Falling behind in higher ed

I had been thinking about writing a piece on the value of higher education, but Peter McPherson, former president of my undergraduate alma mater Michigan State, and David Shulenburger have saved me some work in today's WSJ op-ed. Key points:

In Japan, Korea and Canada, more than 50% of young adults hold college degrees. Only 41% do in the United States.

The more educated a work force is the more value it adds to society. ... Since 1980, the gap between the earnings of those with bachelor's degrees and those with just high-school diplomas has widened. The ratio between the median earnings of men with the former and men with the latter grew to 1.99 in 2007 from 1.43 in 1980.

McPherson and Shulenburger argue that the US should set a goal of 55% of young adults with college degrees by 2025. Not sure that's the right number, but this is a discussion that we need to have, especially in light of all of the cuts in education funding that are taking place around the country. We will become a relatively poorer country if we do not figure out how to generate a higher percentage of young adults with college degrees.

The authors may be a bit too eager to let financing from the federal government play a key role in expanding access. Part of the debate needs to focus on access to higher education in terms of mode of delivery and cost. Tuition has tracked all too close to health care in terms of rising costs over the last 20 years. It is hard to see how we will make much progress on access to higher education without paying some attention to the cost side of the equation.