Why We May Not be the Envy of the World

 By Watson Scott Swail, President & CEO, Educational Policy  Institute/EPI International Earlier this week, CNN’s Fareed Zakaria wrote a piece in Time Magazine (also in a segment on CNN) titled The Thin Envelope Crisis about US Higher education with consideration of the letters that are currently going out to over one million students regarding their acceptance or rejection. As Zakaria says, “For all the problems with … Continue reading Why We May Not be the Envy of the World

Eyes Wide Open: Pulling Back the Curtain on Jobs and Education

January 7, 2013 by Dr. Watson Scott Swail, President & CEO, Educational Policy Institute Back in 2005, I wrote a piece for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation titled Is More Better? The Impact of Postsecondary Education on the Economic and Social Well-Being of American Society. The report concluded that college graduates receive higher wages, are more likely to be employed, and when unemployed, likely … Continue reading Eyes Wide Open: Pulling Back the Curtain on Jobs and Education

Do College Graduates Push High School Graduates out of the Economy?

by Watson Scott Swail, President & CEO, Educational Policy Institute This week, Georgetown’s University’s Center on Education and the Workforce released “Weathering the Economic Storm.” The report makes an intuitive conclusion that the recent “recession hit those with less schooling disproportionately hard.” Data clearly support this conclusion. But the reason isn’t because they are less educated, per se. The reason is that those with higher levels of … Continue reading Do College Graduates Push High School Graduates out of the Economy?

College for All? Please….

By Watson Scott Swail, President & CEO, Educational Policy Institute In the past few weeks I have read opeds and articles from the Washington Post’s Robert Samuelson (May 27: It’s Time to Drop the College-For-All Crusade), former US Secretary of Labor Robert Reich (May 18: The Commencement Address That Won’t Be Given), Mui and Khim in the Post (May 28: College Dropouts Have Debt But … Continue reading College for All? Please….

The ROI on Higher Education

By Watson Scott Swail, President & CEO, Educational Policy Institute/EPI International There is much press and study about the returns to a higher education. I, myself, have developed and published charts and essays on the power of a postsecondary credential. However, as our readers now, I am more critical, if not skeptical, than most about the true value of a postsecondary degree in this competitive … Continue reading The ROI on Higher Education