{"id":190202,"date":"2024-01-16T14:16:23","date_gmt":"2024-01-17T00:16:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=190202"},"modified":"2024-01-16T14:16:23","modified_gmt":"2024-01-17T00:16:23","slug":"uhero-returns-to-higher-ed-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2024\/01\/16\/uhero-returns-to-higher-ed-report\/","title":{"rendered":"<abbr>UHERO<\/abbr>: <abbr>UH<\/abbr> degrees affordable, significant return on investment"},"content":{"rendered":"<span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Reading time: <\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> 2<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutes<\/span><\/span><p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/manoa-uhero-value-higher-ed-report.jpg\" alt=\"people with graduation caps and gowns\" width=\"676\" height=\"381\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-190203\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/manoa-uhero-value-higher-ed-report.jpg 676w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/manoa-uhero-value-higher-ed-report-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/manoa-uhero-value-higher-ed-report-130x73.jpg 130w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 676px) 100vw, 676px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>A college education from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/\">University of <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> 10 campuses<\/a> offers a significant return on investment, no matter the degree type&#8212;and has gotten more affordable over the last decade, according to a <a href=\"https:\/\/uhero.hawaii.edu\/estimating-the-returns-to-higher-education-using-administrative-data-a-case-study-of-the-university-of-hawaii-system\/\"><abbr title=\"University of Hawaii\">UH<\/abbr> Economic Research Organization (<abbr>UHERO<\/abbr>) report<\/a> released January 16, 2024. Using data from a census of <abbr>UH<\/abbr> students, <abbr>UHERO<\/abbr> researchers found that lifetime earnings are:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>$2.8 million for bachelor\u2019s degree holders, 27&#37; higher compared to those who left the program without a degree<\/li>\n<li>$2.7 million for Associate of Science (<abbr>AS<\/abbr>) and Associate of Applied Science (<abbr>AAS<\/abbr>) degree holders, 22&#37; higher than compared to those who left without a degree<\/li>\n<li>33&#37; higher for certificate holders compared to those who left without completing their program (nine years after graduation)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Associate in Arts degree holders who go on to earn their bachelor degrees see an even higher increase in financial benefits because of the lower cost of community college tuition.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The main takeaway is that despite this narrative at the national level that college degrees aren\u2019t a worthwhile investment, we\u2019re finding that specifically from the University of <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> campuses, a college degree is definitely a worthwhile investment,&rdquo; said Rachel Inafuku, <abbr>UHERO<\/abbr> research economist and report author.<\/p>\n<h2>Affordability<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/manoa-uhero-higher-ed-report-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"people with caps and gowns\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-190204\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/manoa-uhero-higher-ed-report-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/manoa-uhero-higher-ed-report-130x73.jpg 130w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/manoa-uhero-higher-ed-report.jpg 676w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><abbr>UHERO<\/abbr> also found that while college tuition has significantly increased nationally over the last 20 years, even after adjusting for inflation, tuition within the <abbr>UH<\/abbr> system has become more affordable over the last decade. The report found that in-state tuition across <abbr>UH<\/abbr> campuses has seen a 3 to 5&#37; decrease in real terms since 2013&#8211;14, when accounting for the rise of inflation over the same time period.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Our mission is to provide a quality higher education to the people of <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> and the key is keeping it affordable,&rdquo; said <abbr>UH<\/abbr> Vice President for Academic Strategy Debora Halbert. &ldquo;One of the things that we\u2019ve really tried to do over the past few years is to ensure that our tuition isn\u2019t increasing at the same rate as other states have seen their tuition increase.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Tuition will continue to remain stable through 2027 after the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2023\/01\/19\/tuition-freeze-followed-by-modest-increases\/\"><abbr>UH<\/abbr> regents approved a tuition freeze<\/a> for all <abbr>UH<\/abbr> campuses with a 2&#37; increase at <abbr>UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa, <abbr>UH<\/abbr> Hilo and <abbr>UH<\/abbr> West <span aria-label=\"Oahu\">O&#699;ahu<\/span> scheduled for fall 2026 and fall 2027.<\/p>\n<h2>Boosts economic mobility<\/h2>\n<p>By using data on <abbr>UH<\/abbr> students who qualified for federal financial aid, specifically Pell Grants, the report also found that college completion significantly boosts economic mobility for individuals from lower socioeconomic households. <abbr>UHERO<\/abbr> researchers say a <abbr>UH<\/abbr> degree potentially eliminates labor market obstacles that this socioeconomic group typically faces, like up to 15&#37; less in wages compared to other groups.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We show that the University of <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> is a major promoter of social mobility across generations in the state so that kids coming out of lower socioeconomic households have higher rates of return,&rdquo; said Tim Halliday, <abbr>UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa professor of economics, <abbr>UHERO<\/abbr> research fellow and report author.<\/p>\n<p>To further assist students with proven financial need, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2023\/12\/19\/uh-priorities-included-in-gov-budget-2024-legislative-session\/\"><abbr>UH<\/abbr> is asking the legislature<\/a> to expand the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2023\/03\/20\/hawaii-promise-expansion\/\"><span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Promise scholarship<\/a> program to all 10 campuses. The scholarship, which covers direct costs of education not covered by federal grants and other scholarships, is currently only available to students at <abbr>UH<\/abbr>\u2019s seven community colleges.<\/p>\n<p>The <abbr>UHERO<\/abbr> report reaffirms decades of national data that typically shows that college graduates earn more money over their lifetimes; live longer, healthier lives; have more job opportunities; higher job satisfaction; are less likely to lose their job during an economic downturn; less likely to need government assistance; etc., compared to their peers who did not attend college.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/uhero.hawaii.edu\/estimating-the-returns-to-higher-education-using-administrative-data-a-case-study-of-the-university-of-hawaii-system\/\">See <abbr>UHERO<\/abbr> report<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><abbr>UHERO<\/abbr> is housed in <a href=\"https:\/\/socialsciences.manoa.hawaii.edu\/\"><abbr>UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa\u2019s College of Social Sciences<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><abbr>UHERO<\/abbr> researchers found that lifetime earnings are $2.8 million for bachelor\u2019s degree holders, 27&#37; higher compared to those who left the program without a degree.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[301,197,61,62,63,64,65,1026,71,14,9,60,947,59,343,66],"class_list":["post-190202","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-research","tag-college-of-social-sciences","tag-economics","tag-hawaii-community-college","tag-honolulu-community-college","tag-kapiolani-community-college","tag-kauai-community-college","tag-leeward-community-college","tag-social-science","tag-uh-community-colleges","tag-uh-hilo","tag-uh-manoa","tag-maui-college","tag-uh-system","tag-uh-west-oahu","tag-uhero","tag-windward-community-college","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/190202","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=190202"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/190202\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":190214,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/190202\/revisions\/190214"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=190202"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=190202"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=190202"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}