Everyone, it seems, is trying to measure the value of a college degree. For many elected officials in the states, that amount boils down to a fairly simple number: The earnings of the person who received that credential.
But while higher-education officials often tout the salary bonus conferred by a bachelor’s degree, for instance, many of those same officials worry about overrelying on wages as the only way to demonstrate the value of a college education.
Christina E. Whitfield, vice chancellor for research and analysis at the Kentucky Community and Technical College System, is taking a new approach. She has designed a “social-utility index” to calculate the social good of degree programs that lead to low-paying jobs that may nevertheless be important to communities.
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