The article conflates two different questions: a) whether universal higher education is sensible, and b) whether it makes financial sense for an individual to g

The article conflates two different questions: a) whether universal higher education is sensible, and b) whether it makes financial sense for an individual to get a college education. Do individuals benefit financially from a college degree, given certain assumptions about degree and institution? Yes. But a more interesting question is to what extent those degrees provide increased human capital, and to what extent it is a signal of existing quality. For instance, if the value of certain college degrees is only as a method to differentiate between good and bad employees, universal higher education accomplishes nothing but to destroy that signal, without adding value. This provides an example scenario under which it is sensible for individuals to obtain higher education, but universal higher education is nevertheless inferior as a policy to limited higher education. Thus the author errs in providing the individual benefit as a justification for universal higher education.