The More College Graduates the Better?
Higher Education Equals Credential Inflation
Many people assume the country would be better off with more college graduates.
It seems reasonable if not completely obvious. Nations where few people have much formal education tend to be poor, while nations where a lot of people have college and postgraduate degrees are generally quite wealthy. And within the United States it is indisputably true that on average individuals with college degrees earn considerably more than do those who went no further than high school. There sure seems to be a connection between formal education and economic success.
Based on that assumption, the recent, much-publicized national “Report Card” on higher education released by the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education sounded a loud warning: “The inescapable fact is that the United States is underperforming in higher education.” The reason for that declaration is the statistical evidence that some other nations are “educating more people to higher levels.”
Especially disturbing to the writers of the “Report Card” is the fact that among young adults 25 to 34, the United States is only tied for seventh in the percentage holding an associate’s degree or higher, behind Canada, Japan, South Korea, Finland, Norway, Sweden, and Belgium. (Canada has 53 percent, the U.S. only 39 percent.) The “Report Card” leaps to the conclusion that “What is at risk is America’s future educational and economic leadership, if the nation’s younger population does not keep pace with the educational attainment levels of earlier generations and with the accelerating pace of higher education around the globe.” So we had better “invest” more to get more American students into and through college so they can meet the challenges of the “knowledge economy.”
I maintain that this is a case of crying “Wolf!” where there isn’t even a Chihuahua in sight.
The problem is that there isn’t any necessary connection between an individual’s educational credentials and his economic success; nor is there any connection at the national level. You can find individuals who dropped out of high school and make an excellent living in trades like construction work, and you can also find individuals who have college degrees who do lowly work like ushering in theatres. Internationally, you find nations that have “invested” heavily in higher education and seen their numbers of bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degree holders increase sharply but with no noticeable economic gain. Conversely, you can find nations where higher education has never been pushed, but where the standard of living is high. (A good contrast in that regard is between Egypt and Switzerland; the former has been putting lots of resources into education and its low per-capita GDP hasn’t budged, while the latter has the lowest college-participation rate of any advanced country but one of the world’s highest per-capita GDPs.)
But wait, some will say, the world is entering a “knowledge economy,” and surely that will put a premium on having highly educated workers. Furthermore, all good jobs will soon require a college degree—right?
Those pieces of the conventional wisdom are mistaken. Higher-level knowledge is doubtless becoming more important for some people, but the backbone of the U.S. economy will continue to consist of the same kinds of jobs as now. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the growth of demand for workers in jobs that call for no more than a high-school education will be strong. In fact, it is evident that many college grads currently wind up in “high school” jobs because a) there is such a glut of graduates and b) they managed to graduate without acquiring any important skill.
As for the idea that more and more jobs require a college degree, there is a kernel of truth to it. Employers have set a college-degree requirement for applicants for many more jobs than in the past. That, however, is rarely because the work has become so much more demanding that a smart high-school graduate couldn’t learn to do it. Instead, employers are using the degree requirement as a screening mechanism. With such a large pool of college graduates available, they can afford to shut out people who ended their formal education at high school. The degree requirement has nothing to do with skill or knowledge (usually, any degree suffices) but is merely a filter against the presumably harder-to-train high-school grads.
Professors James Engell and Anthony Dangerfield hit the nail on the head in their book Saving Higher Education in the Age of Money when they wrote, “[T]he United States has become the most rigidly credentialized society in the world. A B.A. is required for jobs that by no stretch of imagination need two years of full-time training, let alone four.” Relentlessly promoting higher education doesn’t give us a better-skilled workforce; it just gives us credential inflation.
The higher-education establishment would like people to believe that college students eagerly absorb a great amount of knowledge that they employ after graduation to greatly enhance their productivity in the “knowledge economy.” Yes, there are some students like that. But many others enter college with poor basic skills and leave without much improvement. The recent National Assessment of Adult Literacy, released about a year ago, found that just 31 percent of college graduates could be regarded as proficient readers. The decline in that number from the assessment done in 1992 is compelling evidence for something that many professors quietly admit, namely, that academic standards have been falling.
