Originally published by Sun Sentinel (March 17, 2025) and Orlando Sentinel (March 14, 2025)
Written by Braulio Colón, Executive Director, Florida College Access Network
View article on the Orlando Sentinel website
A growing chorus of skeptics question whether a college education is still the “golden ticket” to the American Dream. Yet more than 70% of Americans still believe in the value of college, according to a survey by New America. Despite its detractors, college remains the pathway with the most promise for Americans’ economic mobility. College educated Americans enjoy higher lifetime earnings — almost a million dollars more than their high school-educated peers — greater job stability, and a better quality of life.
An important factor often overlooked in the college value debate is the fact that a college-educated workforce reaps billions in economic benefits for our state. A recent report by the Helios Education Foundation found that increasing college enrollment by just 10% would generate $8.38 billion more revenue annually for Florida. Increasing college completion by 20% would generate $7.59 billion. That’s billions of dollars more for Florida each year, revenue that benefits everyone who calls Florida home.
Florida’s business community also has an important stake in a well-educated workforce. The Florida Council of 100 reports that Florida’s diversifying economy is moving away from low-wage sectors toward relatively high-wage ones. The Florida Chamber of Commerce’s Top 30 High Demand Careers all require higher education, 43% of them a bachelor’s degree.
Florida is doing a lot of things right to build the workforce of tomorrow. The U.S. News & World Report has ranked Florida no. 1 in the nation in higher education for eight years running. One of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ first acts in office was to issue an executive order calling to make Florida no. 1 in the nation in workforce education. A few years back, the Florida Legislature set a goal for at least 60% of working-age Floridians to hold a postsecondary degree, credential or training experience by 2030. In recent years, our Legislature has enacted a number of policies to make a postsecondary education within the reach of more Floridians, such as increased access to dual enrollment courses and new career pathway programs that “stack” technical certificates toward college credits and degrees.
These policies are helping to move the needle toward achieving Florida’s talent goals. Currently, about 55% of working-age Floridians hold a post-high school certification or degree, a number that has steadily risen in recent years. Yet not all Floridians are making advances at similar rates. For example, the proportion of Black Floridians with postsecondary credentials has, alarmingly, trended downward.
The cost of college is the biggest barrier for Florida students from low- and moderate-income households. A recent report by the Florida College Access Network revealed that for students in the bottom 20% income bracket, the cost of tuition, books, and fees as a portion of family income is 17 times greater than for students in the highest 20% income bracket. And this does not even factor in living expenses, which account for the lion’s share of college costs. Indeed, 23% of American undergraduate students experience food insecurity and 8% experience homelessness. It should not come as a surprise, then, that 78% of Florida state college students who drop out say they did so for financial reasons.
To achieve Florida’s workforce talent goals, we need to ensure that an education beyond high school is within all Floridians’ reach. Florida can help make this possible by increasing investment in the Florida Student Assistance Grant (FSAG), Florida’s need-based student aid program. For the 2022-2023 school year, the program’s funding only covered 61% of eligible applicants attending our state colleges and universities, who received an average disbursement of $1,626. At Florida’s private nonprofit higher education institutions, 89% of eligible applicants received FSAG grants averaging $1,650. By comparison, Florida’s popular Bright Futures program — which is not based on income — funded 100% of eligible applicants with an average disbursement of $4,995.
Increasing Florida’s investment in the FSAG program would help our state’s most disadvantaged college students stay the course, graduate and contribute to Florida’s evolving economy. Florida has billions to gain from investing in our students, especially those for whom cost is the biggest barrier to achieving a postsecondary credential. By investing in our college students, we invest in a better future for us all.