1. Employers are Raising the Bar: What They Need and Expect in a Well- Prepared College Graduate WASC Academic Resource Conference As Others See Us: Education 360 April 23-25, 2014 Dr. Carol Geary Schneider Mr. Roberts T. Jones

2. The Standards and Applications of ‘Every Field of Endeavor’ Are Evolving Faster Than Education Systems Can Adapt! Roberts T. Jones, President and Founder, Education Workforce Policy, LLP and Member of the LEAP National Leadership Council

3. Population Developing Nations 9 Times Developed World by 2025 Younger Increased Literacy Growth in P/S Education Growth in Higher Education #1 World Population is Changing

4. Demographics Slow Population Growth 0.9% per year 0.7% by 2030 Slow Labor Force Growth 0.08% per year Increased Percentage of Older Population Fewer Younger People Entering Workforce Core Workforce Age Group is Declining US Economic Growth Will Depend on Fewer Workers…And Increased Productivity!!! US Population is Changing

5. World and US Population Are Changing… 200020202040 Age 0-1928.5%26.4%25.9%  20-6459.0%57.2% 53.6%  65+12.4%16.3%20.4%  20082022 Potential HS Grad 3.32 Mil3.36 Mil BLS/DOC Knocking At the College Door: 2008

6. #2 World of Work is Changing! Size of Business Shrinking  Size of New Startups Fell.. –1990’s7.6 –20016.8 –20074.7  Establishment Size Shrinking.. –200017.5 –200516.4 –201115.7  Firms of…19942007 –500-9997.0%6.7% –1,000+ 12.3% 10.5% BLS/MLR--BoC/QCEW

7. #2 World of Work is Changing! Careers, Skills, and Tenure Changing…  50% of Workers Have Been With Company Less Than 5 Years –25% Less than 1 Year  WkF Age 19962010 2016 35-44 5.3 5.1? 45-54 8.3 7.8? 55-64 10.2 10.0?  Every year, more than 1/3 of the entire US labor force changes jobs.  Half Life of Industries, Companies, Jobs, and Skills Decreasing BLS 9/10

8. #2 World of Work is Changing! Careers, Skills, and Tenure Changing… (cont.)  Breadth, Depth, & Application of Skills are Expanding  Breadth and Level of Academic & Technical Prep is Increasing  Every year, 30 million Americans are working in jobs that did not exist in the previous quarter. BLS 9/10

9. World of Work is Changing!  40% Workforce Retires in Next 5 Years  32 States Project Shortage of Degreed Wkfc – 8 Mill Nat Shortage of Certs/AA/BA By 2018 3 Million College Grads –16 Mill By 2025 »Labor Shortage of 21 million in 2020 Health CareTechnology EngineersTeachers Energy Accountants TransportationGovernment ManufacturingGeospatial DOL/BLS

10. Employer Expectations…  Competitive Advantage by 2020 –95% Skills of Workforce –92% Cross-functional Application  Greatest Workforce Growth –90% Complex Knowledge-Based Role –85% Developed Communication & Judgment  Major Change in Next 20 years –95% Point to Highly Skilled Workforce  Degrees or Competencies? –90 % of Employers say ‘specific skills and abilities of applicants more important than type of Degree’ Economist Survey *Gallup Poll

11. Students are Underprepared Only 11% of Business Leaders strongly agree that graduates have the necessary skills and competencies to succeed in the workplace. While 96% of academic officers believe they are effectively preparing students for success in the workplace Economist Survey *Gallup Poll

12. What Employers Need from Today’s College Graduates

13. It Takes More than a Major (Hart Research Associates, 2013) – Employers’ Views on College Learning and the Economy AAC&U’s LEAP Initiative—Liberal Education and America’s Promise Making Quality a Shared Priority: The LEAP Employer-Educator Compact Overview

14. About LEAP Launched in 2005, Liberal Education and America’s Promise (LEAP) is AAC&U’s signature national initiative to champion the importance of a twenty-first-century liberal education—for individual students and for a nation dependent on economic creativity and democratic vitality.

