People often ask “Is college worth it?” A research study from Strada Education has found that the best predictor for this question is relevance.
Meaning this: If you think the courses you took at college were relevant to your life and work after college, you’re also likely to think you received a good education (quality) and that it was worth the cost (value).
It’s not about how much you paid. It’s about whether you think what you learned was relevant. But the sad truth is that only 26% of working U.S. adults with college experience strongly agree that their education is relevant to their work and day-to-day life.
The challenge for educators is to develop curricula that is both perceived to be relevant by current students, and actually deemed relevant by former students. This isn’t an argument for ditching liberal arts or other “non-applied” subjects. It’s an argument for caring deeply about the future lives of our students and connecting instruction to the kinds of people we’re trying to help them become.
The report can be downloaded at no cost. Or listen to the author discuss the findings.