Universities not Graduating Enough People to Ensure National Competitiveness

 Higher Education institutions may not be graduating enough people to ensure that the country stays competitive. I read an opinion piece in the Harvard Magazine called America's Higher-Education Agenda. The premises of the paper is that we are not graduating enough qualified people to maintain national competitiveness. We are not developing enough intellectual capital.

Two points were brought forward that are thought provoking:

1.  Only 34% of 25-29 year-olds had a bachelor's degree and this is two low to ensure the success of the country in a global economy.

2. Lower socioeconomic status high school students had a 14% chance of earning a bachelor degree while higher socioeconomic status high school students had a 60% chance of earning a bachelor degree.

What this paper reveals is that we don't have enough intellectual power in-house to maintain our competitive positions. Those institutions that serve lower economic status students are needed to achieve long-term national goals. Our national policies may not be in alignment with our needs.

The concern is the way that government officials view higher education institutions. While the traditional system appears to work in some ways it doesn't capture the full market need and alternative type schools are looked down upon. Instead of trying to maintain a status quo we should be seeking to find innovative ways of reaching and educating students; especially those from lower socioeconomic status.