April 21, professor Henry Levin (Columbia University) talk about why it is important to invest in the education of disadvantaged.
Even when disadvantaged students are able to enter higher education in the U.S., they are unlikely to complete a degree. Most such students seek a two year, associate degree from a local community college with the hope of transferring to a four year university to complete the BA degree. However, less than one-fifth of such students succeed in completing the two year associate degree.
This presentation reviews the costs and benefits of a public investment to increase the community college completion rate of the disadvantaged. As an investment there are public benefits from degree completion in the form of increased tax revenues of graduates and reduced public costs of crime, health, and public assistance. The economic benefits of this public investment are found to be far greater than their costs, contributing to greater equity and social efficiency.
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