To an extent, both society and the individual benefit from a post-secondary education, say researchers. It provides individuals with a larger, more specialized set of critical and creative skills. And the greater "human capital" of a well-educated population stimulates technological innovation, allowing for greater overall productivity and a wealthier society.

However, researchers say the evidence strongly suggests most of the benefits of advanced education accrue to the individual graduate, in the form of higher future income, while society at large benefits relatively little when the social costs -- in the form of tax funding for universities and subsidies to students -- are included.

• In a post-secondary education system in which government subsidizes 75 percent of the total cost, the benefits to society are always less than those received by the individual, says economist Stephen Easton.

• In fact, the Netherlands is scaling back on the number of post-secondary students after research found there was not a significant relationship between economic growth and university participation.

• Recently, both Australia and Britain introduced tuition fees for post-secondary education, and enrollment in college-level institutions has risen, suggesting students recognize the economic benefits they receive from higher learning.

• In the United States, university graduates earn on average 74 percent more than high school graduates and have half the unemployment rate.

In Canada, half of all university students come from families with annual incomes less than the median annual family income. And internationally, there is little evidence that raising students' share of the cost of a degree deters young people from attending college, according to December 1997 research reports from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.