Transcript Document

Peter D
HART
RESEARCH
A S SOC I A T ES
How Should Colleges Prepare
Students To Succeed In
Today’s Global Economy?
Key findings from survey among 305 business leaders and
510 recent college graduates conducted
November 2 – December 5, 2006
for
Methodology
 Employers:
305 executives at companies that
have at least 25 employees, who report that 25%
or more of their new hires hold at least a
bachelor’s degree from a four-year college,
conducted November 2 – December 5, 2006,
margin of error = ±5.7 percentage points
 Recent
College Graduates: 510 people who
graduated from a four-year college between 1997
and 2001, conducted November 13 – 19, 2006,
margin of error = ±4.4 percentage points
Employers On Importance Of College
Education To Business And The Country
% of employers who say colleges play a very important role
Ensuring U.S. ability to
compete in the global
economy
Ensuring my company’s
ability to compete
successfully
Ensuring U.S. companies’
ability to develop innovative
new products and services
* 76% believe innovation is a very important factor in the growth and
strength of the U.S. economy.
73%
70%
70%
Employers Express Concern About
Skill Level Of College Graduates
of employers agree that “too many
recent college graduates do not have the
skills to be successful in today’s global
economy.”
63%
Room For Improvement In
College Graduates’ Preparedness
How well has college education prepared recent graduates in each area?
Employers
Recent Graduates
Extremely/very well
Getting good entry level job
Somewhat/less well
Success in entry level job
49%
50%
55%
44%
Long-term career success
Advancement in my company
46%
53%
Broad skills/knowledge to change career
44%
55%
Success in changing global economy
39%
59%
49%
49%
Contribute to company’s innovations
48%
50%
Balance of Broad Knowledge
And Specific Skills Preferred
Which of the following should be the main objective for our
nation’s colleges and universities?
Focusing primarily on
providing well-rounded
education
Employers
11%
Recent graduates
10%
Focusing primarily on
providing knowledge and
skills in a specific field
22%
13%
Focusing on providing a
balance of both
56%
72%
Depends/not sure
11%
5%
Half Of Employed Recent Grads Expect
To Always Work In Current Field
Employed Recent Graduates
(80% of all recent grads)
Expect I will change to
another field at some
point in my career
35%
Expect my job/career
will always be in the
field in which I
currently work
51%
14%
Not sure
Three in four graduates who expect to remain in their current field (75%), as well as their
colleagues who expect to change fields (73%), think a college education should provide a
balance of a well-rounded education with knowledge/skills in a specific field.
Employers: Top Priorities For
Increased Emphasis By Colleges
% saying colleges should put more emphasis on each learning outcome
Science and technology
developments
Teamwork skills in
diverse settings
82%
76%
Applied knowledge in
real-world settings
73%
Written/oral communication
73%
Critical/analytical thinking
73%
Global issues
72%
Information literacy
70%
Creativity/innovation
70%
Employers: Other Areas In Need
Of More Emphasis By Colleges
% saying colleges should put more emphasis on each learning outcome
Complex problem solving
64%
U.S. role in the world
60%
Quantitative literacy
60%
Ethics and integrity
56%
Cultural values/traditions
Civic engagement
Foreign language skill
Democracy/government
53%
48%
46%
42%
Recent Graduates: Top Priorities For
Increased Emphasis By Colleges
% saying colleges should put more emphasis on each learning outcome
Applied knowledge in
real-world settings
Science and technology
developments
67%
59%
Global issues
56%
Critical/analytical thinking
55%
Written/oral communication
55%
Creativity/innovation
54%
Ethics and integrity
52%
Foreign language skill
51%
Recent Graduates: Other Areas In
Need Of More Emphasis By Colleges
% saying colleges should put more emphasis on each learning outcome
Complex problem solving
49%
Information literacy
48%
Teamwork skills in
diverse settings
47%
Cultural values/traditions
46%
Civic engagement
46%
Democracy/government
39%
U.S. role in the world
38%
Quantitative literacy
34%
Most Important Skills Employers
Look For In New Hires
Which TWO skills/abilities are most important to you?
Recent
graduates*
Employers
Teamwork skills
Critical thinking/
reasoning
Oral/written
communication
Ability to assemble/
organize information
Innovative/thinking
creatively
Able to work with
numbers/statistics
Foreign language
proficiency
44%
33%
30%
21%
20%
9%
3%
* Which two skills/abilities are most important to employers?
38%
37%
37%
10%
21%
4%
6%
Real-World Application Of Knowledge
And Skills Is Seen As Critical
Employers:
“They [students] learn the book knowledge: it’s all theory; it’s not
actual practice, and I do believe we need more practice.”
Atlanta business executive
“I think internships do an amazing job in terms of educating people
versus your day-to-day everyday sitting in a class learning from a
book.”
Fairfax business executive
Recent graduates:
 60% of graduates engaged in an internship.
88% rate it as very (56%) or fairly (32%) important in preparing
them for their professional and career goals.
 51% of graduates engaged in leadership of an oncampus student organization.
79% rate it as very (42%) or fairly (37%) important in preparing
them for their professional and career goals.
Educational Approach Assessment
How important is it for today’s colleges and universities to
provide the type of education described below?
This particular approach to a fourEmployers
year college education provides
both broad knowledge in a variety
of areas of study and more in-depth
knowledge in a specific major or
Less/not Not
field of interest. It also helps
important sure
1%
students develop a sense of social
4%
responsibility,
as
well
as
intellectual and practical skills that
span all areas of study, such as
Fairly
communication, analytical, and
problem-solving skills, and a important
26%
demonstrated ability to apply
knowledge and skills in real-world
settings.
Very
important
69%
* 76% of employers would recommend this type of education to a young person they know.
Educational Approach Assessment
How important is it for today’s colleges and universities to
provide the type of education described below?
This particular approach to a fourRecent
year college education provides
both broad knowledge in a variety
of areas of study and more in-depth
knowledge in a specific major or
Less/not Not
field of interest. It also helps
important sure
1%
students develop a sense of social
5%
responsibility,
as
well
as
intellectual and practical skills that
span all areas of study, such as
Fairly
communication, analytical, and
problem-solving skills, and a important
demonstrated ability to apply
31%
knowledge and skills in real-world
settings.
Graduates
Very
important
63%