Cost, Commitment, and Attainment in Higher Education: An International Comparison
A report commissioned by Arthur M. Hauptman and Young Kim and Jobs for the Future to provide an international perspective on the productivity agenda of Making Opportunity Affordable. Hauptman and Kim compare and analyze data on:
- Cost: The amount that countries spend on tertiary education per student;
- Commitment: The share of GDP a country spends tertiary education; and
- Attainment: The share of working-age adults holding a tertiary education degree.
The report suggests three approaches that the United States should consider to achieve higher attainment at sustainable levels of costs and commitment:
- Focus more resources and attention on community colleges.
- Pay more attention to developing and implementing strategies to improve completion rates at both two-year and four-year institutions.
- Consider increases in enrollments as a means for moderating costs per student and improving productivity.
