Liberal Education: Our Students' Best Preparation for Work and Citizenship – At Home and Abroad

Prepared for the Presidents’ Trustby

Carol Geary Schneider, Association of American Colleges & Universities

Liberal Education: Our Students' Best Preparation for Work AND Citizenship

A Note to Presidents

This “case” combines and synthesizes evidence from two previous PowerPoint presentations* prepared for the Trust:The Economic Value of Liberal EducationThe Civic Case for Liberal Education

*Each of these PowerPoint presentations remains available to Trust members at http://www.aacu.org/leap/presidentstrust/resources.cfm

More College-Educated Workers are Needed but Supply is Not Keeping up with

Demand

Economists predict that by 2018, America will be 3 million college-educated workers short to meet demand, but college graduation rates are flat.

By 2018, 22 million new and replacement jobs will require some college.

By 2018, 63 percent of all jobs will require at least some postsecondary education.

Sources: Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce; AAC&U, College Learning for the New Global Century (2007); Lumina Foundation for Education.

Education Provides an Umbrella: High School Dropouts Bear the Brunt of Unemployment

Source: Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce

Americans Get the Economic Message

• Everyone understands that college has become the gateway to opportunity for 21st century learners.

• More than 90% of high school students now hope to enroll in postsecondary education, because they see college as a prerequisite to economic advancement and a fulfilling life.

College Learning for the New Global Century, 2007, note 3.

There has been almost no public or policy discussion about what students really need from a 21st century college education.

Back stage, however, educators, employers and civic leaders have been actively examining the learning students need for a fast-changing economy and an interconnected world.

A consensus on the 21st century goals for college learning has started to emerge.

But What Should Students Learn in College?

In what follows, we explore the learning students need…

• To contribute and thrive in a dynamic, innovation-fueled economy

• To make wise choices as citizens, at home and abroad

We explore the new consensus among educators, employers and civic leaders on making the most of college in this global century.

Overview

College Learning in the 21st Century Economy

In a word, employers are demanding more – much more

They want and seek many more college educated works

They also seek much higher and broader levels of learning in those they employ, retain and promote

Why Is There a Need for Higher Levels of Learning?

• In a globalized knowledge economy, the capacity to drive innovation is the key strategic economic advantage

• Rapid scientific and technological innovations are changing the workplace and demanding more of all employees

• Global interdependence and complex cross-cultural interactions increasingly define modern society and the workplace and call for new levels of knowledge and capability

Employers Continue to Raise the Bar and Hire for Innovation

95% of employers “put a priority on hiring people with the intellectual and interpersonal skills that will help them contribute to innovation in the workplace”

93% of employers say that they are asking employees to “take on more responsibilities and to use a broader set of skills than in the past”

95% of employers say that “a candidate’s demonstrated capacity to think critically, communicate clearly, and solve complex problems is more important than their undergraduate major”

91% of employers say that “the challenges their employees face are more complex than they were in the past.”

Source: “It Takes More Than a Major: Employer Priorities for College Learning and Student Success” (Hart Research Associates, 2013)

The Need for New Learning is Constant

• Every year, more than 1/3 of the entire US labor force changes jobs.

• Research Suggests That Today's Students May Have 10-14 Jobs by the Time They Are 38.

• 50% of Workers Have Been With Their Company Less Than 5 Years.

• Every year, more than 30 million Americans are working in jobs that did not exist in the previous quarter.

DOL-BLS

The Growing Demand for Higher Order SkillsSource: Council on Competitiveness, Competitiveness Index

What Employers Say“[Employers] generally are...frustrated with their

inability to find ‘360 degree people’ who have both the specific job/technical skills and the broader skills (communication and problem-solving skills, work ethic, and ability to work with others) necessary to promise greater success for both the individual and the employer.”

From Peter D. Hart Research Associates, Report of Findings Based on Focus Groups Among

Business Executives (AAC&U, 2006)

National Surveys of Employers on College Learning and Graduates’

Work ReadinessAAC&U commissioned Hart Research Associates (in 2006, 2007, and in late 2009) to interview

employers (C-level suite executives and, in 2009 additional human resource professionals) whose companies report that hiring relatively large numbers of college graduates

Findings are summarized in the following reports:How Should Colleges Prepare Students to Succeed in Today’s Global Economy?

(AAC&U, 2007)How Should Colleges Assess and Improve Student Learning? Employers’ Views on

the Accountability Challenge (AAC&U, 2008)

Raising the Bar: Employers’ Views on College Learning in the Wake of the Economic Downturn (AAC&U, 2010)

It Takes More Than a Major: Employer Priorities for College Learning and Student Success (AAC&U, 2013)

See: www.aacu.org/leap/public_opinion_research

In this Economy, Narrow Learning is Not Enough!

