在过去十年中, Americans’ faith in the value of a higher education has been waning, in no small part due to ever-rising tuition 和 mounting student debt. And yet, hiring managers continue to list a college degree as an essential job requirement.
With such conflicting factors, many are unsure as to whether college is a solid investment. 毫无疑问，电子游戏软件(电子游戏软件)等院校的学生在高回报的职业中就业率很高，因此这个学位会给他们带来回报. But can the costs outweigh the tangible benefits as parents 和 students pile on debt? Or will innovations in academic learning bolster the value of higher education in the long run?
Tackling these 和 other questions are 卡罗尔学校 教授essors 维亚切斯拉夫(斯拉夫)福斯 和 美雪, from the 金融 和 业务分析 部门, respectively.
In “学费, Debt 和 Human Capital，去年4月出版 金融电子游戏正规平台综述与合作者一起 Rajashri Chakrabarti of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, 来自Betterfly的安德烈斯·利伯曼, 和芝加哥大学的康斯坦丁·扬内利斯(Constantine Yannelis)电子游戏正规平台了大学学费对学生债务和“人力资本”积累的影响. 他们发现，学费的大幅上涨使得本科生获得学位或随后进入电子游戏正规平台生课程的可能性降低, particularly if they come from economically struggling families. 例如, $10,000美元的高学费导致获得电子游戏正规平台生学位的概率降低了6%.2 percent, while also increasing student debt by $2,961, according to the research.
“Low income students are much more likely to drop out of school, meaning that financial constraints are probably binding for them,福斯说。, who is a Hillenbr和 Family 教师 Fellow at the 卡罗尔学校, where he also coordinates the Ph.D. 在金融项目. “When the price goes up, some people simply cannot afford it. And it obviously doesn't help with inequality, because it means that this inequality will be transferred from one generation to another.”
维亚切斯拉夫(斯拉夫)福斯
Getting in the way of human capital?
在注意到他的本科生和电子游戏正规平台生的社会经济背景之间的脱节后，福斯受到启发，开始电子游戏正规平台学费和债务的影响. He wondered if debt could be a factor.
“我是一名教育工作者, 和 I think of my mission as producing human capital in terms of educating students, 同时也进行电子游戏正规平台,福斯指出. “对我来说，可以想象这样一种情况，即极高的学生债务水平将阻止人们继续接受教育”，无论是在本科学校还是电子游戏正规平台生教育, 说”丛书. “This paper was motivated by high levels of student debt in the U.S. 和 me wanting to underst和 the consequences of investments in human capital.
人力资本, 如文中所定义的, 包括变量，如学生是否能够完成本科学位，电子游戏正规平台生院是否是一个现实的选择. Fos和他的合作者电子游戏正规平台了已经被同一所学校录取的学生, 他们发现，那些在学费上涨时(在第三和第四年)完成较少学业的学生受学费冲击的影响较小. 那些需要为更长的时间支付更高费用的学生——通常是大一和大二的学生——扩大人力资本的能力可能有限.
“面临极高学费的学生积累了更多的债务，更有可能辍学, 和 they’re much less likely to go to grad school,福斯说。.“ The high level of tuition prevents some students from accumulating human capital.”
学者们还发现，高学费对电子游戏正规平台生招生的抑制作用延伸到所有背景的学生, including those from somewhat higher-income families. For many, 说”丛书, continuing into graduate school is just too expensive.
“那些面临极高学费的学生积累了更多的债务，更有可能辍学, 和 they’re much less likely to go to grad school. ”
当然, the picture is far less problematic for people who walk away from college with the degree, especially from prestigious institutions, 福斯在接受采访时指出. 在卡罗尔学校, students in the class of 2023 netted an average starting salary of over $88,000.
For those who drop out or choose not to attend college in the first place, new technologies such as AI programs like ChatGPT may hold out hope. That’s according to research by Xue, an associate professor, together with four colleagues. 他们的文章，”Is College Education Less Necessary with AI? Evidence from Firm-Level Labor Structure Changes，去年出现在 Journal of Management Information Systems.
The researchers (including Xing Cao, 徐冯, Yongjie Zhang from institutions in China, 波士顿大学的顾斌(Bin Gu)发现，人工智能对没有受过大学教育的工人的就业产生了积极影响. 他们中的许多人从事分析工作，传统上被称为“入门级白领工作”.
That may sound like altogether good news for them, 和 perhaps not-so-great news for those investing deeply in a college program. Relying on AI without higher education, 然而, 薛指出，这些工人在未来不可避免的技术进步面前仍将特别脆弱.
“Because such a person is limited to only do the entry level job, 这也意味着它们最容易受到进一步自动化的影响，不一定是人工智能，而是其他自动化技术, 比如机器人,薛先生解释道.
“从我个人的经验来看，我真的觉得技术的发展速度比你想象的要快, 很多方面,薛说。, 反思电子邮件和互联网等技术如何从根本上改变了我们的学习和工作方式. “Like any technological advancement, there's no going back from AI.”
美雪
Restoring faith in higher education
Higher education has a key role to play in this transformation, 雪说.
“It's not whether education is no longer relevant. 问题的关键在于，我们目前用来教授学生的知识和技能在当今的环境中是否仍然适用,她说。. “我们需要寻求将本科教育与电子游戏正规平台生教育相结合的方法，并积极将人工智能纳入我们的课程.”
As technologies continue to advance—whether it be AI, 机器人, 或者下一个新的技术机制——薛说，大学教育将继续是个人和职业发展的基础和关键, as well as the underst和ing 和 advancement of technology.
Xue is currently experiencing this decision-making process on a personal level, as her daughter is applying to colleges 和 hopes to enter into the medical field. 这位教授说，将新兴技术融入女儿的教育是她广泛考虑的事情, 和 she has encouraged her daughter to pursue a degree in 机器人 or engineering, alongside the traditional biology route that many pre-med students take. Similar paths can be developed for a student in any major, she says.
“In every field I think AI will become something we work with on a daily basis,薛说。. “这就是为什么我对我们的管理专业学生说，他们不仅需要了解人工智能将如何改变商业领域, but how AI will change many industries that could impact their future.”
“我们需要寻求将本科教育与电子游戏正规平台生教育相结合的方法，并积极将人工智能纳入我们的课程.”
Asked what kind of curriculum changes might address these issues, she pointed to new courses at the 卡罗尔学校 such as Coding for Business, a core course that teaches skills instrumental to data mining 和 AI applications in business. 她补充说，例如，学院还将这些应用程序整合到现有的课程中, her Operations Management course, 薛教授电子游戏正规平台了一款模拟游戏，让学生们描绘在供应链中与人类管理者一起发挥作用的人工智能机器人. 这个和其他模拟帮助学生思考人工智能如何“改变供应链的管理方式，以及如何优化机器人和人类管理者之间的界面和协作”.
Higher education is an investment. 不断增加的债务和技术不断取代人类工人的幽灵使许多人质疑他们的投资回报的可能性. 但是，对高等教育中技术价值的更深入理解，可能有助于恢复人们对大学学位价值的信心, 雪说.
“I think, as a parent, we need to reexamine our curriculum,” she explains. “作为一名教师，我经常停下来问自己，我所教的东西学生们以后是否能够使用. 我们需要确保学生及其家庭投入的时间和金钱是值得的.”
