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ACTL on the role of trustees in governance

Multiple studies suggest that, despite massive expenditure, many of America’s college graduates are not leaving school prepared for career and community. Substantial numbers of recent college graduates lack a fundamental understanding of their history and heritage; many suffer from vast gaps in their skills and knowledge and are ill-equipped to compete in the fast-moving global economy. Meanwhile, completion rates at both two-year and four-year colleges are often shockingly low. Tuition continues to rise far above inflation, outstripping even increases in medical costs. Student debt has risen along with it, topping one trillion dollars.

Getting the Data: 10 Questions Trustees Should Ask The key to effective oversight is data. Insist on getting this data regularly. It is up to you to ensure educational quality and affordability. • Tuition over the last five years: Has it exceeded the annual Consumer Price Index? Has it increased as a percentage of median household income? • The ratio of administrative vs. instructional spending over the last 10 years: Has the growth of administrative spending exceeded that of instructional spending? Why? • What is our building utilization, Monday through Saturday, and during the summer? • What are the salaries of top administrators and athletic department personnel? How have salaries for these positions changed over the last 10 years? • How many courses and credit hours do faculty (tenured, tenure-track, and adjunct) teach per year? • How do students perform on nationally-normed tests? GRE and licensure exams?

Opinions differ as to whether the higher education system is meeting those students’ career goals and achieving those outcomes. It’s settled science that a degree raises a student’s lifetime earnings. However, only 11 percent of business leaders think college graduates have the right skills for work — compared to 96 percent of chief academic officers who believe graduates are prepared for the job market.

Today, a growing number of employers don’t want to train new workers, but instead desire workers who already have the skills they are looking for. Given the state of unemployment in the economy, there are many employers who can be quite choosy with whom they select, and thus the skill requirements for new employees have been increasing. There are two directions to consider here. There needs to be greater guidance for both students and adults about what skills are actively demanded in the marketplace, as well as how to acquire such skills. Whether it is financial modeling, programming, or essay-editing skills, directing workers to the right resources with accurate counsel would be highly valuable. The other direction is to consider how to guide employers to choices that actively encourage them to engage with workers and develop them. Employers need better options than expensive executive-education courses (an extremely profitable market these days) in order to get the right return on investment. Making it easy for employers to add the right training while keeping costs low could actively provide employees with the skills they need to continue productive lives.