Summary: The Importance Of Post-Secondary Education

Post-secondary education and degree completion has become more important to our nation’s economic success than ever before. In an effort to increase higher education attainment in the United States, President Obama has established a national goal of graduating five million more Americans by 2020. As the United States attempts to emerge from an economic downturn, there is a strong push at the national level to increase college-going among adults who have some college experience but no degree. According to the U.S. census bureau, approximately one fifth of adults age 25 and older have started college, earned some credit, but never completed (Shapiro et al., 2014). In Philadelphia, over 70,000 residents, age 25-64 years old, have started college …show more content…
Many non-completers have attempted to return to college but when they do they are faced with a host of challenges. For instance, having to figure out ways to balance college with work and a family, they may choose to enroll part-time which makes financial aid less available to them. Also, many adults may return to college only to find out that many of their credits are non-transferable or that they may need to first enroll in a long sequence of remedial education courses before they can start earning college credit. Further research needs to examine the obstacles that are preventing adult learners from completing their degree so that higher education practices and policies can more adequately serve adult …show more content…
According to College Board’s Education Pays (Baum, Ma and Payea 2007), going to college has both personal and national benefits including higher salaries, improved overall health, increased community service, and reduced dependence on public assistance and other social support programs. For individuals, a college degree can open doors to higher paying jobs where they can earn an estimated $1 million more than high school graduates. From a business and economic perspective, increasing the number of working adults with college degrees improves overall productivity because adults can easily apply their knowledge and skills directly and immediately to their work (Thornburgh, Glickman & Sheffer, 2005). Furthermore, for the Philadelphia region, it provides current and prospective businesses with the most valuable asset: a skilled and talented workforce. Adult college completion initiatives also have an impact that goes far beyond economic benefits: the children of adult completers will have a parent with college going experience, the word of college completion can be spread among community members, and adult completers can support others as they return to college (Thornburgh, Glickman at Sheffer,