Debasing Credentials
They have been falling because many colleges and universities are content to enroll students with weak academic ability and little interest in educational pursuits. Having coasted through their K–12 schooling where, for the most part, teachers are imbued with the “progressive” notion that building students’ self-esteem is crucial, those kids reach college expecting the same thing. They expect high grades for minimal work and to get a college degree just for showing up. Because most schools are hungry for revenue, they try to keep such students content by relaxing standards so they won’t drop out or transfer. Thus the benefit of higher education for the best students is reduced to allow poor ones to obtain a debased credential.
Coming back to the alleged need to keep up with the Joneses educationally, if other countries benefit from increased rates of college participation, fine. The United States isn’t in a race with them where “leadership” is crucial. We ought to abandon the tribalistic mindset that sees success by others as a threat. More productive firms in, say, Finland or Belgium won’t imperil the American standard of living. Maybe the countries that are “leading” us haven’t yet reached the point of diminishing returns on higher education, but we certainly have.
American prosperity does not depend on educational central planning by the government that attempts to maximize the number of college-degree holders. Individuals, often aided by their employers, will make the optimal human-capital investments without any subsidization.
What our prosperity does depend on is freedom. The most prosperous nations are that way because the government interferes comparatively little in the economy. Anyone who really cares about enhancing our standard of living should advocate widespread deregulation and the shrinkage of government spending.
Comment by John Doe on 20 February 2009:
You must have gone to a pretty bad college. Our University system is turning into a joke. Just look at all the high-paying jobs all over the world and you will see that they require degrees and skills that you learn most efficiently in college.
Comment by John Doe on 20 February 2009:
I forgot, Switzerland has the highest degrees granted per capita of any place in the world.
Comment by Max on 28 February 2009:
great Article, very good information!
http://universityforall.com/
Comment by Max Headroom on 7 October 2009:
I agree with John Doe. You really need to do your research. There is so much wrong with your commentary I would have to rewrite the entire artical. Alot of it is so ridiculously untrue that it does not warrant addressing. America has always depended on the educational systems of most other nations for the tallent. Since the end of the second world war the USA has made it a common practice to go out of country to maintain the talent pool. This is common knowledge. Examples of this are mainly in the sciences and medical professions.
Secondly, I would like to look at your theory on why businesses post for college grads. You do not find that type of qualification for a janitor position. If your are advertising for a teacher, doctor, law clerk, you would probably find a post secondary educational requirement. There are simple no brainers that require screening. You say that “companies use it as a screening mechanism”. Of course they use it as a screening mechanism. That is the entire reason behind having a job description!
I think America better start paying attention. With the global economy in the state its in, means a rising standard of living in many of the countries that america draws from for talent. This means the pool is now getting much shallower.
What are you suggesting? Maybe USA should just not worry higher education. It will look after itself. What if it does’nt?
Comment by Ted on 18 January 2010:
The point he does make is that our graduates are sub par. A government may invest or even require a college education but the individuals moving through still must choose to learn. They aren’t; they are going though the motions doing only the minimum required and neither are they or the nation better off. Those who are willing to sacrifice will succeed. What if they are not willing? This is a nation comprised of individuals, not a nation created to control individuals, even for the greater good (as you might see it).
Comment by Robert L. on 28 January 2010:
J. Doe, you’re couldn’t be more wrong. According to the latest data from the OECD, Switzerland’s per capita University completion rate is 23.1 as compared to 30.1 for the U. S. Furthermore, you act as if there are no high paying jobs in the U. S. Seriously? And Max, what planet are you on? As the author says, there are many more colleges graduates in the United States than jobs in which to place them. The U. S. doesn’t “go out of country” to maintain its talent pool, the “talent pool” chooses to come to the U. S. And if the universities are so “substandard”, why do more people come from abroad to attend them than any others in the world? The bottom line is the total number of college graduates in a nation is meaningless. What counts is matching the skills of a population with the needs of its marketplace. For many people, a trade school is more useful and more appropriate than sitting through 4 years of college to get a degree in whatever. Vince D., you hit the nail right on the head.
