12:18 p.m., Jan. 20, 2010----Editor's note: The following letter from University of Delaware Provost Tom Apple appeared in the opinion section of the Jan. 20 News Journal.

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Tom Apple
Provost
University of Delaware

On January 9th, I helped award diplomas to nearly 1,500 University of Delaware students. For each new graduate, that diploma signifies not just the end of a lot of hard work, but the beginning of a life made better because of it.

While it's true that college is not an inexpensive venture, it's also true that a college degree yields a remarkable return on investment. The College Board estimates that, over a lifetime, a college graduate earns 1.6 times what a high school graduate earns. Even after repaying college tuition, that difference amounts to almost $300,000 -- nearly 7-1/2 times the total in-state cost of a UD education.

In fact, UD offers a better return on investment than most of the nation's universities. Since 2000, real earnings among recent UD graduates has climbed 9 percent, even as wages among their peers nationwide dipped 11 percent. According to Kiplinger's Personal Finance, UD is a best-value institution, ranking 25th among all U.S. public colleges in terms of academics and affordability.

The steep pay-off of a college degree is precisely why UD undertook its Commitment to Delawareans -- our assurance that all qualified in-state applicants would be admitted to the University, that their financial needs would be met, and that their debt upon graduation would be capped. While the program's financial incentives are enormous, its impact goes much further than the wallet. By outlining the high school courses prospective UD students must take and the grades they must earn in them, the Commitment has upped academic expectations in schools statewide and produced students who are better prepared not just for the college classroom but for stiff competition in the 21st century's global marketplace.

But the benefit of a college education goes far beyond earning potential, and, in fact, goes far beyond students themselves. The economic return on universities -- especially top-tier research universities -- to the communities that house them is staggering. Each year, UD contributes more than $750 million to Delaware's economy, and every dollar invested in the University returns $7 to the state. That number rises sharply if one considers larger economic factors like UD's role in enhancing residents' skills and marketability and in attracting out-of-state talent to Delaware. Of course, the redevelopment of the former Chrysler Newark Assembly Plant into a state-of-the-art science and technology campus will compound UD's economic impact well into the future.

Economic dividends aside, the University understands the significant financial challenges faced by families sending their sons and daughters off to college. So we're finding ways to operate as efficiently as possible, to contain administrative costs, to deploy resources strategically, and to put them where they do the most good-as close to the students as possible.

Yes, higher education is an expensive business. Faculty must be paid competitive salaries if we hope to recruit and retain them. Students must have access to the latest equipment and facilities if the skills they're honing are to translate into real-world success. But the investment does, indeed, pay off -- in many ways and over a lifetime.