Page 356 - Crisis in Higher Education

326 • Appendix A

curricula and set performance standards so graduates are well
prepared. PABs also provide a point of contact between students
and employers.
2. Universities should provide placement and job data for appli-
cants to evaluate. Universities currently invest considerable effort
and large amounts of money to track alumni for the purpose of
fundraising. This mechanism can be used to collect placement
and job data.
3. Universities should provide students with easy access to the
Occupational Outlook Handbook prepared by the U.S. Bureau of
Labor Statistics, which provides employment information about
hundreds of jobs.
4. Universities help to build strong relationships between students and
employers.
a. Cooperative education and internship programs are ways for
students to achieve appropriate professional behaviors, learn how
to apply theory and techniques to real problems, and become
more interested and motivated to learn. In return, employers can
evaluate the talents of students.
b. Potential employers can work directly with students as men-
tors or in small groups to offer advice and counsel about various
aspects of professional life.
5. As students move toward graduation, programs and colleges within
the university must provide better mechanisms for placing students
in good jobs. In addition to traditional placement services, programs
and colleges should be proactive in finding potential employers and
bringing them to campus for job fairs and other interactions with
students, including job interviews.

A.4 CHAPTER 9: GOVERNMENT’S ROLE
IN HIGHER EDUCATION
1. Governments’ role in higher education should be somewhere
in the middle between the extreme positions of making higher
education tuition-free and eliminating or dramatically reducing
government support. The status quo is an appropriate place to
begin.