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Other Benefits of Higher Education
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Other Benefits of Higher Education
College graduates also enjoy benefits beyond increased income. A 1998 report published by the Institute for Higher Education Policy reviews the individual benefits that college graduates enjoy, including higher levels of saving, increased personal/professional mobility, improved quality of life for their offspring, better consumer decision making, and more hobbies and leisure activities (Institute for Higher Education Policy, 1998). According to a report published by the Carnegie Foundation, nonmonetary individual benefits of higher education include the tendency for postsecondary students to become more open-minded, more cultured, more rational, more consistent, and less authoritarian; these benefits are also passed along to succeeding generations (Rowley and Hurtado, 2002). Additionally, college attendance has been shown to “decrease prejudice, enhance knowledge of world affairs and enhance social status” while increasing economic and job security for those who earn bachelor’s degrees (Ibid. ). Research has also consistently shown a positive correlation between completion of higher education and good health, not only for oneself, but also for one’s children. In fact, “parental schooling levels (after controlling for differences in earnings) are positively correlated with the health status of their children” and “Increased schooling (and higher relative income) are correlated with lower mortality rates for given age brackets” (Cohn and Geske, 1992).
The Social Value of Higher Education
A number of studies have shown a high correlation between higher education and cultural and family values, and economic growth. According to Elchanan Cohn and Terry Geske (1992), there is the tendency for more highly educated women to spend more time with their children; these women tend to use this time to better prepare their children for the future. Cohn and Geske (1992) report that “college graduates appear to have a more optimistic view of their past and future personal progress. ”
Public benefits of attending college include increased tax revenues, greater workplace productivity, increased consumption, increased workforce flexibility, and decreased reliance on government financial support (Institute for Higher Education Policy, 1998). While it is clear that investment in a college degree, especially for those students in the lowest income brackets, is a financial burden, the long-term benefits to individuals as well as to society at large, appear to far outweigh the costs.
14. Do the following statements agree with the views of the text writer? There are three possible options (TRUE, FALSE, NOT GIVEN). Choose one option. Discuss your opinions with your group-mates.
1. The cost of a college education has remained steady for several years.
2. Some people have to borrow large amounts of money to pay for college.
3. About 80 percent of college students study at public colleges.
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4. Public colleges cost less than private colleges.
5. Five benefits which college graduates may enjoy more of as compared to noncollege graduates are mentioned in the text.
15. Fill in the gaps with the appropriate words from the list.
forthcoming, so-called, depression, likewise, assemble, extrinsic, persistent, whereby, compiled, odd
1. In case of a fire or some other emergency, we will all _______ on the grass outside the building. 2. The _______ increase in housing prices in this city is keeping many young families from buying their own homes. 3. The government wants to encourage home care of the elderly _______ they can receive personal medical care in the comfort of their home. 4. Greek historian Dionysius _______ a 20-volume history of Rome. 5. Most people experience some form of _______ at some point in their lives. 6. The prime minister has announced that he will retire before the _______ election. 7. What an _______ question. Why are you asking me that? 8. The _______ compromise they are suggesting gives them practically everything they want, and leaves us with almost nothing of what we want. 9. The comments he made were totally _______ to the discussion at hand. 10. Make sure you wash the kitchen floors, and _______ the floors in the bathroom.
4. PREPARATION FOR DEFENDING MASTER’S THESIS
16. Read the text and be ready for group discussion on the topic «Points About Defending a Thesis or Dissertation». Discuss the points in the group. Express and prove your opinions; support them with the examples from the text and your experience.
Guidelines: Writing the Master’s Thesis
The guidelines below provide basic information on writing a Master’s Thesis paper. The Chair of the student’s Master’s Committee may have different expectations than the ones spelled out below. The student is responsible for finding out the expectations of his/her Chair at the outset.
I. Forming the Master’s Committee.
The Master’s Committee consists of the Chair and two additional faculty members. The student is responsible for approaching faculty members to form the Master’s Committee, starting with contacting the Chair of the Committee.
It is strongly advisable that the Chair be a faculty member whose course directly pertains to the Master’s project topic and whose course the student has successfully completed. In addition, it would be helpful if the student has taken a 6000-level course with one or both of the committee members and/or they are instructors of fields that closely relate to the Thesis topic. This committee composition would best support the successful completion of the Thesis, since the student will then have strong foundation in the relevant field(s) and will be prepared to do research on the specific topic. If the Thesis topic does not fall in the subjects studied in one of the courses taken by the student, then the student will have to first become proficient in the general field that pertains to the specific topic and then review the narrow literature on the specific question. As a result, this latter approach is more time consuming and difficult to undertake. By the same token, a faculty member may be reluctant to chair such a Master’s Thesis.
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II. Basic Features of a Master’s Thesis.
The Master’s Thesis is a research paper that is more substantial than a term paper for a 6000-level course. Depending on the topic and methodology, it can range from 25 pages to 75 pages, exclusive of any tables or figures and the list of references. Thesis that entail extension of a mathematical model will tend to be shorter than those that rely on applied econometrics or descriptive statistical analysis, or the Thesis that rely on interpretive methodologies (for example, history of thought in any field).
The Master’s Thesis goes beyond a literature review on the narrow topic in a field. It will have to build upon and extend the relevant literature in the field. The relevant literature is likely to be covered in one or more of the 6000-level courses in the Master’s program. The project should discuss this literature as background to the more detailed literature that pertains specifically to the project.
The Master’s Thesis entails a contribution to the literature in the field. Thus the student has to identify a gap in the literature, through the discussion of the literature, which the Thesis then fills through the use of the appropriate research methodology. In empirical research papers, typical contributions entail an evaluation of either new or more recent data sources and/or application of a new methodology. For example, the contribution of an empirical paper could be to update an existing regression (or descriptive statistical) analysis using data for recent years. The contribution of a theoretical paper, on the other hand, may be a new interpretation of the literature taking into consideration the latest writings on the subject.
The Master’s Thesis should have the standard sections of a research paper, each of which addresses basic questions:
1. Introduction.
What is the project about?
Why is this an important research question?
How will you analyze this issue?
2. Literature Review.
What do we already know about this issue? (What have others said and provided evidence for? )
3. Methodology.
How will you examine this issue?
4. Discussion of Results.
What are the main findings of the project?
In what ways do these modify/add to the existing literature?
5. Conclusions.
What are the theoretical or policy implications of these findings?
What are the fruitful research directions on this topic?
6. References.
Which sources did you consult?
7. Appendix (for example, description of datasets; robustness checks of econometric analysis).
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