Liberal education for the twenty-first century: business expectations

Liberal Education, Spring, 2005 by Roberts T. Jones

THROUGHOUT MOST OF THE LAST CENTURY, the American system of higher education was revered both here and throughout the world. But the impact of expanding global competition, changes in American labor markets, the exploding growth of knowledge, innovations in technology, and the resulting increased demands for higher skills are creating significant new challenges for higher education. Further, the dramatic impacts of these forces on our economy, on our education system, and indeed, on our quality of life are projected to significantly accelerate in the near future. These changes will require ever more intimate connections between higher education and the larger society.

Higher education, business, and public policy makers will need to turn their attention to efforts of aligning higher education curricula and outcomes with the escalating demands of the surrounding environment. This should not be taken as a signal that broad support for liberal education has waned. To the contrary, the value and benefits of a liberal education will be more respected and in greater demand as the world becomes increasingly complex. But we will all need to work hard to support this case.

The primary question posed by this paradox is not whether the traditional framework of liberal education is effective, but whether it is calibrated to the demands of the changing world. Institutions will be increasingly pressured to ensure that, in addition to the traditional components of broad cultural, political, social, and scientific learning, liberal education also contains the specific skill sets that enable students to navigate the growing demands of the occupational world.

Neither the degree nor the institution nor even the reputation of the American system of higher education itself is any longer sufficient to ensure the successful transition of students into the workplaces of the twenty-first century. Upon leaving college and entering the workplace, students are increasingly facing tests and assessments of their basic knowledge and skills and their aptitude for continuous learning. Employers are less concerned with transcripts than the demonstration of achievement and competency across a variety of general and specialized skills.

External pressures

The rest of the world is catching up! Literacy rates are rising in Asia, Eastern Europe, and South America. Higher education investments and outcomes are exploding in India, China, and Chile. While it used to be first in terms of college attendance, the United States has now fallen to sixth. Research and development investments by other countries are increasing well above levels in the United States, and foreign direct investments in China have surpassed those in the United States. As a result, the United States' percentage of the total world output of goods and services has fallen from 40 percent to 21 percent. The United States used to produce 61 percent of all published research, but, as other countries exercise new levels of research leadership, it now produces only 29 percent. Finally, perhaps the most telling signal that the world is catching up, only 52 percent of the patents responsible for American industrial leadership are now owned by U.S. sources--the lowest percentage in our history.

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Over the next five years, these numbers will increase exponentially as highly populated countries in Asia, South America, and Europe dramatically increase the percentage of their population in higher education, their investments in research and development, their productivity, and the overall growth in their Gross National Product/Gross Domestic Product. Added to this is the fact that most of these countries have significantly younger populations than the United States. Their ability to mobilize large, well-educated workforces will make them significant economic forces for years to come.

Impact on American business and education

Meanwhile, the United States is experiencing minimal population growth (1.1 percent) and even slower growth in its workforce (0.9 percent). The joint impact of low birth rates and an aging population is only minimally offset by immigration. Juxtaposed against this is a job growth rate in excess of 1.4 percent per year. The net result is projected skilled job shortages of seven million by 2010 and twenty-one million by 2020. The Bureau of Labor Statistics is currently reporting shortages in health care, engineering, teaching, technology, and a variety of technical occupations.

The combined pressures of increasing foreign competition, technological innovation, and the constrained labor market have required American business to engage in an endless cycle of productivity improvement. The continuous evolution of the workplace has had (and will continue to have) a direct impact on job content, application, and skill requirements. As productivity improvements influence occupational application, every occupation now requires that employees demonstrate greater responsibility, higher skills, broader application abilities, and continuous learning.