College trustees don’t believe workforce training should be the highest priority for colleges and universities, according to a recent poll.
Every year, the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges surveys trustees on their key priorities for higher education. The survey is part of its Guardians Initiative, which seeks to involve trustees in rebuilding the public’s faith in academia.
The survey found that only 22 percent of trustees thought that preparing graduates for the workforce was the most important role for higher education institutions in the 21st century.
This figure reveals the key disconnect in priorities between students and the colleges they attend. While learning to lead a meaningful life and be an engaged citizen are important takeaways from a four-year education, students ultimately want a decent-paying job when they graduate.
According to a San Diego State University study that surveyed incoming college freshman between 1971 and 2014, about 71 percent of millennials said that making money was important to them. Why wouldn’t it be? College is expensive, and students want to be able to pay off their debt as quickly as possible so that they can move on with their lives. Interestingly enough, even the trustees surveyed admitted that the cost of earning a college degree could be outweighing its value.
This lack of emphasis on workforce training at the trustee level comes with its consequences, as the trustees themselves revealed in their responses. Only 53 percent of trustees said they think higher education is doing a good job getting students ready for jobs, and just 36 percent said they think colleges and universities have a clear idea of what employers desire in job candidates.
Moreover, a little over one-third of those surveyed believe higher education is effectively responding to the needs of the workforce, which could explain why there are so many skilled jobs today that remain vacant.
Trustees are entrusted with defining the central mission of a college or university, as well as the policies that advance that mission. They have the power to shape the vision of a university, which can ultimately determine the overall success of its students.
If trustees don’t correct their distorted priorities, public trust in higher education will continue to erode, and more students will choose alternative paths to lucrative careers.
Brendan Pringle (@BrendanPringle) is a freelance journalist in California. He is a National Journalism Center graduate and formerly served as a development officer for Young America’s Foundation at the Reagan Ranch.
