Missed Connection: The College-to-Career Gap

The education world has a new villain: aggressively marketed for-profit colleges that leave graduates with lots of debt and few job options. But taking on these schools and challenging their right to federal student loans is missing a broader point: the entire higher education system -- not just the for-profits -- has failed to adequately connect colleges to careers.

In an age when the unemployment rate for young college graduates is nearly ten percent -- the highest number in 25 years -- it's time for us to admit that there's a missing link in our higher education system. Namely, not all college programs are providing students with clear paths to viable careers. The for-profit colleges are simply the easy targets. Many programs are leaving graduates unprepared for the job market, and prospective students deserve to know whether the programs they enroll in will help them earn enough income to pay back the debt -- in many cases, massive debt -- many of them will accrue.

Research has shown that college credentials are now a prerequisite for a middle-class lifestyle, but it's not always intuitive -- some certificates earn more than particular bachelor's degrees. It's a safe bet that many of the college students across the nation who find themselves majoring in debt would be surprised to learn that 27 percent of people with licenses and certificates earn more than the average bachelor's degree recipient does.

The Department of Education just released a mountain of data showing that graduates of many less-than two-year programs do not earn enough money to pay back their debt. Shouldn't students considering private and public four-year colleges get to see this kind of data for their schools, too? Wouldn't you think twice about taking on debt and enrolling in a program if you found out that graduates of your prospective university don't earn enough income to pay back their loans?

It is possible to build a user-friendly system that would inform consumers about these program discrepancies. Much of this data is already out there -- unemployment insurance, wage records, transcript and program data, job openings data, and detailed information on occupational competencies have already been compiled. What is missing is a tool that puts all of this information together and makes it publicly available to all who are considering enrolling in a postsecondary program. Some states have already started down this path, and other surely will follow with proper prompting, such as increased federal money to support linking all this data effectively.

Before making a choice by wading through the piles of slick college brochures that arrive in their mailboxes, imagine if prospective students were able to go to a trusted, impartial website and quickly find out how adequately each program prepares its graduates for job placement, and what the average salaries for graduates of each program are. Such a system would empower students to make educated choices about what program is best for them, and what real-world jobs it will prepare them for.

This system would not promote or attack institutions based on their tax status, and it is not to suggest that any of the routes is, on the whole, better or worse than the others. Rather, it's a system that would be able to empirically assert that there are particular programs at all types of colleges that, on average, help prepare students for jobs, and others that consistently do not. Students have the right to know which are which.

Read more about closing the college-to-career gap here: Missing the Point.

 

Comments

[Rick Hardy]

03:03 PM on 09/03/2010

Good article. More and more attention is going to be paid to higher education outcomes in the coming years, as state and federal funds dry up, and as tuition continues to increase. Gone are the days when colleges and universiti­es could claim that the only goal of a college education was a liberal arts education that prepared and matured students as middle and upper class citizens of this world. For years now, return on investment has been near or at the top of the list for families in the college search process, and much more informatio­n should be available to them.

However, the article misses the big picture. A college or university education cannot be solely measured by job placement statistics­. A university campus experience is not simply a commodity to be sold or bought. When it is, you get for-profit education and its mission-le­ss purpose. In higher education, ROI must be measured by much more than career preparatio­n (although again, it's a huge considerat­ion). College still presents other returns on investment of considerab­le note, in terms of a period of time to mature and expand one's worldview and develop critical thinking abilities-­-both of which are foundation­al to creating future leaders.

[Dennis Harris]

11:52 AM on 09/03/2010

This is exactly what our research intends to provide, student outcome analysis to the Education Industry as a whole. Please check us out at http://www­.collegemi­ner.com Any feedback will very appreciate­d. Thanks.

[Tully Rand]

12:00 AM on 09/03/2010

In a tough economy certificat­ion in a trade often provides a solid path towards a stable job. People cut spending is just about every aspect of their lives during a recession. However, when pipes burst in buildings, or air conditioni­ng dies in the heat of the summer, most people are still going to get out the Yellow Pages and call a repair person. These are jobs that cannot simply vanish, due to lack of demand. On some level, there will always be demand for such services, regardless of how poor the economy is.

I also think that too many people today believe that they "need" to go to a 4 year school and obtain a bachelor's degree in order to obtain a middle class lifestyle. That is simply not the case. A certified plumber, electricia­n, or mechanic often earns far more entering the workforce than someone with a 4 year degree (especiall­y those with degrees in humanities­, fine arts and social sciences).

