Moving Beyond Degrees
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This document discusses moving beyond traditional higher education models to focus on competency and workforce needs. It summarizes that traditional degree programs are not adequately addressing job demand or student success. Instead, it advocates for modularized, competency-based models aligned with employer needs where student success is defined by job placement rather than course completion. The focus is on technical education programs that get students job-ready and employed rather than keeping them in courses. This represents a shift toward competency as the currency in higher education.
![“We have
declared War
on Work”
“...the collective effect [...] has
been this marginalization of lots
and lots of jobs. And I realized
[...] to me the most important
thing to know and to really come
face to face with is the fact that I
got it wrong about a lot of things.”
Mike Rowe, Dirty Jobs
Source: TED Speech, December 2008.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/bettersworthtccil10-5-10-101013140255-phpapp01/85/Moving-Beyond-Degrees-9-320.jpg)
Moving Beyond Degrees
- 1. Moving Beyond Degrees: Why Competency is Currency Michael Bettersworth Texas State Technical College michael.bettersworth@systems.tstc.edu October 5, 2010 TCCIL
- 2. Source: CollegeGrad.com. College graduates moving back home in larger number. 22 July 2009!
- 3. U.S. Credit Card Debt U.S. Student Loan Debt $826.5 billion $829.785 billion An estimated “$300 billion in federal student loan debts have been incurred in the last four years...”
- 4. Four times the rate of inflation. Almost twice the rate of healthcare costs.
- 5. On average, tuition tends to increase about 8% per year. An 8% college inflation rate means that the cost of college doubles every nine years. For a baby born today, this means that college costs will be more than three times current rates when the child matriculates in college. -FinAid Source: FinAid. Tuition Inflation. Retrieved from: http://www.finaid.org/savings/tuition-inflation.phtml.
- 6. “There is a growing sense among the public that higher education might be overpriced and under- delivering.” -The Chronicle of Higher Education Source: Cronin, Joseph & Horton, Howard. Will higher education be the next bubble to burst? The Chronicle of Higher Education. May 22, 2009.
- 7. And yet... “American workers’ unmet need for further education and training is exacerbating today’s unemployment problem and portending long-term trouble for workers and businesses -- even after the economy recovers.” -Business Roundtable Source: Business Roundtable, New survey reveals obstacles to training and education are threatening U.S. competitiveness and worker prosperity. October 8, 2009
- 8. The War on Work The Education Dichotomy The Higher Ed Imbalance Defining Student Success Moving Beyond Degrees
- 9. “We have declared War on Work” “...the collective effect [...] has been this marginalization of lots and lots of jobs. And I realized [...] to me the most important thing to know and to really come face to face with is the fact that I got it wrong about a lot of things.” Mike Rowe, Dirty Jobs Source: TED Speech, December 2008.
- 10. There is much talk of “diversity” in education, but not much accommodation of the kind we have in mind when we speak about the quality of a man, or a woman: the diversity of disposition.!
- 11. “We have come to see labor as something we do in exchange for money and not as an expression of our intrinsic nature. Many a white-collar man works hard but lives in a world of soul-killing abstraction, where what he does, what he feels and who he is have little to do with one another.” Rod Dreher Dallas Morning News Source: Dreher, Rod. The soft bigotry of high expectations. The Dallas Morning News. May 29, 2009.
- 12. This “War on Work” has led to a perceived devaluation of certain career and educational pursuits. Up to 3 million highly-skilled technical positions remain unfilled as of June 2010. How did we get here? Source: The new competition for america’s jobs. Trends Magazine. June 2010.
- 13. The War on Work The Education Dichotomy The Higher Ed Imbalance Defining Student Success Moving Beyond Degrees
- 14. “Mental” 20% Blue Collar White Collar 80% “Manual” The Class of Work
- 15. This division has been applied to American education.
- 16. Smith-Hughes Act 1917 Education Dissected Vocational Education Academic
- 17. Smith-Hughes Act 1917 Education Dissected Academic Vocational
- 18. “Cubicles” “Fries with that?” 20% 15% “Engineers” “Experts” “Skilled” Skilled “Labor” “Professional” Unskilled “Labor” 65% “Developers” “Craftsmen” “Technicians” “Paid” “Hired” DOL’s New Model
- 19. Higher education must serve all of these segments; however, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education, “colleges are taking on too many roles and doing none of them well.” - The Chronicle of Higher Education Source: Hacker, A & Dreifus, C. Are colleges worth the price of admission. The Chronicle of Higher Education. July 11, 2010.
