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Higher Education Economics
There are a number of related economic concepts that must be
taken into account when discussing student retention,
including (Simpson et al. 2008):
Returns on investment to students, institutions,
governments, and society; a ratio of the financial benefits
of an education, to the investment in that education
needed to obtain those benefits
The “resale value” of an education to employers; what an
employer might be prepared to pay a person with a
particular qualification
The “willing to pay” concept: what a prospective student is
willing to pay in financial terms for a qualification
The existence of “educational investment risk”, a dropout
means a financial loss to the student, the institution, and
society as a whole