Friday Focus: The value of a degree

April 26, 2024

— By Dan White, chancellor

A week from tomorrow is one of my favorite days of the year, Commencement! It is inspiring to shake the hands of UAF graduates as they walk across the stage and receive the degrees they have worked so hard for. As students wrap up their finals and offices across the university prep for one of the biggest events of the year, I am thinking about the value of the degree that UAF students receive. A college diploma itself is just a piece of paper, but it symbolizes the achievement of a journey that started with a decision. A decision based on an analysis of puts and takes, or in other words, return on investment (ROI). 

For the past decade or so, there has been a national conversation about the value of a college degree. People from all different perspectives and backgrounds have been asking, is a college degree worth it? Before I answer that (spoiler alert - I am going to say YES), I need to know how you (or they) define “worth it”. Worth the financial investment? Worth the time? Worth the experiences? 

The simplest form of an ROI equation for a college degree is the return (what I will make) divided by the investment (what I paid - and am maybe still paying). Historically, the amount people pay for college has been returned back to them many times over in a lifetime of higher earnings. But that equation is way too simple. And just because the potential exists for one’s earnings (return) to not equal one’s costs (investment), that doesn’t mean a degree wasn’t worth it. It just depends on how you define returns and what role you expect(ed) or want(ed) your degree to play in your future earnings.

Currently, when a degree seeker is asking themselves if they want to attend college and which degree to choose, they are faced with many more questions than whether the most simple form of an ROI will be met. They should ask themselves; what job do I want, will the work I do be interesting to me, intellectually stimulating, personally or socially rewarding? Will it enable me to contribute to my family, community, or nation in a way that I want to, and will be proud of? What am I passionate about, what do I want to learn more about, how can my passions and interests contribute to my service to the community? Perhaps add to that, how long can I physically do the work, what are the hours, benefits, location? Will I get to work outside, or inside, or hands on or hands off? Which do I want? Is the job I can get with a given degree a job I plan to have for a few years or a few decades? How transferable is the skill, will I be able to support a family (if I want a family), or a lifestyle? Will a degree make me more able to pursue the passions I want to pursue? 

Some students seek a degree as the most direct path to the job. That is awesome. One of the most direct is the process technology program at the UAF Community and Technical College. Process tech offers certificates and degrees that prepare students for employment as an operations technician in the process industry, which includes oil and gas production, mining and milling, transportation and refining, chemical manufacturing, power generation, utilities, wastewater treatment facilities maintenance and food processing. This is a direct path to a well-paying job. Process technicians are needed throughout the industry in Alaska! 

Furthermore, CTC offers programs that can be completed within a year or up to two years. These programs, along with a Certified Nurse Aid, drafting, welding, diesel mechanic and many more are direct paths to well-paying jobs. CTC’s motto is “success discovered” and that is exactly what they do. 

That said, some students seek a degree for reasons that do not end in a specific job. In programs across UAF, students are pursuing education for fulfillment, growth, community, experiences, and connection. I know a commercial developer and a truck driver who both have philosophy degrees. Both have done amazing things, and are very successful in their lives and their chosen careers. One is arguably one of the most successful business people in all of Alaska. He got a degree in philosophy because he loves philosophy - not because his business is philosophizing (it is shipping). 

This leads me to another point. If you have a degree in philosophy, does that add value to your work and your life if  you are not a professional philosopher? Absolutely. It expands your understanding of how others see the world, how they contemplate and solve problems, and how they seize opportunities. It gives you the perspectives of many of the world’s great thinkers. That probably makes a better business owner, a more capable negotiator, and a better long term planner. These are definitely a return on investment.

Some come to college and obtain a degree for the experience. For the training in how to learn and how to engage in community. The mission of UAF is excellence through transformative experiences. Not every experience that transforms someone’s life will have a direct line to a higher salary. That doesn’t diminish the value of that experience at all, it merely means it needs to be measured in a different way. 

One example of this is our Climate Scholars intensives. Last summer, dozens of students floated the Yukon River for several weeks to learn about the environmental history of the land and meet with communities along the river. This was an incredible experience that will impact these students for the rest of their lives. There is also no way to directly measure how this experience might lead to higher salaries for students in their future careers. That is okay. In fact, that’s important. Being empowered with the skills and knowledge that come from transformative experiences is a return on investment 

As we think about commencement, graduation, and all of our graduates heading off into the world, I would like us to think that no matter where they are headed, the value they derive from their degree will be measured in many different ways - probably as many different ways as we have students. But taking all this into account, when I shake the graduates' hands crossing the stage next Saturday, I am confident in saying that yes, earning the degree is worth it (many times over). Congratulations graduates!

Thanks for choosing UAF.

Friday Focus is written by a different member of UAF’s leadership team every week.