Page 26 - Crisis in Higher Education

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The Higher Education Conundrum

For thousands of years, the world evolved from a place where success/ survival
was determined by physical strengths, running speed, and hand–eye coordi-
nation to a place where intellectual ability, knowledge, and creativity are key
success factors. Admittedly, strength, speed, and coordination are still essen-
tial for professional athletes and a few other professions, but this group is a
very small portion of the population in the developed world.
Manufacturing jobs, which are considered manual labor, are a declining
portion of the U.S. labor market. In 2013, manufacturing employment was
only 12 million workers or less than 9% of the U.S. workforce. In addi-
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tion, many manufacturing jobs are held by supervisors, engineers, and
managers who engage in intellectual work such as scheduling, designing,
and planning. Even the mundane, repetitive jobs on an assembly line often
have automation and power assistance to cope with the physical dimen-
sions of work. Plus, assembly line workers are expected to identify and
solve problems related to workplace safety, equipment reliability, process
improvement, and maintenance. This may not require education beyond
high school, but it does require thought, knowledge, and creativity.
As the United States and other countries continue the march toward
jobs that require intellectual work, the need for more and better educa-
tion becomes obvious. A hundred years ago, graduating from the eighth
grade was celebrated as high school graduations are celebrated today.
At that time, an elementary school teacher often had only a high school
diploma. In 1940, only 25% of the population aged 25 years and older had
completed high school and only 5% of adults held a bachelor’s degree or
higher. World War II began a big push for higher education by emphasiz-
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ing the importance of innovation and technology as well as high-output,
efficient manufacturing systems. The United States entered the war with
weapons, especially airplanes, that were inferior to its enemies in both

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