With tuition, textbooks, rent and other expenses that plague the everyday college student, it may be a surprise that most Floridians feel a college education is a good investment.
According to new survey results by UF’s Center for Public Issues Education, 77 percent of respondents with a college degree said higher education is a good investment, and 85 percent believe a degree will pay off financially.
Researchers from the center asked 523 Florida residents ages 18 and older their opinion on higher education in the state. Development Director for the center Tracy Irani said this specific survey was special because it coincided with the 150th anniversary of the land-grant university system.
The survey questions were about college affordability, personal experience and employment impact.
More than half of the respondents said college is too expensive, and 20 percent said they expect costs to continue to rise. Being unable to afford a college education and needing to support a family were the main reasons some said they didn’t attend.
“I think tuition at most public universities is excessive,” said Alex Radulescu, a UF electrical engineering sophomore. “UF is still reasonably cost-effective, but that might not be the case a few years down the road.”
Radulescu, 18, also said he thinks having a college degree is necessary for people who want to have a career.
Of the respondents surveyed without a high school diploma, 72 percent felt a college education would increase their wages significantly. About half of the 26 percent of respondents who relied on student loans remain in debt. Almost 60 percent said their student loans made it harder to make ends meet, Irani said.
“Despite all of the concerns, respondents of this study definitely think public higher education is a good investment, and we in the academic enterprise have to continue to do our part to make sure it stays that way,” she said.