Balance of Broad Knowledge and Specific Skills Preferred

Which is more important for recent college graduates who want to pursue advancement and long-term career success at your company?

“It Takes More Than a Major: Employer Priorities for College Learning and Student Success” (Hart Research Associates, 2013)

Having both field-specific knowledge and skills AND a broad range of skills and knowledge

Having a range of skills and knowledge that apply to a range of fields or positions

Having knowledge and skills that apply to a specific field or position

16%

29%

55%

Key Capabilities Open the Door for Career Success

“Irrespective of college major or institutional selectivity, what matters to career success is students’ development of a broad set of cross-cutting capacities…”

Anthony Carnevale, Georgetown UniversityCenter on Education and the Workforce

In the 21st Century, Liberal Education Outcomes Have

Become the Key to American Capability and Student Success

What is a Liberal Education?

A Liberal Education Provides:

Rich Knowledge – of Human Cultures and the Physical and Natural Worlds

Intellectual and Practical Skills

Personal and Social Responsibility

Integrative and Applied Learning

The LEAP Essential Learning Outcomes

Knowledge of Human Cultures and the Physical and Natural World through study in the sciences and mathematics, social sciences, humanities, histories, languages, and the arts

Intellectual and Practical Skills, including inquiry and analysis, critical and creative thinking, written and oral communication, quantitative literacy, information literacy, and teamwork and problem solving

Personal and Social Responsibility, including civic knowledge and engagement – local and global, intercultural knowledge and competence, ethical reasoning and action, and foundations and skills for lifelong learning

Integrative and Applied Learning, including synthesis and advanced accomplishment across general and specialized studies

Employers Strongly Endorse the LEAP “Essential Learning Outcomes” –

And They Urge New Effort to Help All Students Achieve Them

Employers Want “More Emphasis” on Key Learning Outcomes

Put more emphasis than colleges have in the past Less emphasisThe same emphasis

Critical thinking/analytical reasoning

Ability to analyze/solve complex problems

Effective oral communication

Effective written communication

Apply knowledge/skills to real-world settings

Locate, organize, evaluate

info from multiple sources

Innovation/creativity

Teamwork/collaboration in diverse group settings

Ability to connect choices and actions

to ethical decisions

64% 27% 9%

67% 22% 11%

71% 20% 9%

72% 19% 9%

78% 16% 6%

80% 12% 8%

80% 12% 8%

81% 13% 6%

82% 11% 7%


How important is it for colleges and universities to provide the type of

education described below?

This particular approach to a four-year college education provides both broad knowledge in a variety of areas of study and more in-depth knowledge in a specific major or field of interest. It also helps students develop a sense of social responsibility, as well as intellectual and practical skills that span all areas of study, such as communication, analytical, and problem-solving skills, and a demonstrated ability to apply knowledge and skills in real-world settings.

Source: How Should Colleges Prepare Students to Succeed in Today’s Global Economy? (AAC&U, 2007)

How important is it for colleges and universities to provide this type of

education (see previous slide)?


6%

43%51%

Only somewhat important

Fairly importantVery important

Higher Level Liberal Education Skills and Abilities

= Higher Wages

Data from Georgetown University Center for Education and the Workforce

Center on Education and the Workforce

There is a Salary Premium for Liberal Education Outcomes

From a federal database analyzing qualifications for 1,100 different jobs, there is consistent evidence that the highest salaries apply to positions that call for intensive use of liberal education capabilities, including (random order):

• Writing• Inductive and Deductive Reasoning• Judgment and Decision Making• Problem Solving• Social/Interpersonal Skills• Mathematics• Originality

Source: Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce

• In sum, college alone is not enough to ensure economic opportunity and success.

• The hallmark outcomes of liberal education prepare students to adapt to change, succeed in innovative environments and work successfully with peers and clients from other cultures and other parts of the world.

College Learning and Economic Opportunity

“In an economy fueled by innovation, the capabilities developed through a liberal education have become America’s most valuable economic asset.”

College Learning for the New Global Century(AAC&U, 2007)

College and Civic Capacity

While economic opportunity is a very important college outcome, it is equally

important for colleges to build civic capacity-the knowledge, judgment and commitment to

solve societal problems and ensure the integrity and vitality of our democratic society.

As in the economy, the civic challenges Americans face

are daunting

Within Our Borders, And in the Global Community

Challenges Within Our Borders

• Cultures – Multiple and Multiplying

• Economy – In the Midst of Painful Dislocations and Volatility

• Society – Riven Over Immigration and Other “Social Questions”

• Politics – Contentious, Fractured, Declining Confidence in Public Sector

Global Challenges• Poverty, War, Suffering... Sustenance and Human

Dignity

• Illiteracy and Its Effects... Education and Opportunity

• Energy and the Environment... Research and Innovation

• Terrorism and Fear... Law, Justice, Democracy, Freedom

Global Challenges (Cont.)

