College education

In the past few months, there were debates about the value of college education in the U.S. Some people said that today college is too expensive and a waste of time since there were many unemployed college graduates. The college education board defended their position by issued a report that the average college graduates make 65% more than a high school graduates. And it is just the average of all degree fields; more specifically an average college graduates in engineering and information technology makes 120% more than a high school graduates. The debates continue in newspapers, TV, radio, websites, blogs, wiki and Facebook but most views only argue on the amount of money spent, college graduate earning and the return on investments.

It is my belief that the advantages of college education are far more than measurements of money because it is impossible to measure the knowledge students would gain from a college education. College is not just four years spent in the classroom, it is a life experience. There is something wonderful by surrounding yourself with friends, sharing ideas, learning together, building friendships, growing and maturing, and learn to be responsible for your own actions. There are so many things that you experience in college that words cannot described. In college, you have dialogues, discussion, debates and intellectual exploration where you learn so much from books, from friends, from professors and from your own discovery. College education is about taking what you learned and applying it to your life. The education you receive not just in class but also in the learning environment and in the interaction with others. College prepares you to be an educated person, a better person, a knowledgeable person, a professional, and a good citizen.

There is a popular song called “Avenue Q” mentioning the situation of a college graduate who could not find job. The song starts with the lyrics: “What do you do with a Bachelor degree in Literature? What is my life going to be? Four years of college, plenty of knowledge, have earned me a useless degree. ” This song is quite popular among college students. It gave people who do not go to college a reason to celebrate. It comes out at the time when high school students are graduating. How did it influence their decisions? How many of them will want to go to college, and how many will forsake college and go straight to work? Of course, college may not be the right path for everyone. Some students may not have the right skills, right attitudes, or finance to go to college but there is something students should consider.

Today, there are few opportunities to high school graduates since the job markets have changed so much and require a college degree, or at least a two-year Associate degree to make a good living. There are many people who are stuck on low paying jobs that they cannot get out because they do not have the knowledge and skills to get better job. Not long ago, without a college education, people can still find jobs in factories or agriculture areas. Today most of these jobs are gone, being replaced by robotics machines or relocated to lower cost countries. This is why it is important for young people to get a good education in a specific field where it can guarantee them skills that they can make a good living. They need to understand about the job market, not just in their local area but also global. They need to understand the market trends, technology trends as well as economic trends. They cannot go to college and randomly select any field of study to see if it fit them or not but they must plan for their careers as early as possible. They need to have all information, all data to prepare and they must be ready because the job market is changing fast, else they will miss the opportunities.

Traditionally, government's education direction is very broad and do not address what the society wants from its citizens and what society wants to gain from its education system. In a globalized world where national borders are disappearing and competition is fierce, such a broad education direction needs to be changed to meet the need of the knowledge society. By allowing the “Non-specific” education policy to continue, society may see young students expect nothing from their college education but a “degree” to prove that they have gone to school where some put nothing into it, and of course get nothing back. We have seen many evidences of that as described in the popular song “Avenue Q” about having degree but no job.

There is an urgent need to address the alignment of the education system to economic performance and how to give the society a better future. India, for example, has reformed its education system to focus specifically on science and technology and it has achieved success in its economic transformation. Today, the value of education must be linked to personal, social, and national goals as education system must address “employability” as the center of it. In this globalized world, there is a need to link education and economic success. Currently, there is too much wasted effort in education, too many scattered outputs from an old framework that give little value to students or to the economy. With globalization, education must be driven by economic needs rather than general and vague messages for young students.

Leaders and educators should address the learning attitudes, the right skills, the qualifications, NOT just the degree. Rather than allow university to have too many fields of study, too many choices that may confuse students, certain fields should be encouraged and others may be discouraged. For example, India government only provides funding, scholarships, and supports to limited number of fields such as science, math, technology and business. That has resulted in increasing number of college students enrolled in these fields. Universities and industry should also form an alliance to help develop highly skilled and knowledgeable graduates together. Universities need to understand business' needs and adjust their training programs accordingly. Business needs to work closely with universities and hire their graduates. This is the best thing to make education improvement works. If students believe that college education will help them achieve their career ambitions, make them more prepared in their careers then we are already half way to reach our educational goals.

Sources

  • Blogs of Prof. John Vu, Carnegie Mellon University

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