15. LEAP Promotes Essential Learning Outcomes A Guiding Vision and National Benchmarks for College Learning and Liberal Education in the 21 st Century High Impact Practices Helping Students Achieve the Essential Learning Outcomes Authentic Assessments of Student Learning Probing Whether Students Can APPLY Their Learning – to Complex Problems and Real-World Challenges Inclusive Excellence Diversity, Equity, Quality of Learning for All Students

16. The LEAP Essential Learning Outcomes Knowledge of Human Cultures and the Physical and Natural World Focused on engagement with big questions, enduring and contemporary Intellectual and Practical Skills Practiced extensively across the curriculum, in the context of progressively more challenging problems, projects, and standards for performance Personal and Social Responsibility Anchored through active involvement with diverse communities and real-world challenges Integrative and Applied Learning Demonstrated through the application of knowledge, skills, and responsibilities to new settings and complex problems

17. The Degree Qualifications Profile (DQP) See handout. The DQP includes all the learning outcomes that LEAP recommends—and further shows how these outcomes can be developed and demonstrated at the associates’, bachelors’ and masters’ degree levels.

18. The LEAP Dialogue with Employers -Employer Advisors -Employer Forums -Employer Focus Groups -Employer Research

19. We DON’T Want Graduates Who are Locked Into Mental Cubicles We Are Changing Rapidly and if Our Employees Can’t Adapt, They Will Be Left Behind We DO Want Graduates Who Have That 360 ° Perspective We Especially Need Graduates Who Can Apply Their Learning to Complex Problems and New Contexts What Employers Told AAC&U Informally…

20. National Surveys of Employers on College Learning and Graduates’ Work Readiness AAC&U commissioned Hart Research Associates (in 2006, 2007, 2009, and 2013) to interview employers (C-level suite executives and, in 2009 additional human resource professionals) whose companies report that hiring relatively large numbers of college graduates How Should Colleges Prepare Students to Succeed in Today’s Global Economy? (AAC&U, 2007) How Should Colleges Assess and Improve Student Learning? Employers’ Views on the Accountability Challenge (AAC&U, 2008) Raising the Bar: Employers’ Views on College Learning in the Wake of the Economic Downturn (AAC&U, 2010) It Takes More Than a Major: Employer Priorities for College Learning and Student Success (AAC&U, 2013) See: www.aacu.org/leap/public_opinion_researchwww.aacu.org/leap/public_opinion_research

21. HART RESEARCH ASSOTESCIA It Takes More Than A Major: Employer Priorities for College Learning and Student Success Key findings from survey among 318 employers Conducted January 9 – 13, 2013 for

22. Employers Are Raising the Bar  92% of employers say that “innovation is essential to our company’s continued success.”  91% of employers say that “the challenges their employees face are more complex than they were in the past.”  93% of employers say that they are “asking employees to take on more responsibilities and to use a broader set of skills than in the past.” Source: “It Takes More than a Major: Employer Priorities for College Learning and Student Success” (AAC&U and Hart Research Associates, 2013)

23. Employers Say Innovation, Critical Thinking, and a Broad Skill Set are Key for Meeting Challenges in the Workplace  95% of employers agree that their companies put a priority on hiring people with the intellectual and interpersonal skills to help them contribute to innovation in the workplace  93% of employers say that candidates’ demonstrated capacity to think critically, communicate clearly, and solve complex problems is more important than their undergraduate major  91% of employers say that, whatever their major, all students should have experiences in solving problems with colleagues whose views are different from their own Source: “It Takes More than a Major: Employer Priorities for College Learning and Student Success” (AAC&U and Hart Research Associates, 2013)

24. Employers Value Cross-Cutting Capacities When Making Hiring Decisions “Very important/fairly important that our employees have this quality/skill”  Ethical judgment and integrity – 96%  Comfortable working with colleagues, customers, and/or clients from diverse cultural backgrounds – 96%  Demonstrated capacity for professional development and continued new learning – 94%  Interest in giving back to the communities in which their companies are located or those that they serve – 71% Source: “It Takes More than a Major: Employer Priorities for College Learning and Student Success” (AAC&U and Hart Research Associates, 2013)

25. Key Capabilities Open the Door for Career Success and Earnings “Irrespective of college major or institutional selectivity, what matters to career success is students’ development of a broad set of cross-cutting capacities…” Anthony Carnevale, Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce

26. Majorities of Employers Want Colleges to Place MORE EMPHASIS on Broad, Cross-Cutting Skills and Applications  Critical thinking/analytical reasoning 82%  Ability to analyze/solve complex problems 81%  Effective oral communication 80%  Effective written communication 80%  Apply knowledge/skills to real-world settings 78%  Locate, organize, evaluate info from multiple sources 72%  Innovation/creativity 71%  Teamwork/collaboration in diverse group settings 67%  Ethical decision-making 64% Source: “It Takes More than a Major: Employer Priorities for College Learning and Student Success” (AAC&U and Hart Research Associates, 2013)