Comment by monica on 31 March 2010:
Interesting article in some respects, but you miss an important point: A college degree is not important ONLY because of what economic rewards it might (or might not) eventually bring. First, we must remember the relatively low expectations of our K-12 system (certainly compared to Europe where most people graduate from high schol with the equivalent of 2 years of U.S. college education).
Educating Americans to the college level results in a more educated, informed citizenry, people who are better able to process complex information, make informed political decisions, etc. In short, college is important not just as a means to an end (career, money, etc.), but also because of the critical, often very basic educational opportunities it affords.
Comment by 胡志成 on 24 July 2010:
Max wrote:
“What are you suggesting? Maybe USA should just not worry higher education. It will look after itself. What if it does’nt?”
Watch where you put your apostrophes. I can tell freedom makes you uncomfortable. People can and should make their own decisions about their higher education future. With the current trend of promoting college education to the current outlandish degree of ridiculous government stipends, we’ve inflated college attendees way above needed. That means people’s stolen tax money is going to pay for people to go sit on their ass for four years and get nothing out of it. I can tell you I’m one of them. Wouldn’t you rather more people being able to afford their own homes than college campuses getting bigger? Wouldn’t you prefer your kids to have a higher quality of living?
But if you think you can spend people’s money better than themselves, I guess our futures are up to your random whims.
Comment by Terry on 26 July 2010:
Bravo. This article made my day..I have been pondering the notion of an America where college isn’t ram-rodded to teens that have no need to attend. You cannot deny that some peoplearent made for college, and that post high school education is often superfluous for some people. God did not give the same skills to me as He gave to others, and with that in mind, I can say that our government subsidizing public education at the level that it does is robbery of tax dollars and a waste of time for some people that just aren’t cut out for college. My dad never onceattended college but owns a successfulplumbong company and takes home 200k plus a year, not bad for an old plumber huh??? But to hear the teachers, counselors and government tell it, you’re an idiot and screwed if you never get a degree. But here’s the deal, who stands to make money off of college attendance? The person with the degree? Society? Or could it also be that the number of college attendees that take out government held student loans and pay into a government institution, that have professors on a government payroll with a large union
Comment by Terry on 26 July 2010:
Bravo. This article made my day..I have been pondering the notion of an America where college isn’t ram-rodded to teens that have no need to attend. You cannot deny that some peoplearent made for college, and that post high school education is often superfluous for some people. God did not give the same skills to me as He gave to others, and with that in mind, I can say that our government subsidizing public education at the level that it does is robbery of tax dollars and a waste of time for some people that just aren’t cut out for college. My dad never onceattended college but owns a successfulplumbong company and takes home 200k plus a year, not bad for an old plumber huh??? But to hear the teachers, counselors and government tell it, you’re an idiot and screwed if you never get a degree. But here’s the deal, who stands to make money off of college attendance? The person with the degree? Society? Or could it also be that the number of college attendees that take out government held student loans and pay into a government institution, that have professors on a government payroll with a large union are the ultimate benefactors. America is being duped, Follow the money trail and you’ll see why college is being pushed on kids today as “the only way”
Comment by Jay on 7 August 2010:
Terry, maybe if you had attended college you could have avoided posting the same comment twice.
Comment by FRANCES on 24 August 2010:
I don’t regret spending time and money gong to University, i was motivated to go as i was passionate about my subject. I also believed that it would help get me a more interesting job, though not necessarily better paid. It was an appropriate step for me at the time.
However Higher Education has become a very lucrative business and is marketed as forcefully as weight loss products and fast cars. It is not an appropriate or necessary step for everyone, but parents and students feel inadequate and fearful that if they don’t go they will not get jobs. Unfortunately if employers keep requesting degrees for jobs which don’t really need them, the education industry will continue to have a constant stream of students who enter from fear of failure rather than a love of learning.
Comment by Liz on 28 August 2010:
Education and college are defined much differently world over.
Europe heavily subsidizes university education, and a BA or BS is three years. Students often get a stipend for school. An AA or AAS is part of an apprenticeship system. Most kids have 10 years education and then go on to job training.
