyzing why trust in institutions of higher education has declined so precipitously and how Yale, as one such institution, should combat it. It identifies three factors behind this erosion of trust: the price of higher education, an opaque admissions system, and the campus environment for free speech. Underlying all of these is “widespread uncertainty about the fundamental purpose and mission of higher education,” a much more fundamental challenge. “Trust,” the report says, “is earned by doing what you say you’re going to do—and ideally, doing it well.”
What is it that colleges and universities are supposed to be doing? For most students (not to mention the families and taxpayers who often subsidize their education) the answer is preparing them for a good career that ideally makes the time and money spent in study worth the investment. Yet the report’s authors acknowledge that, “for many students, the economic return on higher education has become uncertain at best.” Combine the questionable ROI and uncertain job prospects with campus controversies and the larger political environment, and it is a recipe that sooner or later will turn the public perception of higher education sour.
Questioning the return on investment for a college degree is certainly something we’ve encountered in our own research. In a survey conducted last May, we found that 76 percent of voters said colleges and universities charge more than what a degree is worth. More recently, a 54 percent majority of voters said they did not believe most college graduates today are ready to enter the workforce (only 36 percent did). Baked into voters’ concerns about the cost are the job graduates can get after college, the salary it commands relative to what they have to pay for the degree, and the earnings lost by attending college rather than entering the workforce.
At first glance, the Yale report does not really address this half of the cost equation. It does not talk about ensuring its graduates are ready for the workforce, creating employment pipelines, or aligning its course offerings with employer needs. In large part, it doesn’t have to. College Scorecard data indicates that the median yearly earnings for Yale graduates are $112,971—more than double the median earnings of graduates who attended other four-year institutions. Yale’s Office of Career Strategy reports that over 95 percent of the class of 2025 was employed or in graduate school six months after graduation. Sixty-four percent reported starting salaries exceeding $70,000. As the report itself notes, “an Ivy League education also opens doors to prestigious careers and opportunities.” On balance, the Yale grads are likely going to be OK.
But as stated in the report, employment and earnings are not all that matter. “Educational value cannot be reduced to a future paycheck. The value of higher education also includes the public contributions of graduates in public health, nonprofit administration, secondary teaching, the arts, local journalism, government service, and basic scientific research, among other fields.” What’s more, the impact of technological changes on the job market means it will be impossible to identify which discrete skills will be the most lucrative or employable. As the report argues:
The evolving nature of the job market is also an argument for the broad, flexible, and time-tested form of education known as the liberal arts. A liberal arts education—which includes the sciences and social sciences as well as the arts and humanities—equips students with foundational wisdom and critical skills that will serve them throughout their lives. (emphasis added)
This is an incredibly important concept the report surfaces. A broad-based education—a liberal arts education—equips students with high-order cognitive skills like critical thinking that are indispensable for leading a rich, full life.
