College degrees still pay off big-time for high school grads

 College degrees still pay off big-time for high school grads

The pandemic disrupted higher education, and that interrupted Texas’ march toward a more skilled workforce of the future.To get more news about 美国大学毕业证, you can visit jzjy001.com official website.

At Dallas College, a major educational gateway for local high school graduates, fall enrollment of 18- to 21-year-olds declined by 7,000 students from 2019 to 2021 — a drop of over 25%.

Over the same period, total enrollment statewide fell by 86,500 at community and state colleges, even while four-year universities surpassed their pre-pandemic enrollment levels.The major issue right now is the availability of entry-level jobs that pay $15, $16, $17 an hour or more,” said Harrison Keller, commissioner of higher education for Texas. “We have a significant number of students who’ve opted to work and put their educational plans on hold. But that creates a vulnerability for them and their families.”

About 4 million Texans filed for unemployment benefits during the pandemic, he said, and only about 3% had a bachelor’s degree compared with about 70% with a high school diploma. Last month, the unemployment rate for high school graduates was more than twice as high as for college grads.

“The first people to lose their jobs are those without the skills and credentials,” Keller said. “There’s a striking correlation between unemployment and educational attainment, and that got amplified by the pandemic.”

The upshot is that postsecondary education, whether through a six-month certificate course or a multiyear degree program, remains as valuable as ever.

According to the Texas Workforce Commission, the state could add 1.4 million jobs by closing the gap between the skills and credentials most residents have today and the skills required for new positions.

“The economy is moving faster than anyone expected in the direction of higher skills and more credentials,” Keller said.

Dallas County Promise, a program to help students from economically disadvantaged schools complete college, has also seen a decline in college enrollment. The program includes a coalition of school districts, colleges, employers and more, and over 21,000 seniors are eligible.Many young people went to work to support their families during the pandemic, said Katrina James, managing director of Dallas County Promise. At the same time, colleges were converting to virtual learning, which failed to engage many students.

“A group of young people now knows what it’s like to bring in a steady paycheck, and they may not understand just how much more they may earn by obtaining a degree,” James said. “It’s hard to present a compelling argument about why they should pass up a paycheck now for a bigger paycheck later.”

The key, she said, is to explain the return on investment because education can have a high payoff. Dallas College, for example, said that investing the time and money into an associate’s degree will generate $900,000 over a 40-year work career. A certificate program can be worth over $700,000, the school said.Among those ages 25 to 35, 72% of college graduates had a good job compared with 32% of high school graduates. Disparities are even more pronounced for women and people of color; among Hispanic and Black women with a high school diploma, fewer than 20% have good jobs, the study said.

“People who go to community college tend to be oriented toward local labor markets, and when those markets are hiring — and wages are climbing — many are going to take the job,” said Anthony Carnevale, director of the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce. “But when you say you don’t need to go to college, you’re running against the trend.”