In the US school lasts 12 years and then you get your AA or BA level degrees.
Having lived in Europe I can tell you who has the high paying jobs, Americans. In Switzerland almost all of the jobs in cities can’t be filled by local talent, because they are not well trained enough. This is one of the wealthiest countries in the world with one of the highest standards of living.
Even with the low cost of education in Europe the option for college is in reality open to all in the US. You may have to get creative with funding, but anyone can go to college. This is not true in all of Europe. The systems are very different.
I think education needs to be improved and more options need to be offered to students, like real job training and not making a “degree” and guarantee of success, but being trained in something you are good at.
Comment by Ms. Third Grade California Teacher on 28 August 2010:
Interesting ideas from all camps. A different perspective on the search for international student talent may be in part (I said only in part) due to numbers. The percentage of gifted students in India and China (perhaps 2 percent of their population) is a larger number than our gifted and advanced student population.
Comment by BAP on 22 November 2010:
I never understood the argument that the economic rewards of a college education and wisdom gained should be weighed equally. The cost of a university education is horrendous. I’m glad that some people have $20,000+ extra a year to spend on an education. The rest of us have to worry about the financial payoff of a degree because of the debt incurred during the process. Every time you tell a college graduate that the tens of thousands of dollars in capitalized interest they spent was worth the wisdom they gained, you might as well punch them in the gut.
Comment by jill on 23 November 2010:
I would agree with the above article. I myself have seen the requirement in a job ad for a 2 year college degree in Turf Management to get a summer job cutting grass. Doesn’t this seem wrong to anybody else?
The other problem with using college as a standardized format for education (good part is immediately obvious- everyone is trained exactly the same) is that when being trained by someone while working (ie apprenticeships), all of the knowledge that isn’t formalized – is not passed on. We have a huge brain drain happening – all those who retire without training a successor. Much reinventing of the wheel happens and data mining can only reconstruct a certain amount. Not the contacts, not the shortcuts, not the feel/look of something when it’s right and often not even where data may be found.
Comment by Julia on 21 July 2011:
There can be no doubt that the degree requirement for most jobs is used to screen applicants. It is an arbitrary delineator to reduce the number of potential applicants to a more manageable number. Do you really need a college degree to be a secretary (administrative assistant)? How about a warehouse worker? As long as the college degree is used in an arbitrary manner to filter job applicants for these kinds of jobs, the push to obtain these degrees (even perfunctorily), will continue
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Comment by Kalie on 15 August 2011:
Phenomenal breakdown of the topic, you sholud write for me too!
Comment by David Beadles on 19 October 2011:
In light of the dismal performance of so many of our secondary schools, small wonder that many businesses want college graduates. Perhaps they assume that those who continued on in their education have learned at least some of the skills that were at one time associated with high school graduates.
Considering how colleges and universities have become the domain of the ultra-left and progressives (at least in the humanities and liberal arts area), an employer might question what type of college educated employee he gets -at least as far as attitude and outlook.
Think Wall street occupier
Comment by William King on 19 October 2011:
@David Beadles~ Spot on. This is a *big* problem right now. Trust me.
“That which we obtain too easily, we esteem too lightly. It is dearness only which gives everything its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price on its goods.” ~Thomas Paine.
Simply, if college degrees are pushed excessively [however that is defined] the value of those degrees will decrease, because everyone has them and they are easy to get. Now there is some intrisic value in a college degree as proof that the bearer has basic abilities, but if everyone has these abilities, and there is not enough jobs for them, not only will people not be able to find “college level” jobs, there will be a boom and bust cycle in the college degree area. I have no idea how that will look, but that will happen. That is what happened with the recent housing bust. Overconsumption of the housing market lead to misguided investment in that market. When reality set in, the bust happenend. Now we are trying to recover. What will happen if the college degree market busts? What *long term* effects will that have on the economy?
I will admit that I am going to college right now, because I am hopeing to get a law or business degree. There are a lot of people in college right now hoping to be able to be somewhat more “higherable” in the job market.
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