27. It Takes More Than A Major – January 2013 – Hart Research for Research and Evidence-Based Analysis83% Expecting students to develop the skills to research questions in their field and develop evidence-based analyses Senior Projects79% Students complete significant project before graduation, demonstrating knowledge in major & analytical, problem-solving, communication skills Internships and Community-Based Work78% Students complete internship or community-based field project to connect classroom learning with real-world experiences Collaborative Research74% Expecting students to develop the skills to conduct research collaboratively with their peers Employers endorse several high-impact practices Percentage of Employers Who Say Practice Will Help Students A Lot or A Fair Amount to Succeed in the Workplace

28. It Takes More Than A Major – January 2013 – Hart Research for Having both field-specific knowledge and skills AND a broad range of skills and knowledge Having a range of skills and knowledge that apply to a range of fields or positions Having knowledge and skills that apply to a specific field or position Narrow Learning is Rejected Which is more important for recent college graduates who want to pursue advancement and long-term career success at your company?

29. Broad Learning is Expected – 80% Say All Students Should Have Broad Learning in the Liberal Arts and Sciences

30. It Takes More Than A Major – January 2013 – Hart Research for If you were advising your child or a young person you know about the type of college education they should seek to achieve in order to achieve professional and career success in today's global economy, would you recommend they pursue an education like the one described below? I would advise a young person to pursue [a liberal education] Would not Depends Three in four employers would recommend the concept of a liberal education to their own child or a young person they know “ This approach to a college education provides both broad knowledge in a variety of areas of study and knowledge in a specific major or field of interest. It also helps students develop a sense of social responsibility, as well as intellectual and practical skills that span all areas of study, such as communication, analytical, and problem-solving skills, and a demonstrated ability to apply knowledge and skills in real-world settings."

31. BUT, As We Know from Earlier Hart Research Surveys and Myriad Other Studies, Many Employers Report that Too Many Graduates Fall Short on Key Learning Outcomes, such as…  Critical Thinking  Writing  Teamwork and Collaboration  Global Knowledge  STEM Knowledge

32. In Other Words, Employers Seek and Reward the LEAP Essential Learning Outcomes – But Often Find Them in Short Supply

33. Making Quality a Shared Priority The Employer-Educator Compact

34. -Helps Students Understand the Learning Needed for Career Success -Creates Strong Connections Among the Curriculum, the Economy, and the Community

35. Our Shared Goal is Wider Understanding that Increases in Access and Completion are Necessary, but Far From Sufficient

36. The Ultimate Goal is World-Class College Learning – for All Students, for a Flourishing Economy, and for Our Globally Engaged Democracy

37. New Ecology of Learning… As Higher Ed Rises to the Challenge  Does Not Mean… –Focusing Higher Education on Career and Technical Education –Preparing Students for Only ‘Employers’ –Ceding Education to Business –Abandoning Tradition of ‘Liberal Education’

38. As Higher Ed Rises to the Challenge…  Does Mean… –Higher Education Establishing Single ‘Track’ System with Multiple Learning Options –Enriching Curriculum to Reflect Broader, Technical, Economic, Scientific, Ethical, and Global Applications –Preparing Students With ‘Adaptive Skills’ to Succeed in a Constantly Changing Environment –Integrating Applied Learning in Every Degree

39. “T” Shaped Professionals  Refers to an individual with a deep knowledge of his/her discipline… …but also the breadth of skills and knowledge that allow the individual to understand how one discipline interacts with others and contributes to multiple dimensions and institutional operations.  In contrast to the “I”-shaped professional who specializes in one field and whose skills may come to be devalued following changes in technology, application, or market conditions.

40. Requires New Quality Assurance… Continuous Improvement  Content and Standards for Every Academic Field Will Continue to Evolve at Accelerated Rates  The Need for Constant Change in Curriculum, Achievement Standards, Assessments, Remediation, and Faculty Will Be Permanent Institutions Must Develop a Culture and a Process for Continuous Improvement

41. …Requires New Quality Assurance… External Partnerships  Formal Linkages with Professional/Industrial Associations  Exchange of Professors and Executives  Formal Scheduled Surveys of Academic, Technical, and Citizenship Standards  Feedback on Graduate Proficiencies from Employers and Alumni  Transparent Communication with Public and Policy Makers

42. Evolving Model: University-Employer Partnerships  AAC&U Employer-Educator Compact –270 University and Business Leaders Formally Partner On: Curriculum Student Research Applied Learning Internships  Business Roundtable  US Chamber of Commerce  Committee for Economic Development  Competitiveness Council  Northrop Grumman/University of Maryland  IBM/Ohio State  Cal State Northridge/Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne  Drake University/Meredith Corp.  Eastern Connecticut State University/Cigna Corp.