{"id":6413,"date":"2026-05-15T11:33:54","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T11:33:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=6413"},"modified":"2026-05-15T11:33:54","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T11:33:54","slug":"university-and-business-leaders-weigh-a-college-degrees-value","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=6413","title":{"rendered":"University and business leaders weigh a college degree\u2019s value"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Is a college degree still valuable?<\/p>\n

From a practical perspective, yes. A diploma can open doors to higher pay over the course of your life.<\/p>\n

Read more Baseball playoffs roundup: Santa Margarita slugs 8 HRs in rout; Foothill, Canyon advance<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cOn average, after 10 years, the median UCI student is making about $106,000 a year with very little debt. Most of them, within a few years, are earning more than their parents,\u201d UC Irvine Chancellor Howard Gillman said Thursday afternoon. Gillman was part of a panel of experts that gathered at The Pacific Club in Newport Beach to weigh in on a degree\u2019s worth.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut families are right to ask hard questions (of) higher education leaders about the value of these degrees \u2014 about cost, about transparency and outcomes,\u201d Gillman said.<\/p>\n

Those are natural questions, especially when college graduates are entering an early career market that\u2019s \u201cnoticeably tighter than five years ago,\u201d characterized by \u201clower turnover, AI compressing junior roles, longer on-ramps,\u201d said moderator Sherry Main, who serves as UCI\u2019s assistant vice chancellor for public affairs.<\/p>\n

With those factors in mind, the central question was rephrased: Can a college degree still give graduates an edge?<\/p>\n

From an employer perspective, yes, a degree makes a candidate stand out, said OC Business Council President and CEO Jeff Ball. But job qualifications \u2014 even for early-career job seekers \u2014 don\u2019t rest entirely on the backs of diplomas.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have shifted from an attitude of looking at degrees as a credential and more to looking at degrees plus capabilities,\u201d Ball said.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u201cWhen we think about how the market is changing, we need our employees to be dynamic. And the more educated they are, the more they have that foundation, the more they\u2019re going to be able to adjust with us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCapability\u201d isn\u2019t just about deciphering Chaucer or Dante, Concordia University President Michael Thomas joked. Education is about shaping well-rounded people.<\/p>\n

Read more Mater Dei softball shows its \u2018fight\u2019 to handle Foothill in CIF-SS playoffs<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cAlthough we want to help them get their first job, it\u2019s really about lifetime development,\u201d Thomas said. \u201cThere\u2019s very few places left in our society where people mingle with \u2018the other\u2019 \u2014 very few places left where that kind of synergy happens.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ronald Rochon, president of Cal State Fullerton, agreed. A degree\u2019s worth, Rochon said, is inextricable from \u201cthe possibility of travel, of meeting people with different languages, different perspectives, learning how to sit down and listen and engage in those conversations.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Panelists also agreed that colleges are critical for the world beyond the students, professors and administrators.<\/p>\n

Universities, UCI\u2019s Gillman said, are \u201can amazing contribution to the well-being of the community.\u201d Gillman noted that his school\u2019s health science and academic programs are training nurses, pharmacists and public health officials, and that UCI is engaged in research that brings innovation and hundreds of millions of dollars into the region.<\/p>\n

Other school and business leaders echoed that point.<\/p>\n

Still, some issues are prompting complex questions about the financial value of a degree. Artificial intelligence seeping into classrooms and industries, junior roles becoming more competitive and the rising cost of a diploma are changing the equation.<\/p>\n

But Gillman suggested money isn\u2019t the only \u2014 or even the best \u2014 measure of a diploma\u2019s value.<\/p>\n

\u201cI still think that the most reliable path for opportunity and good outcomes, but also an enhanced life, with greater interest, is to spend time at these wonderful institutions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Newport Harbor baseball crushes Trabuco Hills in Division 2 playoffs<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“On average, after 10 years, the median UCI student is making about $106,000 a year with very little debt. Most of them, within a few years, are earning more than their parents.” UC Irvine Chancellor Howard Gillman<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6412,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6413","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-facts","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nUniversity and business leaders weigh a college degree\u2019s value - Silicon Valley Moving Post<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=6413\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"University and business leaders weigh a college degree\u2019s value - Silicon Valley Moving Post\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\""On average, after 10 years, the median UCI student is making about $106,000 a year with very little debt. 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