As we travel the country working with colleges and universities, the topic of the value of higher education remains one of our more frequent and most compelling discussions. Research continues to point to the long-term benefits of higher education in terms of lifetime income, healthier lifestyle, and contribution to civic responsibilities, yet we frequently hear from prospective families and students that the cost of attending college may outweigh its value.
Elon University's most recent poll, "High Impact Undergraduate Experiences and How They Matter Now," sheds some interesting light on what matters to students after college, as they look back on their experiences.
Here is one excerpt on the value of writing education:
"Emails are the most common kind of writing that graduates do for their job; 70% report doing so on a weekly basis. The next most common kinds of writing were client correspondence (36%), reports (32%), and social media posts (31%). The full list of writing types, and their frequencies, can be found in the topline results below. Writing a type of document that they have not encountered before was the most commonly named writing challenge facing recent graduates. 20% named this as their biggest writing challenge since graduating from college. 83% of graduates at least somewhat agreed with the statement, “My college prepared me well for the work-related writing I have done since graduating.” Only 9% disagreed with this statement."
Read the full report here. What do you find most interesting?
How does your college or university incorporate high-impact practices to foster student success and build retention? Credo offers a variety of workshops and a two-year, comprehensive, campus-wide student-success initiative called Moving The Needle to equip campuses with the tools and resources they need to build student success and retention. Learn more about these initiatives, as well as our additional student-centric services, on our Student Success page.
