Washington Journal: Cost of higher education

[VIDEO] Not a regular watcher of C-Span's Washington Journal but on May 3rd I caught most of this segment with Peter Morici an economics professor who talks about student loan debt and the state of higher education. Here's a description:

Peter Morici talked about his Des Moines Register article on the value of a college degree in comparison to tuition costs, accrued debt, and salaries earned after graduation. He said that employers require college degrees for jobs that do not pay enough to justify college costs, in part due to high schools' failure to adequately prepare students for the work force. He urged incoming college students to major in science fields, which pay higher salaries and provide specific job skills. Professor Morici also responded to telephone calls, electronic communications, and questions from students at Asheville-Buncombe (NC) Technical Community College, who participated via Skype.

What Morici says seems a bit dour, but it should make people think about what they hope to get out of college. Is it about an education or about a future career? If only this information had been available when I was in high school hopefully our young people will understand what this "investment" can represent.