Do Colleges Really Prepare Graduates for a Successful Career? (Part I)
Tags: Career Preparation, Higher Education, Careers, Education, Skills Gap

By Dr. Bjorn Mercer

Program Director, Communication, Humanities, Music, Philosophy, Religion and World Languages Programs, American Public University

This is part I of a four-part series that examines the findings of a report, “Fulfilling the American Dream: Liberal Education and the Future of Work.”

One of the practical realities of going to college today is ensuring that the time spent learning is worth it. For almost a generation, there has been a substantial debate about the purpose of college and if it adequately prepares students for long-term success and career advancement.

In a 2018 Association of American Colleges & Universities (AAC&U) report, “Fulfilling the American Dream: Liberal Education and the Future of Work,” the AAC&U asked more than 1,000 executives and hiring managers around the country what are the most important skills needed to succeed and are recent college graduates well prepared?

As stated in the report, “The objective of the survey was to gauge the degree to which business executives and hiring managers believe that a college education is important and worthwhile, the learning outcomes they believe are most important for success in today’s economy and how prepared recent college graduates are in these areas, and the kinds of professional development they are providing to their employees.”

The report compiled a list of 15 skills that is extremely helpful, and it can help guide colleges and universities to continuously improve not only their curricula but their skills learning outcomes. Before we move forward and do a deep dive into those 15 skills, we have to address one important question: What is the purpose of college?

What Is the Purpose of College?

Although this query can seem like a straightforward, practical question, it is philosophical for many people. Those who approach college from a philosophical perspective will say that skills are not first and foremost important. Students need to study the world, the humanities, the sciences, and themselves to become independent and critical thinking problem solvers.

This type of learning takes time and cannot be easily quantified via standardized tests or skills assessments for new graduates. This is a wonderful perspective. And for those who can take four years to learn about themselves and the world and not have to worry about money or having to get a job right after graduation, this is their college experience.

On the other hand, the purpose of college for others is more practical than philosophical. People who approach college from a skills and jobs perspective see college as preparing students for a career in which they need to perform the functions of the job through skills proficiency. During this learning experience, there might be some philosophical exploration of important topics — culture, the arts or whatnot — but all of this is secondary to practical career preparation.

This type of college might sound like technical training but it is about creating individuals who can graduate from college, be prepared for their first job, and quickly be in a position to develop their skills for advancement.

Although there has always been a fierce debate about the purpose of college, especially at the political level, politicians don’t want to waste money on education but don’t mind spending untold billions on other things. The two approaches to college can exist in parallel and as with most things in life, the choice is not binary. It is not red or blue. These two approaches are complementary and can be a win-win for both perspectives on education.

The 15 Most Important Skills for the Workplace

The first thing to notice from “Fulfilling the American Dream: Liberal Education and the Future of Work” is the skills list. The 15 skills are common ones that all employers need from their employees and are listed using typical HR language.

From the survey of hiring managers — the people who actually hire new grads — the following are the percentage of hiring managers who rate each skill as a “very important quality” (individually rating each skill an 8, 9, 10 on a 10-point scale):

● Communicate effectively orally (90%)

● Apply knowledge/skills to real world (87%)

● Ethical judgment/decision-making (87%)

● Able to work effectively in teams (87%)

● Self-motivated (85%)

● Able to work independently (85%)

● Critical thinking/analytical reasoning (84%)

● Find, organize, evaluate information: multiple sources (79%)

● Communicate effectively in writing (78%)

● Able to analyze/solve complex problems (75%)

● Solve problems with people of different backgrounds (73%)

● Stay current on changing technology (73%)

● Able to innovate/be creative (66%)

● Able to work with numbers/statistics (55%)

● Proficiency in foreign language (25%)

From the list, the Big 5 skills — skills that HR professionals, hiring managers, and managers always want in employees — are oral communication, critical thinking and problem solving (typically combined), teamwork, ethics, and written communication. In addition to the Big 5, there are important skills that do not always make the lists of critical employment skills. They include being self-motivated, able to work independently, creativity, numbers proficiency, information literacy, staying current on technology and speaking a second language.

Another question from the report asked hiring managers to rate how well recent college graduates are well prepared per skill. The following are the percentage of hiring managers who rate each skill as “recent college grads well prepared” (individually rating each skill an 8, 9, 10 on a 10-point scale):

● Stay current on changing technology (57%)

● Able to work effectively in teams (50%)

● Communicate effectively orally (47%)

● Ethical judgment/decision-making (47%)

● Find, organize, evaluate information: multiple sources (46%)

● Communicate effectively in writing (45%)

● Able to work with numbers/statistics (43%)

● Solve problems with people of different backgrounds (43%)

● Able to work independently (42%)

● Critical thinking/analytical reasoning (41%)

● Able to innovate/be creative (41%)

● Apply knowledge/skills to real world (39%)

● Self-motivated (39%)

● Able to analyze/solve complex problems (38%)

● Proficiency in a foreign language (23%)

This list is interesting because all but two skills are rated as not well prepared because they have a rating under 50%. In addition, the BIG 5 skills are sprinkled throughout the list with critical thinking and problem solving two of the lowest skills rated along with applying knowledge to the real world.

Gap in Skills Between What Hiring Managers View As ‘Very Important Quality’ And ‘Recent Grads Well Prepared’

The key finding that emerges from the AAC&U report are the gaps between what hiring managers view as “very important quality” and “recent grads well prepared.” The gaps range from the lowest of two to the highest of 48, with the average gap being 33.

This type of disconnect is not just a perception problem that can be fixed with better college public relations efforts. It is a real issue that all colleges and universities need to work on and improve.

As stated in the report, “However, higher proportions of both executives and hiring managers say that recent graduates have the skills to succeed in entry-level positions than say that recent graduates have the skills needed to advance or be promoted. Majorities think that colleges and universities need to make improvements to ensure that their graduates possess the skills and knowledge needed for workplace success at the entry level, and especially for advancement.

In Part II, we will analyze the gaps between the rating “very important quality” and “recent grads well prepared” from the AAC&U report, “Fulfilling the American Dream: Liberal Education and the Future of Work.”

About the Author

Dr. Bjorn Mercer is a Program Director. He holds a bachelor’s degree in music from Missouri State University, a master’s and doctorate in music from the University of Arizona, and an MBA from the University of Phoenix. He writes about culture, leadership, and why the humanities and liberal arts are critical to career success. Dr. Mercer also writes children’s music.