College Outcomes for Work, Life, and Citizenship: Can We Really Do It All?

Some (see the Stanley Fish essay in this issue of SEN) think it likely that liberal education is "down the drain." Surely not the folks at the Association of American Colleges and Universities, though:

Taking cues from the limited number of people who formally recruit on college campuses, some college educators believe that employers only pay lip service to liberal education but actually prefer graduates who are more narrowly trained in professional fields. AAC&U’s research suggests that this is not the case. A clear majority of the employers we surveyed think colleges and universities should focus on providing all students with both a well-rounded education and knowledge in a specific field. As one employer put it, “I look for people who can take accountability, responsibility, and are good team people over anything else. I can teach the technical.” Another focus group participant noted, “when I hire someone, I’m investing in them. I want them to be able to study, to analyze, to present, to write” (Peter D. Hart Research Associates 2007).

The clear message that has emerged from years of research, then, is that at least at a general level, there is, indeed, an emerging consensus on the most important outcomes of college. Moreover, it is clear from all this research that business leaders strongly endorse liberal education outcomes—including those related to ethics, values, and responsibility. Fifty-six percent of those we surveyed, for instance, believe that colleges should place more emphasis on cultivating in students a strong sense of integrity and ethics.