Page 188 - Crisis in Higher Education

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Building Bridges to Potential Employers

Some faculty and administrators may push back on the notion that
most students attend college to get better jobs and earn more money.
But logic supports these motives, and there are data to back this up.
A national survey of first-year college students reports the top-five rea-
sons for attending college. The number next to the reason is the percent
of respondents who rated it very important. Three of the top-five objec-
tives are about jobs and money.

1. Get a better job—85%
2. Learn about things that interest me—83%
3. Train for a specific career—78%
4. Gain a general education and appreciation of ideas—72%
5. Make more money—71%

The same survey listed the number-one life priority as “Being well off
financially” with 77% considering it to be essential or very important.
1
It seems reasonable to speculate that if these questions were given to par-
ents that the percentages for good jobs and money would be even higher.
It seems clear that job opportunities and earnings are important to
students and their parents. Elite universities with deep pockets and lots
of applicants may be able to ignore these priorities and maintain enroll-
ment and revenue, although one of their big advantages is networking,
which is very useful in securing good jobs. Public universities, especially
those with a regional reach, have an opportunity to separate themselves
from their competitors by building strong links to potential employers.
When junior high and high school students and their parents see high
school graduates succeeding at a university and getting good jobs, they are
inclined to consider this university seriously. Even without this incentive,

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