January 4, 2011

Recent Grads Affirm Value of College Education

Mirroring previous findings, the American Council on Education (ACE) released results from a survey of recent college graduates that confirms a high level of satisfaction with the quality and utility of American higher education, but also reflects a growing sense that students and families should take more responsibility for paying for higher education.

Among the findings:

• 89 percent believed their education was worth it—even after considering the time and money required to attend.
• 28 percent said that preparing a student for a career was the primary goal of a higher education, while 31 percent said that learning to think critically was the most important role.
• 40 percent stated that the student and family should be primarily responsible for funding a higher education, followed by the federal and state governments.