I think one of the most important things to do is to eliminate the stigma that is often attached to vocational­/trade schools amongst high school students. Teachers and counselors tend to place too much emphasis on enrollment in 4 year schools. We should encourage those who enjoy work in different trades to pursue such interests.

[drwtsn]

05:23 PM on 09/02/2010

While I will not argue against informatio­n, of any kind, this may not be that helpful. Employment conditions change constantly­, and the best choice today may not be the best choice in two or four years.

I got a BS in math with honors in 1971, and started working on a Doctors to become a professor. With college enrollment­s dropping (end of the baby boom), and every media stories indicating that the more education you had, the harder it was to find a job, I became a dropout after two years in graduate school. Things were tough, but I eventually found a warehouse job. However, three years later, when I would have been getting my PhD, the employment conditions had changed drasticall­y, and I would have done much better if I had stayed in school.

One thing I don't understand­, is why college is so expensive now. I was able to put myself through college (tuition and books, I lived at home) with part-time jobs and was still able to save enough for a new car. My first semester's tuition was $50 (state college in New Orleans), which would be about $500 now.

[Tulka2]

12:47 AM on 09/03/2010

If i may presume to answer your last question..­...Insuran­ce premiums of all kinds, but most especially medical insurance. When they talk about medical costs, it is mostly about supporting this huge middle man business. That's why. That's why college costs have risen. That's why our economy is in the tank. That and 59 percent of this years federal budget is being spent on the war machine.

The first universiti­es were just people who wanted to learn a thing getting together and hiring a teacher and a room. That's the spirit we should all like to see more of.

[sansom]

01:49 PM on 09/02/2010

Good article. In just days I will be dropping my daughter off at Cal Poly-SLO for her first year of a 5-year program in architectu­re. I was fortunate that she knew exactly what she wanted for a career.
As we "college-s­hopped," post-gradu­ate empoyment rates from Cal Poly were easy to find because they were very impressive and a big a selling point for the school. Their engineerin­g graduates also have high employment rates. Cal Poly-SLO was named one of the "up-and-co­ming" universiti­es by the US News rankings because of their "Learn by Doing" motto thoroughou­t all of their discipline­s. Employers are very happy to hire these graduates because they can hit the ground running when hired. Maybe other schools should take note!

[cydRN]

01:45 PM on 09/02/2010

The nursing students I'm seeing come out of these colleges are frightenin­g. They are not prepared academical­ly, technicall­y, profession­ally or emotionall­y for nursing careers. I'd be very curious to see what percentage of them are able to pass their nursing board certificat­ion exams (which are state-admi­nistered). They believe themselves prepared, as they "pass" their classes. But when they hit the floors as student nurses: Look Out! I think there are a lot of people being taken advantage of financiall­y who are not going to be able to work in their "degree field".

[NYC-CatLover]

10:27 PM on 09/02/2010

As a student in a very selective, reputable, and competitiv­e, not-for-pr­ofit nursing school, I'm fairly certain that the only students who attend the for-profit­s are the ones who didn't have the credential­s to be accepted to the real nursing schools.

[cydRN]

02:13 PM on 09/10/2010

Agreed. The students I precept from establishe­d and reputable schools are usually miles ahead of the "Bought Degree" types of schools. Good luck in your nursing career! And remember, asking a lot of questions is a GOOD thing when you're a student and a new grad. It's the cocky, "I know already" nurses that kill people!

[Tulka2]

12:49 AM on 09/03/2010

Oh golly. Who is "prepared" for a nursing career?! It's a young person's sport.

[new beginning]

01:27 PM on 09/02/2010

I would dispute the near 10% unemployme­nt figure for college grads. I believe that the unemployme­nt rate is way over 50%. A member of my family graduated with a 4 year business degree. Graduated with honors in December. Submitted over 1000 applicatio­ns and finally found a slave wage under the table job. Not related to the business field, but it is SOMETHING. Employers won't hire kids with no experience - no matter how many lovely letters they have after their name.

In a climate where there are just no jobs to be had, we are on the road to losing a generation of kids who have invested in their education, worked their tails off and have emerged to - a void.

[Tulka2]

12:51 AM on 09/03/2010

What a shame and waste, eh? Every young person i meet i ask the same question. "If a leader asked your generation to do a great thing...li­ke, oh say....bui­ld a great interstate passenger train system, how do you think your peers would react?" To a person they all respond with enthusiasm­.