What’s the difference between college presidents and the rest of us? They probably make more money, but that’s only the beginning, according to the Pew Research Center. Two studies released this week polled 2,142 adults by phone and 1,055 college presidents online — the latter poll conducted in conjunction with the Chronicle for Higher Education. Some of the results are predictable: only 40 percent of the public finds college to be a good value, with 78 percent worried about affordability, compared to 76 percent of college presidents who think it’s a good value, with a mere 58 percent worried about affordability. Differences in income probably account for these discrepant views.
Who should pay for a child’s education? Sixty-three percent of college presidents feel that families should pay the largest part of college costs while just under half (48 percent) of the public agree, believing the remainder should be funded by state and federal governments, private endowments, or a combination.
| What kids are reading |
| This weekly column looks at lists of books kids are reading in various categories, including grade level, book genre, and data from booksellers. Information on the books below came from the New York Times. |
| Best-selling children’s paperback books |
| Soul Surfer by Bethany Hamilton (Ages 12 and up) |
| Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer by John Grisham (Ages 8-12) |
| The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (Ages 14 and up) |
| Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen (Ages 12 and up) |
| Beastly by Alex Flinn (Ages 13 and up) |
| Red Riding Hood by Sarah Blakley-Cartwright (Ages 14 and up) |
| Infinity (Chronicles of Nick) by Sherrilyn Kenyon (Ages 12 and up) |
| Witch and Wizard by James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet (Ages 10 and up) |
| The Carrie Diaries by Candace Bushnell (Ages 14 and up) |
| When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead (Ages 9 and up) |
Even more interesting are the findings on the direction of education, its value and what difference it makes in the lives of college graduates.
The public is equally divided on whether the mission of higher education is to teach workplace skills or to help students grow “personally and intellectually.” But college graduates claim their educations are either very or fairly useful for workplace skills (88 percent) and growth (96 percent). Affordability may be a problem for the public, but those who do achieve a degree think they benefit from it.
Yet despite benefits, a degree is not the most important factor for success in life, ranking behind a good work ethic (96 percent of the public calling this “very or extremely important”), people skills (93 percent) and work skills (90 percent). College education ranked fourth at 77 percent. Ninety-four percent of parents expect their children to go to college, but only 53 percent are saving to pay for it.
The public may give college a big thumbs up, but college presidents are not sanguine about the university’s future. Seventy percent rank the U.S. higher-education system as the best or one of the best in the world, but only 53 percent think that will be true in 10 years. Thirty-eight percent think higher education is on the wrong track, with 52 percent believing students study less than they did 10 years ago and 58 percent holding that high schools prepare students worse than they did 10 years ago. Sixty-four percent believe President Obama’s goal for the U.S. to have the world’s highest share of young people with college degrees by 2020 will not be achieved.
The Pew studies are important because they reveal that the public is overly complacent about higher education’s role in our children’s success. College presidents — in a position to see ahead — predict bumps in that road.
It’s time for the public to become more involved with high school and college issues so we don’t take the “wrong track” many college presidents predict; we need to address instilling a good work ethic, which 96 percent thought was the most important ingredient to success. Sure, saving toward college is a good idea. An even better idea is helping our children value the rewards of a job well done.
Erica Jacobs, whose column appears Wednesday, teaches at George Mason University. Email her at [email protected].
