Step 1 :Given that the proportion of millennials who have a BA degree according to the research report is 42%, or 0.42, and the sample size is 400.
Step 2 :For part a, the expected value for our sample proportion is simply the proportion of millennials who have a BA degree according to the research report, which is 0.42.
Step 3 :For part b, the standard error can be calculated using the formula for the standard error of a proportion, which is \( \sqrt{p(1-p)/n} \), where p is the proportion (in this case, 0.42) and n is the sample size (in this case, 400).
Step 4 :Substitute the given values into the formula, we get \( \sqrt{0.42(1-0.42)/400} \).
Step 5 :Calculate the above expression to get the standard error, which is approximately 0.025.
Step 6 :Final Answer: \n a. The expected value for our sample proportion is \( \boxed{0.42} \). \n b. The standard error is approximately \( \boxed{0.025} \).