The National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS) and Jobs for the Future issued a report called “ADDING IT UP: State Challenges for Increasing College Access and Success,” and it outlines the trajectory of higher education in the U.S. in terms of degree attainment.

Despite all the emphasis on education and the explosion of online institutions, the report states that the U.S. is now tenth on the list of industrialized nations in percentage of 25-34 year old adults holding an associate’s degree or better. Word is that we’re going to be short by 16 million degrees if we want to keep up with other nations and meet our own workforce needs by 2025. Wow. That’s big.

I wonder what’s going on. Is education just too expensive for a lot of people? Or is there a transferability gap between academia and the workforce?

I know from my own experiences that a liberal arts degree (English, history, etc.) doesn’t necessarily translate to business-ready job skills. I think that all higher education schools need to gear more programs towards workforce demands and not the perpetuation of academic study. It seems like a lot of growth in the for-profit education sector has been directed to meet these very demands. But if we’re going to be 16 million degrees short, then I think every institution will need to make an effort to relate a college programs to workforce needs so that people can see how higher education can help them.

As for cost of education, well, that’s a whole other ball of wax. One of the national news stations recently noted that costs of education have gone up 35% since the 90s. In comparison, household income has only increased 8%. Even so, we’re going to have find a way to make education more affordable and applicable if we’re going to keep up internationally with the benchmark of 55% of adults holding at least a two-year degree. Suggestions anyone?