Transcript Higher Education and the Workforce

2002 Annual Meeting
Higher Education and
the Workforce
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What’s the need?
What’s our response?
Roderick G. W. Chu
Ohio Board of Regents
The Challenge
“If we are to remain preeminent in
transforming knowledge into
economic value, America’s system
of higher education must remain
the world’s leader in generating
scientific and technological
breakthroughs and in meeting the
challenge to educate workers.”
Alan Greenspan
Chairman, Federal Reserve System
February 15, 1999
Key Assets
“The capital assets that are needed
to create wealth today
are not land, not physical labor,
not machine tools and factories:
They are instead knowledge assets.”
Thomas A. Stewart
“Intellectual Capital:
the New Wealth of
Organizations”
Higher Learning = Higher Earning
It’s the market talking!
8
7
6
5
4
2
3
$0
0
1
1.2
1.1
2.1
2.5
2.9
3.5
4.2
7.3
Source: Postsecondary Education OPPORTUNITY
$60,000
PROFESSIONAL
DEGREE
$70,476
MASTER’S
DEGREE
$55,302
BACHELOR’S
DEGREE
ASSOCIATE
DEGREE
SOME COLLEGE
NO DEGREE
HIGH SCHOOL
GRADUATE
$80,000
$80,230
DOCTORATE
LESS THAN
HIGH SCHOOL
UNEMPLOYMENT RATE IN 2001
$40,000
$20,000
$46,276
$35,389
$32,400
$28,807
$21,391
MEDIAN EARNINGS IN 2000
$100,000
The income gap is growing
Source: Postsecondary Education OPPORTUNITY
Economic conclusion:
Demand for skilled workers > Supply
… and it’s getting worse
“… the most likely economic scenario suggests there
will not be enough adults with at least some college
to keep up with the growth in demand. …
… roughly 15 million new jobs that require collegeeducated workers will be created, resulting in a net
deficit in workers with at least some college of
about 12 million workers by 2020.”
Anthony P. Carnevale & Richard A. Fry
“The Economic and Demographic Roots
of Education and Training”
November 19, 2001
Yet states continue to disinvest
in higher education
Higher Education Appropriations
as % of State Tax Revenues
8.5%
8.0%
7.5%
7.0%
6.5%
6.0%
5.5%
Source: Research Associates, Washington, DC [Halsted]
1997
1996
1995
1994
1993
1992
1991
1990
1989
1988
1987
1986
1985
1984
1983
1982
1981
1980
1978
1973
5.0%
Why the disinvestment?
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Competing demands
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Medicaid, K-12, Prisons
Popular support declining
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Quest for immediate gratification
Public perceptions
Still reaching only the elite
 Directly benefit only for a short time
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The Key Planning Question:
How many of our citizens
need additional education?
Job growth statements
“68.5 percent of the fastest growing jobs require
some level of college certification.”
Attributed to reports from the
Bureau of Labor Statistics
Job growth statements
“Economists predict that by 2008, the number of jobs
requiring an associate's degree will grow by 31%.
By the year 2008, the number of jobs requiring a
bachelor's degree will grow by 24%.”
Center on Education Policy and
American Youth
Policy Forum: “Higher Learning =
Higher Earnings. What you need to
know about college and careers”
September 2001
Job growth statements
“The 20 occupations with the highest earnings all
require at least a bachelor’s degree. Throughout the
economy, occupations that require a college degree
are growing twice as fast as others.”
U.S. Dept. of Labor
Futurework – Trends and Challenges
for Work in the 21st Century
… but how many will be required?
Caution: Bad estimates
“Retrospective analysis of the BLS projections by the
Bureau itself and others shows that the BLS has
underestimated the demand for workers from
two-year and four-year institutions substantially
and consistently.”
Anthony P. Carnevale & Richard A. Fry
“The Economic and Demographic Roots
of Education and Training”
November 19, 2001
Some hearsay figures
The Changing Needs of the American Workforce
100%
Professional
90%
80%
70%
60%
Skilled
50%
40%
30%
20%
Unskilled
10%
0%
1950
1991
2000
Source: American Vocational Assn Guide to School-to-Work Opportunities, 1994
Some hearsay figures
Where the Jobs Are
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20% require a 4-year college degree
65% require an associate degree or
advanced training
15% require minimum skills
Attributed to Richard W. Judy
author of Workforce 2020
Hudson Institute
In any case, it’s clear:
Other providers
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Business & industry
Human services organizations
For-profit institutions
K-12 vocational/adult ed
 If colleges and universities don’t do it,
others will and our institutions will be
relegated to providing elite education
Have we already lost the game?
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U.S. adults (aged 25+)
194.6 M
Adults engaged in any
formal learning activity
89.3 M
Adults enrolled in
public or private
degree-granting institutions 5.9 M
Source: NCES Digest of Education Statistics, 2001
Questions
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More need education.
But how many? What percent?
What are the needs we’re not
addressing today?
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Different learner populations
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Different learning abilities & styles
Different/additional knowledge/skills
How can we educate the masses?
What is higher education’s role and
responsibility?
Possible SHEEO initiatives
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Share specific expert citations on
workforce education needs
Share workforce development
strategies and initiatives
Develop a rationale for various parties
addressing workforce needs
Strategic imperative: Massify the
reach of higher education
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Majority of the population will need
post-secondary education
Winning providers will need to meet
the specific needs of the market
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Can’t be a “Field of Dreams” strategy
 The potential: Become the 2nd government
function that directly and continuously
serves the needs of most taxpayers