· TD economists Craig Alexander and Shahrzad Mobasher Fard College report that 10% is the average rate of return on an undergraduate degree. The range is from 11 – 14%. Furthermore, investment in education remains the single best investment that a person can make.
· Statistics Canada and the 2006 Census report that university graduates are more employable and spend less time unemployed when they lose their jobs.
· Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) found more than 80 per cent of university and college graduates between the ages of 25 and 64 are employed, compared to a little more than 50 per cent of high school graduates.
· The Council of Ontario Universities state that two out of three new jobs require postsecondary education and from 2004 to 2010, employment growth for university graduates outpaced all other levels of education.
· The Council of Ontario Universities also reported that 93% of Ontario university students find jobs within six months of graduation, but 85% of those employed full-time two years after graduation say their job is related to their education.
· Ontario university graduates also earn more than twice as much annually (53%) as high school graduates, an average of $1.6 million more over the course of their careers according to the Council of Ontario Universities.
As a high school student reading this I hope you don’t need additional unbiased opinions on the value of a university education. The underlying assumption of all of these reports is that the students are covering all of their university education (now or repaying loans later). However, as a parent who just paid her son’s first year tuition I’m still waiting for the data which shows the parents’ return on their investment! But I guess my reward is that I’m doing my best to ensure that he will be a contributing member of society.
