Public higher education means more to students than grades and exams, according to new survey results from the UF/IFAS Center for Public Issues Education.
In addition to preparing students for the workforce, survey respondents said higher education fosters personal development and
maturity. Ninety-four percent of respondents identified knowledge and intellectual growth as a benefit of higher education, and 87 percent cited personal development.
PIE Center researchers asked state residents for their opinions about public higher education in Florida as the Morrill Act, federal legislation that created the land-grant university system, nears the end of its 150th anniversary. The respondents, 523 Floridians ages 18 and older, weighed in on issues such as affordability, employment impacts and personal experience.
Respondents indicated that a college education also helps people interact with others and appreciate diversity, as well as develop personal and professional skills, said Alexa Lamm, an assistant professor who designed the online survey to sample a demographically representative segment of Florida’s population.
Although almost 60 percent of respondents currently work in a job that does not require a college degree, 63 percent said not having one has kept them from applying for jobs.
Nearly two-thirds of Floridians with college degrees said they would repeat the same steps for obtaining higher education that they followed originally, said PIE Center Director Tracy Irani. Of the respondents who said they would take a different path, most said they would pursue a different major, finish sooner or not take time off.