• The United States’ Historic Role in Global Leadership

• And as a Voice and Force for Democratic Values and Democratic Self-Determination

The Issues at Home and Abroad Are Immense

Rising to These Challenges Will Require Civic Will, Capacity, and Commitment – the Determination to Tackle Hard Questions –

in All Their Complexity

America’s Best Hope

• Civic Capacity is Developed Through Education – and Liberal Education is the Crucial Key Both to New Civic Capacity And to Meeting the Challenges We Face at Home and Abroad

Liberal Education and Civic Capacity

Liberal Education – By Design – Builds Both Capacity (rich knowledge, high level

skills; social imagination) AND the Commitment (an examined sense of

ethical and civic responsibility) To Create and Test Responsible Solutions – and to Learn with and for Others – Not Just Ourselves

The Civic Value of the Essential Learning Outcomes

• Rich Knowledge – of Human Cultures and the Physical and Natural Worlds

• Knowledge that can be applied to big societal, scientific, and global challenges; knowledge of the diverse peoples who must work together to solve our problems of health, human dignity, and sustainable communities

• Intellectual and Practical Skills• Especially the capacity to deliberate and work

together, across differences of many kinds• Testing solutions, and discovering “what works”

The Civic Value of Liberal Education (cont.)

• Personal and Social Responsibility• Ethical reasoning and action• Intercultural knowledge and engagement• Perspective taking and the capacity to work with people

and communities different from one’s own• Democratic values – including a strong respect for

human dignity and active citizenship

• Integrative and Applied Learning• The demonstrated ability to apply knowledge, skills,

AND a developed sense of responsibility to complex problems and new challenges

• Liberal education prepares students for career success and for mindful citizenship

• It builds commitments and capacity to work on emerging problems – in the workplace and in communities

In Sum

“... [W]e are not forced to choose. ... A flourishing economy requires the same skills that support citizenship.”

Martha Nussbaum

“The Liberal Arts Are Not Elitist”

Chronicle of Higher Education, June 10, 2010

Policy Influencers and Business Leaders Agree

We must raise the level of civic knowledge and engagement.The learning outcomes important for civic engagement are the same

as those essential for workplace success.

Republicans and Democrats Agree

“Colleges and universities are uniquely positioned to model and teach respectful dialogue.” – Democratic policy influencer

“College is the last marker before…[one is] released into the real world…colleges and universities—if they have an opportunity to play a key role in civic education…they should.” – Republican policy influencer

Source: Key Findings from Focus Groups on Increasing Support for Civic Learning in Higher Education (Hart Research Associates, 2011)

Employers Value Candidates Who Have Intercultural Skills and Who Show An

Interest in “Giving Back”

Very important that our employees have this quality/skill Fairly important

26%

63%

Comfortable working with colleagues, customers, and/or clients from diverse cultural backgrounds

Show an interest in giving back to the communities in which our company is located or those that it serves


47

Expecting students complete internship or community-based field project to connect classroom learning with real-world experiences

Expecting students to develop the skills to conduct research collaboratively with their peers

Expecting students to work through ethical issues and debatesto form their own judgments about the issues at stake

34%

33%

47%

Will help a lot to prepare college students for success after graduation Will help a fair amount

78%

74%

66%

Employers Think Key Practices Would Help Prepare Students For Success


48

All students should have educational experiences that teach them how to solve problems with people whose views are different from their own

All students should learn about ethical issues and public debates important in their field

All students should have direct learning experiences working with others to solve problems important in their communities

All students should take courses that build knowledge, judgment, commitment to communities, ensure integrity/vitality of democracy

All students should acquire broad knowledge in liberal arts and sciences

32%

27%

41%

43%

57%

Strongly agree with this statement about the aims of college learning Somewhat agree

86%

87%

82%

80%

91%

Employers Agree On Key Learning Experiences For All Students, Regardless of Major


But in Higher Education Today, Not Every Student Actually Gets a Liberal Education

Many Are Steered to Narrow, Technical Training, Largely Devoid of the Studies—in the Sciences, the Humanities, the Social

Sciences and the Arts—that Build Big Picture Knowledge, Creativity, and Leadership

First-Generation Students Frequently Miss Out on the

Arts and Sciences

• First-generation students take fewer courses than others in mathematics, science, social studies, humanities, history, foreign languages, or computer science.

From National Center for Education Statistics, First-Generation Students in Postsecondary Education: A Look at Their College Transcripts. (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, 2005).

