Surveys show postsecondary degrees are the key

While the number of people who have graduated from high school in Maine is relatively high by national standards – 88.7 percent of individuals over 25 years of age, 12th highest rate among states – we do not compare as favorably when it comes to postsecondary education degrees – 25.8 percent, ranking 25th in the country.

Recently several initiatives have passed in the Maine Legislature aimed at improving access to higher education for Maine’s residents. One of these is a new program designed to facilitate access to higher education for low-income workers. The program, administered by the Department of Labor, supports people pursuing education or training who have incomes below 200 percent of the poverty level (about $32,000 for a family of three). From our research on the Parents as Scholars program, passed in 1997 to assist low-income parents eligible for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (commonly referred to as welfare), we know such a program can have profound positive outcomes for the individual students, their families and the state’s economy.

For seven years, we have been following one group of individuals who were participating in the PaS program in 1999. We have surveyed this group three times – in 1999, 2001 and 2006 – to learn about the effects of postsecondary education in terms of the participants’ employment, family life and general well-being. With each successive survey, we have found increasingly positive benefits of postsecondary education in the lives of these low-income Maine families.

In our first survey of 222 PaS participants (about 26 percent of those participating in the program in 1999), respondents wrote of increased self-esteem, new opportunities in their lives and improved relationships with their children. Two years later, in 2001, 65 of these respondents filled out another lengthy survey. Many of the individuals had graduated and most were earning higher wages (median wage of $11.75 per hour) than they ever had before. The respondents reiterated the multifaceted positive effects of higher education in their lives: Their children were doing well in school, they were feeling increasingly self-assured, they enjoyed their employment, and they looked forward to being free of welfare.

Last year, we attempted to find as many of the 2001 survey respondents as we could in order to learn about their lives five years later. We were able to locate 40 of these individuals, half of whom completed a third lengthy survey. Among these respondents, all but two had completed either a two-year or four-year degree through PaS; seven had pursued additional training or education since receiving their degrees. All but one (who was disabled) were working, and their median wage was nearly $3 higher per hour than in 2001 ($14.31 per hour). Almost all (94.7 percent) of the respondents were in jobs that provided benefits, including paid vacation (90 percent) and paid sick leave (84 percent).

In one question we asked them to describe how their lives had changed in the preceding five years, after participating in PaS and earning a postsecondary degree. Consistently they described very positive changes. One respondent, for example, described the changes in life as follows: “I have left an abusive relationship, which has greatly benefited myself and my daughter. I am healthier physically, emotionally and spiritually. I have control over my life, my finances, my choices and my decisions. My daughter has just started high school and her first job and has been working four months and on the honor roll.”

Another respondent compared her current financial situation to her former one and reflected on improvements: “I am making $33,000 per year compared to about $5,000 per year when I was a waitress. My quality of life is so much greater. I now have a health care plan, retirement plan. I have security and stability in my life.”

Similar to responses in the first two surveys, respondents attributed many of the positive changes in their lives to having had the opportunity to go to college. Attending school while raising children and living on a very small income was not easy, but it was worth it. “College was the best thing to ever happen to me” was a statement expressed by many respondents in various ways.

When the Maine Legislature created the PaS program in 1997, it was one of just two states to allow attending college to count as a work activity in the wake of welfare reform. Since that time, other states have come to realize that sending low-skilled parents into the labor force often does not lead to economic security for their families. Our research on the PaS program provides support for what most of us already know: Investment in higher education pays off for individual students, their families, and for the state. We are delighted that Maine’s current Legislature is continuing to seek creative ways to make higher education more accessible for all Maine residents.

Sandy Butler is a professor of social work at the University of Maine, and Luisa Deprez is a professor of sociology at the University of Southern Maine.