Harris N. Miller keynote: Ensuring Student Success through Quality and Service

Photo by Jeff Tredo

Focus of career education on quality and service. 70 to 80 million people do not have college degrees; yet a majority of career opportunities requires a college degree. Evidence suggests a significant lack in the near future of well-prepared college graduates eligible for positions in the workforce. Higher education requires a balanced influence of research institutions, career colleges, liberal arts colleges, and universities. Knowledge is an important resource, more so than capital, to economic growth. Therefore, it is of critical importance that resources exist to educate what is an increasingly diversified student population from a demographic perspective and socioeconomic perspective. More adults are in higher education thanks to higher workforce demands that require additional skills. This means more content. With more students, there is a greater demand for schools and alternative delivery modes within higher education. Career Colleges have developed significantly because they fill needs associated with working adults, flexible schedules, and practical, career-based training not available via traditional higher education institutions. For additional information, see this article: http://chronicle.com/article/Number-of-Workers-With-College/65948/?sid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en
In 2010, 1 in 4 students are taking at least one online course. Total online enrollment is in the millions. While the U.S. spends most per capita in higher education, we are falling behind our European and Asian counterparts. Foreign countries that have made similar investments have seen their GDP grow by 20-30 times that before such education. Due to globalization, higher skill sets are needed in the U.S. workforce. Manufacturing jobs continue to decline while knowledge workers thrive. Middle class jobs require higher education. Today’s unemployment rates reflect recession, but globalization, skills deficits, and structural changes drive these rates as well. Government forecasts 8 of the 20 fastest growing jobs require less than a four-degree. Growth of technology and associated globalization requires a trained workforce; otherwise, those positions will end up outsourced to other nations. In some instances, technologies exist but it cannot be optimized due to a lack of skilled labor. Career Colleges have a track record of an ability to adapt to market demands more quickly. Career Colleges have better graduation rates than community colleges and serve students who have chosen their career path. Now represent 9% of higher education population; 75% work while attending college. Critics question the value of career education, the debt load for vulnerable students, aggressive recruitment practices, and the amount of federal student aid spent on career education. Additional criticisms involve rigor and effectiveness of oversight, preparedness of students for college work, and the motivations of for-profit enterprises in higher education: is there the right balance between profit and education? The Department of Education wants to establish a gainful employment definition and associated metric, a new metric for quality, and an appropriate debt to earning metric. These proposals put 300,000 students at risk nationwide. It would disproportionately affect the law enforcement and health fields, as well as minorities and women.
Given these increasing challenges, it is critical to focus on student learning outcomes, measure successes via qualitative and quantitative data, and use this evidence to change external perceptions. It is important to rely on credible, independent research, and advanced sector self-regulation. Also, the career college sector should entice the voice of alums to testify to the quality of career education and their successes, as well as employers who hire these graduates to validate the quality of education these students receive. There are benefits to more prescriptive approaches to education, its benefits to students and employers, and promote pedagogical innovations. Communicate the need for lifelong learning given the rapidly changing workforce dynamics. “Learning to learn” is a critical skill for students to possess along with the programs they choose to study. It is important to place emphasis on retention, graduation, and placement rates, as well as curriculums that create a culture of excellence that empower students. If we position career education correctly, career colleges can become a critical generator towards America’s return to the most educated country in the world.