People used to pretty much agree on the value of college. Just over a decade ago, in 2013, 74 percent of young people thought a college degree was very important. Gallup poll. By 2019, that had fallen to just 41 percent.
So what’s going on here?
There are many factors, of course, but over the same period we’ve seen an increase in messages in popular culture that take a very skeptical view of universities. The idea that “university is a scam” has become something of a thing. meme on social media platforms like YouTube.
How are these critiques shaping public perceptions of higher education, and are they changing who goes to college or who wants to go to college?
To explore these questions, we invited three experts with rich perspectives to this week’s episode of the EdSurge podcast.
- “The future of education, labor, and the future of work is an important part of our commitment to the future of education, labor, and the future of work,” said Shalin Jyotishi, New America’s senior advisor for education, labor, and the future of work. He recently served as the first Civil Society Fellow in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning at the World Economic Forum, where he led research on AI, quality of work, and job growth.
- Ben Wildavsky, author of the new book, says,Career Arts: Make the most of your universities, qualifications and connections” He is currently a visiting scholar at the University of Virginia School of Education and Human Development.
- and Roy Spence, chairman and co-founder of global advertising agency GSD&M. His company has experience influencing public discourse, as it is the one that originated the famous anti-littering campaign “Don’t Mess with Texas” in the 1980s.Mr. Spence is also the founder of a nonprofit organization. make it movementwhose goal is to encourage young people to pursue college and other quality educational options after high school.
Panelists said a key reason why attacks on the value of college resonated with so many people is because many parents of traditional college-age students have tried and failed to pursue higher education themselves. pointed out.
“The Achilles heel of a higher education system that is overall very successful is that completion rates are very poor,” Wildavsky said. “And I think that contributes to the fact that there are a lot of people who don’t have a good experience. 40 million Americans graduate from college without a degree; , end up in the worst possible situation of debt and lack of a degree…many people don’t have a good experience.”
One thing we learned is that as young people hear the message that they need to go to college, they may not understand the different shapes and sizes of colleges available to them.
“When we talk about ‘college as fraud’ and the story, I definitely think we need to break down what college means,” New America’s Jyothishi said. “Many people think that going to college means getting a degree. Often, that doesn’t have to be the case. Community colleges, and increasingly universities, are offering non-degree credentials, micro- They offer credentials, certification programs, or industry certification preparation courses. And the university offers apprenticeship programs.
“So there’s a kind of false choice at play, where people think they have to choose between liberal arts and career preparation. And many colleges allow you to have both. I think the more we can incorporate that into the story, the more useful it will be.”
The danger, these experts say, is that some people who would benefit from college are deterred from seriously considering higher education.
And disseminating information may involve using a variety of messengers, not just conveying new messages about the value of the university. For example, Jyotishi believes unions are an untapped way to inform members about a variety of university services that could help them level up or change careers.
This is the third episode of a podcast series we’ve dubbed “Doubting College,” which explores “What Happened to Public Beliefs About College?” And how is it influencing the choices young people make about their futures?
This conversation was recorded live in front of an audience last week. At SXSW EDU Festival in Austin.
Listen to the episode of apple podcast, cloudy, spotify Listen to podcasts anywhere or use the player on this page.
