CNN.com published an opinion column, “A college education is your best bet”, written by Joseph E. Aoun, in which Aoun disputes investor Peter Thiel’s theory that college degrees are overvalued and colleges and universities do not encourage innovation.
Aoun points out the numerous world-changing discoveries and inventions made at universities including “the World Wide Web, genetically altered foods, life-saving cancer and AIDS drugs, and the algorithm for Google searches” and notes the robust role of colleges and universities in regional and national economies.
Colleges and institutions not only help students grow intellectually and mature as individuals, they prepare students for careers, he argued. A new Georgetown University study of the earning outcomes of 171 types of college degrees found that “overall, college graduates make 84% more over a lifetime than their high school-educated counterparts.” Aoun concluded, “That’s a strong indicator of the value of a college degree … A college education is still the most reliable ticket our citizens have to a lifetime of prosperity and advancement.”
Northeastern University’s College of Professional Studies(CPS) is committed to providing career-focused educational programs that are designed to accommodate the complex lives of motivated learners. Offered in a variety of innovative formats, CPS courses are taught by accomplished scholars and practitioners who have real-world experience. The result is an educational experience founded on proven scholarship, strengthened with practical application, and sustained by academic excellence.
Northeastern University is a global university with a tradition of partnership and engagement that creates an innovative, distinctive approach to education and research. Northeastern integrates classroom studies with experiential learning opportunities in 70 countries, and pursues use-inspired research with a focus on global challenges in health, security, and sustainability.