Here's what American universities should teach instead of activism

Colleges and universities are failing our country. This seems to be the growing consensus among an increasingly large percentage of Americans and business leaders.

The recent Gallup and Lumina Foundation report shows that an increasing number of Americans have little to no confidence in higher education. For the first time since Gallup begin to measure the confidence level in higher education, America is "now nearly equally divided among those who have a great deal or quite a lot of confidence (36%), some confidence (32%), or little or no confidence (32%) in higher education."  

This finding represents a seismic shift from 2015, when almost 60% of Americans had a high level of confidence and 10% had little or none. 

America is "now nearly equally divided among those who have a great deal or quite a lot of confidence (36%), some confidence (32%), or little or no confidence (32%) in higher education." (Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

Many business leaders equally reflect the growing lack of confidence. In a recent interview, Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chase CEO, criticized colleges and universities for the little focus they place on helping graduates find good employment. 

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This unwillingness, so argues Dimon, not only places an exorbitant amount of pressure on businesses to train their employees – something pre-employment education should do – but also disenfranchises large sectors of society.  

Kiersten Barnet, executive director of New York Jobs CEO Council – a group of 30 of America’s top CEOs and their companies – was perhaps more direct than Dimon, stating: "When you think about what you need to do a job, it is skills. It's not a degree."

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America’s growing doubts about colleges and universities are rooted in a list of causes too long to detail here, but it is worth noting that the lack of confidence is connected to certain factors. The most notable of these being what colleges and universities teach and do not teach. 

In Gallup’s report, of the Americans who register little or no confidence, almost 40%, criticize colleges and universities "for not teaching relevant skills, for college degrees not meaning much, or for graduates not being able to find employment."

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Indeed, a new survey released this week by Cengage Group found that 55% of recent graduates said their degree programs did not prepare them for the workforce, with 70% saying basic AI training should be taught. These are, in essence, the same concerns of business leaders like Dimon and Barnet. 

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Gallup’s report goes a step further, however. Slightly over 40% of Americans in this same low to no confidence group think that our colleges and universities "are pushing certain political agendas." In short, many believe that higher education is miseducating our students. Rather than preparing for careers and a productive life, colleges and universities appear to be preparing students to be radical activists.  

Further, the miseducation of our students as it relates to gainful employment – "good jobs" – is a serious problem since it robs from our students the opportunity for a fuller humanity. Jobs and compensation are essential for our humanity. But good jobs and good compensation are even more essential for a flourishing humanity and, by extension, a flourishing society. 

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Amid its many laudable goals, higher education must focus on preparing students for good jobs and compensation. To do any less is to perpetrate a great injustice on our students and our future. 

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When students are miseducated to become radical activists, the injustice perpetrated is even greater and the damage is even more corrosive. Students are duped into believing that radical activism adds value to their own life and to society when in fact it is the opposite. Such pursuits rob from students the exercise of their productive full potential, thus undermining their good as well as that of all society.

To re-ignite public and business confidence in their work, colleges and universities must have a singular focus on preparing students for meaningful jobs and careers. This begins with implementing industry-ready skills-based educational outcomes for their general education curriculum and all academic majors. 

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Colleges and universities should also require internships or apprenticeships for the honing of soft and industry-specifics skills as well as to create employment opportunities. And colleges and universities should require all academic departments to have industry and business partnerships for the continual refinement of curricula and preparation of students for the market.

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While there may be additional market-related refinements that could be implemented, there is no doubt that the above initiatives would go a long way to re-igniting our confidence in higher education.

 The focus on jobs and market preparation must also consider and integrate the enduring questions and answers to what it means to be human. This is what the humanities used to address.

Today, much of the humanities are characterized by a turn toward a contrarianism and deconstructionism that emphasize moral ambiguity and skepticism. Such an approach has resulted in generations of students who at best are sophisticated critics and at worst are radical activists. These students are too often unable to discern, affirm and defend truth and what it means to be human. 

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A case in point are the recent protests in which students were clearly unable to discern good from evil. Some college presidents also fared no better. 

Colleges and universities must develop and implement moral skills educational outcomes for their general education curriculum and all academic majors that prepare all students to discern and affirm what is true, beautiful and good.  

All students should also have a significant service requirement during each year of college that is a prerequisite for graduation. This service requirement would be connected to the moral skills outcomes allowing students to apply and refine their moral reasoning and judgment in preparation for life beyond college.

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Our colleges and universities must educate students with industry skills that position them for great market contributions. This education must also include moral skills that position our students for living a great life characterized by truth, beauty and goodness.  

Both industry and moral skills are essential for our students and for the future of our country, and a serious focus on these would go a long way in re-igniting the confidence in America’s colleges and universities.

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