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Throughout his term, our President has emphasized on higher education and this has turned the focus of politicians, companies and schools in our country towards education.

In a recent White House news release, President Obama said that today’s global economy makes it imperative that we every American must be able to access college education.

Each level of college attainment leads to an increase in median salaries and a decrease in unemployment rates. Michael Podgursky, an economics professor says that in a large economy like ours involved in production of higher education, colleges must allow more number of students to enrol.

He said that the cost of adding more students is minimal once the infrastructure is established such as building a campus, classrooms and dorms and appointing faculty. He also said that student numbers must double at the leading research universities.

Ryan Law, the director of Office for Financial Success says that the recent economic meltdown has resulted in more numbers of students going back to school. This is because many have lost their jobs and feel that they can open up more job opportunities only if they go back to school.

There are skeptics who wonder if it is a good idea encouraging more students to complete higher education. In South Korea, President Lee Myung-bak is discouraging students from pursuing higher education as many of them are unable to find jobs.

Students who attend college are also burdened with a lifelong student loan financial commitment. According to Law factors such as cost of time, potential qualifications, job and income must also be taken into consideration.

He said that there is no guarantee that getting a master’s degree is automatically going to qualify students to earn more. He said that unless the advanced degree is going to further your goals, there is no sense in wasting time, energy and resources.

Law pointed out that over the past years, there has been no reduction in the cost of higher education even though there has been a lot of government funding cuts due to decrease in state revenues. This is natural as any cut in funding is going to be passed on to the students.

Federal and private student loans are increasingly being sought for by students. This can become quite a burden on them. He said that if they do not get a job lined up and have to start their loan repayment in six months’ time, the situation becomes very scary.

Our President’s “Pay As You Earn” program which will take off in 2012 will bring significant relief as student loan payments will decrease from 15 to 10 per cent of discretionary income. After 20 years, all current student loan debts will be forgiven.

Studies reveal that in the long run, earning a college degree is certainly worth the investment. A study conducted by The Hamilton Project’s Adam Looney and Michael Greenstone shows that students completing four-year colleges get 15.2 per cent returns every year. By the time they are 50, they earn at least $46,500 every year.