Montana University System survey: Higher ed worthwhile — if you can afford it

More than half of Montanans want more tax dollars spent on higher education — and more than 80 percent see it as a pathway to upward economic mobility and other benefits.

But Montanans worry about affordability. Just 41 percent of people less than 45 years old believe college is worth the cost.

That’s according to results of a survey in a report called “Perceptions of Higher Education in Montana” the Montana University System conducted as part of a project funded with a Lumina Foundation grant.

“Higher education adds value in a lot of ways,” said Joe Thiel, director of academic research and policy for the Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education. “We wanted to have a better understanding of how Montanans are feeling about higher education.”

Of the new jobs created in the last decade, the survey said workers with college degrees or certificates are earning $13,000 more on average than those without. Also, most of the new jobs in the last decade have gone to people with a post-secondary degree or certificate.

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