At a campaign stop in Lansing, Santorum said he wanted to improve the prospects of those without such credentials, who experience higher unemployment rates than those with college degrees.
“We need to make sure that we have an economy that provides opportunities for everybody in America,” he said. “We are starting to see manufacturing come back a little bit. That’s a good thing. But we need it to explode.”
Just over 30 percent of the U.S. population 25 and older holds a bachelor’s degree or higher, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. But polls show that the vast majority of Americans believe college is desirable and attainable, and a critical component of the American Dream.
About 96 percent of parents believe that a college degree is important, according to a 2010 Gallup-Phi Delta Kappa poll, and about 92 percent of public school parents believed that college was in their children’s future.
In addition, a National Journal poll last year found that people ranked a college education fourth in importance behind raising a family and ensuring that their children had more opportunities than they had, owning a home, and being able to pursue a rewarding career.
Many experts say that it is not realistic to expect every student to attend a four-year university but that some education beyond high school is critical to earning a good living. They note that most well-paying manufacturing jobs these days require training beyond a high school degree.
“Whether you learn skills as a carpenter or a mechanic or a welder or an artist or a pianist or whatever it is, you’re going to need something other than a baseline [high school] diploma unless you’re okay with the earnings of a high school graduate,” said Frank Levy, an urban economist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
In his remarks to the governors, Obama drew on his personal story — noting that his grandfather and mother attended college with government financial aid — to make the case that attaining an advanced degree has been part of the American success story for generations. “My mother was able to raise two kids by herself while still going to college,” he said.
As Obama has made his case for his economic agenda, he has pushed higher education as a crucial factor in preparing a more competitive workforce. But amid plans to reduce student loan debt and keep tuition affordable, the White House also has proposed initiatives to train “underemployed” workers and boost spending for community colleges.
The plan has earned Obama praise, including from some of the Republican governors who responded with skepticism Monday when asked about Santorum’s “snob” remark.
“We talked to the president today about some of the trades, even back to the concept we had in high school of shop or the vocational training,” said Bryant, the Mississippi governor. “He said today he would help from the bully pulpit, encouraging more folks who want to go into that type of training.”
Polling director Jon Cohen and polling analyst Peyton Craighill in Washington and staff writer Nia-Malika Henderson in Lansing, Mich., contributed to this report.
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