> Skip to content
FEATURED:
  • The Evolution of Race in Admissions
Sign In
  • News
  • Advice
  • The Review
  • Data
  • Current Issue
  • Virtual Events
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
Sign In
  • News
  • Advice
  • The Review
  • Data
  • Current Issue
  • Virtual Events
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
  • News
  • Advice
  • The Review
  • Data
  • Current Issue
  • Virtual Events
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
Sign In
ADVERTISEMENT
Curricula
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Show more sharing options
Share
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Email
  • Copy Link URLCopied!
  • Print

Employers and Public Favor Graduates Who Can Communicate, Survey Finds

By  Dan Berrett
September 18, 2013
Washington

Americans adults and employers want colleges to produce graduates who can think critically and creatively, and can communicate orally and in writing, according to the results of a public-opinion survey released by Northeastern University here on Tuesday.

Respondents were far less interested in having students receive narrow training and industry-specific skills.

In fact, nearly two-thirds of adults and three-quarters of employers agreed with the following statement: “Being well-rounded with a range of abilities is more important than having industry expertise because job-specific skills can be learned at work.”

We’re sorry. Something went wrong.

We are unable to fully display the content of this page.

The most likely cause of this is a content blocker on your computer or network. Please make sure your computer, VPN, or network allows javascript and allows content to be delivered from c950.chronicle.com and chronicle.blueconic.net.

Once javascript and access to those URLs are allowed, please refresh this page. You may then be asked to log in, create an account if you don't already have one, or subscribe.

If you continue to experience issues, contact us at 202-466-1032 or help@chronicle.com

Americans adults and employers want colleges to produce graduates who can think critically and creatively, and can communicate orally and in writing, according to the results of a public-opinion survey released by Northeastern University here on Tuesday.

Respondents were far less interested in having students receive narrow training and industry-specific skills.

In fact, nearly two-thirds of adults and three-quarters of employers agreed with the following statement: “Being well-rounded with a range of abilities is more important than having industry expertise because job-specific skills can be learned at work.”

The survey results, which were described in the presentation “Innovation Imperative: Enhancing Higher Education Outcomes,” support the conclusions of a poll of employers that the Association of American Colleges and Universities released earlier this year. That poll found broad support for the idea that students should learn to think critically, communicate clearly, and solve complex problems, or what the association described as “a 21st-century liberal education.”

Many single data points in the survey could be used as evidence of academe’s failures—or of its indispensability. But Joseph E. Aoun, Northeastern’s president, said people should not seize on individual findings in the service of a tidy narrative.

ADVERTISEMENT

“Don’t focus on only one dimension,” he said at a news conference at which the results were released. “Look at the totality of the survey.”

Contradictory Opinions

The totality of the results reflected a certain ambivalence.

For instance, while nearly three-quarters said a college degree was more important today than it was for their parents’ generation, 62 percent said colleges were doing only a “fair” or “poor” job of preparing graduates for the work force.

Nearly nine respondents in 10 said the American system of higher education needed to change in order to remain competitive with other countries’ systems. But the importance of global competition extended only so far: The share of respondents who said students needed more opportunities to gain “global experience” by working or studying abroad (42 percent) was far less than the percentage who favored other experiences, such as internships (79 percent).

The question of who was responsible for preparing future workers also produced a mixed response: Thirty-six percent of respondents said employers do; 35 percent thought it was graduates; and 29 percent answered colleges.

ADVERTISEMENT

Questions about online learning and massive open online courses, or MOOCs, produced divergent and occasionally contradictory opinions.

Slightly more than half of the respondents believe that MOOCs will fundamentally transform how students are taught, but just 27 percent think the online classes are of the same quality as traditional, in-person education. And yet more than half of the respondents predicted that in five to seven years an online education would be seen as of equal quality to a traditional one.

The ambivalence reflected in the results may suggest a larger sense of disequilibrium in the public, Jeffrey J. Wilcox, corporate vice president for engineering at the Lockheed-Martin Corporation, said at the meeting. “I think what you see in the survey is angst over the pace of change,” he said.

The survey, the second that Northeastern has commissioned, which was conducted this year by FTI Consulting. Findings were based on 1,000 telephone interviews of a representative sample of American adults. More than 260 employers were also polled. The margin of error was 3.1 percent.

We welcome your thoughts and questions about this article. Please email the editors or submit a letter for publication.
Online Learning
Dan Berrett
Dan Berrett is a senior editor for The Chronicle of Higher Education. He joined The Chronicle in 2011 as a reporter covering teaching and learning. Follow him on Twitter @danberrett, or write to him at dan.berrett@chronicle.com.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
  • Explore
    • Get Newsletters
    • Letters
    • Free Reports and Guides
    • Blogs
    • Virtual Events
    • Chronicle Store
    • Find a Job
    Explore
    • Get Newsletters
    • Letters
    • Free Reports and Guides
    • Blogs
    • Virtual Events
    • Chronicle Store
    • Find a Job
  • The Chronicle
    • About Us
    • DEI Commitment Statement
    • Write for Us
    • Talk to Us
    • Work at The Chronicle
    • User Agreement
    • Privacy Policy
    • California Privacy Policy
    • Site Map
    • Accessibility Statement
    The Chronicle
    • About Us
    • DEI Commitment Statement
    • Write for Us
    • Talk to Us
    • Work at The Chronicle
    • User Agreement
    • Privacy Policy
    • California Privacy Policy
    • Site Map
    • Accessibility Statement
  • Customer Assistance
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise With Us
    • Post a Job
    • Advertising Terms and Conditions
    • Reprints & Permissions
    • Do Not Sell My Personal Information
    Customer Assistance
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise With Us
    • Post a Job
    • Advertising Terms and Conditions
    • Reprints & Permissions
    • Do Not Sell My Personal Information
  • Subscribe
    • Individual Subscriptions
    • Institutional Subscriptions
    • Subscription & Account FAQ
    • Manage Newsletters
    • Manage Your Account
    Subscribe
    • Individual Subscriptions
    • Institutional Subscriptions
    • Subscription & Account FAQ
    • Manage Newsletters
    • Manage Your Account
1255 23rd Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20037
© 2023 The Chronicle of Higher Education
  • twitter
  • instagram
  • youtube
  • facebook
  • linkedin