First-Generation Students Are Over-Represented in So-Called

“Career and Technical Programs” and in For-Profit Institutions that Never Were Designed to Foster

Either Broad Knowledge or Civic Learning

Prominent Policy Leaders Are Vigorously Promoting Short-Term Technical Certificates for

First-Generation Students – Faster, Less Costly, Directly Attuned

to Job Availability

Such programs typically include NO studies in the humanities or social sciences

Is It Possible to Be Civically and Globally Prepared Without

Any Study of:• World histories?• Global cultures?• Political, economic, and social systems and challenges?• The ideas and institutions that support constitutional democracy?• The great religious and philosophical traditions of peoples around the world?

Is It Possible to Be Economically Prepared Without Any Study of:

• World histories?• Global cultures?• Political, economic, and social systems and challenges?• The ideas and institutions that support constitutional democracy?• The great religious and philosophical traditions of peoples around the world?

What We Need – Today – from the Higher Education Community, Is the Commitment to Ensure that Every Student Gets a Liberal Education

While in College

We Have Made that Commitment at X Institution, and We Are Proud to Be a Leader in Making Liberal Education a Top Priority for Our Students, Our Faculty, Our Staff—

and through Their Achievements—an Important Resource for Our Community and our Economy

Here Is What Our Campus Is Doing

• Mission

• Learning Outcomes

• Signature Programs

• Community Partnerships

Higher Education Is Poised and Ready to Provide New National

Leadership in Educating Citizens for the

Challenges We Face, at Home and Abroad

Today, Hundreds of Colleges and Universities Are Placing New Emphasis Both on the

Broad Aims of Liberal Education AND on

Developing Students’ Civic Capacities and their

Economic Savvy

Members’ Priorities: % of AAC&U Member Campuses that Require the LEAP Essential Learning Outcomes

Knowledge of Human Cultures and the Physical and Natural World

Humanities 92%

Sciences 91%

Social Sciences 90%

Global/World Cultures 87%

Mathematics 87%

Diversity in the United States 73%

United States History 49%

Languages Other than English 42%

Sustainability 24%

Intellectual and Practical Skills

Writing Skills 99%

Critical Thinking 95%

Quantitative Reasoning 91%

Oral Communication 88%

Intercultural Skills 79%*

Information Literacy 76%

Research skills 65%

Members’ Priorities: % of AAC&U Member Campuses that Require the LEAP Essential Learning Outcomes

Personal and Social Responsibility

Intercultural Skills 79%*

Ethical Reasoning 75%

Civic Engagement 68%

Integrative and Applied Learning

Application of Learning 66%

Integration of Learning 63%

Note: Nearly 80% of AAC&U member institutions surveyed reported that they had a common set of learning outcomes for all students. Percentages cited above are the percentage of those with campus-wide goals reporting that this outcome is one of the learning goals they have for all students. This data was generated as part of AAC&U’s initiative, Liberal Education and America’s Promise (LEAP). The four categories of learning outcomes correspond to a set of “Essential Learning Outcomes” developed as part of LEAP. See www.aacu.org/leapand Learning and Assessment: Trends in Undergraduate Education—A Survey Among Members of the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U and Hart Research Associates, 2009).

* The starred items are shown in two learning outcome categories because they apply to both.

Collectively, Faculty Members Have Created New Educational Practices that Move Complex

Questions and Problem-Solving to the Center

Educational Practices that Build Analytical and Problem-Solving Capacity

• First-Year Seminars and Experiences – widely adopted across the country,

these courses often focus on societal questions and intercultural learning

• Learning Communities – feature topically linked sets of courses that

examine problems like hunger, poverty, energy from diverse disciplinary

and societal perspectives

• Common Intellectual Experiences – these programs of common study

often probe questions about the nature of a “good society” and individual

responsibilities to self and others

• Service Learning – over the past two decades, service learning has become a top priority for connecting college learning directly with society’s urgent problems and with community partners who are working to solve them

Educational Practices (cont.)

• Collaborative Assignments and Projects – expected in many courses and

programs, these group assignments build capacities that are fundamental for

active citizenship, effective problem-solving and workplace success

• Undergraduate Research – opportunities to work with scholars on unsolved

problems help college students learn the arts of “evidence-based reasoning” which

is fundamental to innovation at work and problem-solving in society

• Diversity/Global Learning – these programs build direct knowledge of people,

communities, and challenges different from one’s own; they build civic vision and

capacity and economic capacity

• Capstone Courses and Projects – often required in students’ majors, these

culminating experiences frequently provide opportunities for students to apply their

knowledge and skills to important problems in their chosen field and in society.

As we tackle big challenges – in the economy and civil

society – graduates need the kind of education that fosters BOTH economic innovation

and social responsibility.

“In a period of relentless change, all students need the kind of education that leads them to ask not just ‘how do

we get this done’ but also ‘what is most worth doing?’”

College Learning for the New Global Century, 2007, page 13.

Liberal Education – Our Students’ Best Preparation for a Complex and Fast-Changing

World