Research and Reports

Here is a list of research and reports that provide further evidence about the importance of a college degree.

• Investing in a college education pays off in Hawai‘i — Financial Benefits of a UH College Education, December 2016
• “Good jobs” – full-time jobs that provide higher wages ($53,000 annually) and better benefits such as health insurance and employer-provided retirement plans – have grown the most in a post-recession recovery. Read more about the report from Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce.
• For those Americans between 55 to 64, 42 percent have a college degree, a rate surpassed only by Canada and Israel in the O.E.C.D. But among people aged 25 to 34, the United States is in 11th place, with a college graduation rate only slightly greater, at 44 percent. Read more stats in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development 2014 Report.
• College grads say college is worth it. Read this and other key findings about the value of going to college. Pew Research Report 2014, The Rising Cost of Not Going to College
• Increasing higher education attainment is an imperative in Hawai‘i, as it is across the nation. Check out the recent reports from the Lumina Foundation that track the nation’s progress toward Goal 2025—to have 60% of Americans who hold a high-quality college degree, certificate or other postsecondary credential as well as Hawai‘i’s progress in closing the college attainment gap.
• Lumina Foundation – A Stronger Nation Through Higher Education – Full Reports — The nation’s report card on American attainment of credentialed learning beyond high school.
• The Closing the Expectations Gap Report is produced by Achieve and details states’ progress on college and career readiness. The report shows how all states are aligning college and career ready standards with policies and practice to better ensure that all students are academically prepared for life after high school.
• The College and Career Readiness Indicators Report (CCRI) has been developed through Hawai‘i P-20 Partnerships for Education (Hawaii P-20) in collaboration with the Hawai‘i Department of Education (HIDOE) and the University of Hawai‘i (UH).
• Education Matters to the Health Report, September 2009 – Commission to Build a Healthier America