- 20. Engineering schools realized this in 2001 Source: About CDIO, http://www.cdio.org/about_cdio/about_1_cdio.html, Retrieved July 7, 2009.
- 21. Source: About CDIO, http://www.cdio.org/about_cdio/about_1_cdio.html, Retrieved July 7, 2009.
- 22. “Imagination is more important than knowledge.”
- 23. People need to know how to think, inquire, analyze, question, challenge, explore, empathize, relate, decide, innovate, grow... People also need relevant competencies so they can get a job.
- 24. The War on Work The Education Dichotomy The Higher Ed Imbalance Defining Student Success Moving Beyond Degrees
- 25. “Over the next ten years, 26 of the top 30 fastest growing jobs will require some post- secondary education or training...The demand for skilled workers is outpacing supply, resulting in attractive, high-paying jobs going unfilled.” Emily Stover DeRocco President, The Manufacturing Institute, National Center for the American Workforce Former Assistant Secretary of Labor for Education and Training
- 26. “Essentially, postsecondary education or training has become the threshold requirement for access to middle-class status and earnings in good times and in bad.” “It is no longer the preferred pathway to middle-class jobs—it is, increasingly, the only pathway.”
- 27. Therefore, it is reasoned, we must increase college graduation rates. In Texas we call this, “Closing the Gaps.” What Gaps Are We Closing?
- 28. Texas Public Two-Year Colleges Awards Texas Public Four-Year Universities Awards 110000 82500 55000 College graduation is increasing in Texas. 27500 That’s a good thing. 0 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
- 29. Texas Technical Public Two Year Awards Texas Academic Public Two-Year Awards 50000 37500 25000 Technical awards are flat/declining. 12500 Academic awards are now the most common. This is incongruent with job demand. 0 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
- 30. Does this output match our workforce demand?
- 32. The JET Fund - Fingers Crossed for 2012 Career and Technical Scholarship Fund Launchpad Fund Job Building Fund $5,000,000 $10,000,000 $10,000,000 Scholarships for two- Support nonprofit Equipment for high- year college students programs preparing demand technical enrolled in programs low-income students programs at two- for high-demand for high-demand year colleges. occupations. occupations.
- 33. "A university degree used to be an entree to a job.” “Their university degree means they have a good, solid education but not necessarily something that translates easily into a job.” Ann Buller, President Centennial College Source: Birchard, K. (2010) Canadian university graduates are going back to the classroom for vocational training. The Chronicle. Retrieved from http://chronicle.com/article/Canadian-University-Graduates/66078/?sid=cc&utm_source=cc&utm_medium=en.
- 34. "The colleges have become kind of a finishing school for university graduates.” Enrollment of "postgraduate students" at Seneca College has increased at a steady rate, making up 15 percent of the full-time student body and 50 percent of the part-time population in 2009. Rick Miner, President Emeritus Seneca College Source: Birchard, K. (2010) Canadian university graduates are going back to the classroom for vocational training. The Chronicle. Retrieved from http://chronicle.com/article/Canadian-University-Graduates/66078/?sid=cc&utm_source=cc&utm_medium=en.
- 35. Abdullah Muhaseen graduated with bachelor's degrees in both neuroscience and psychology. Then he enrolled in a public college to become a paramedic. “My first year at Centennial was more difficult intellectually than my four years at the University of Toronto combined.” “At university you can procrastinate and miss a lot of lectures, whereas at college you have to keep on top of your assignments to be at the top of your game.” Source: Birchard, K. (2010) Canadian university graduates are going back to the classroom for vocational training. The Chronicle. Retrieved from http://chronicle.com/article/Canadian-University-Graduates/66078/?sid=cc&utm_source=cc&utm_medium=en.
- 36. “At one time, paramedics “I love my were simply ambulance drivers job. No two days are the who took people to the same, and it hospital. Today, a paramedic is fits my lifestyle.” trained to recognize many things, such as distinguishing between a heart attack and an aneurism, and begin treatment at the scene.You also have to know your pharmacology to recognize what medications your patient is using and what you can Abdullah Muhaseen administer en route to the Paramedic hospital.” Source: Birchard, K. (2010) Canadian university graduates are going back to the classroom for vocational training. The Chronicle. Retrieved from http://chronicle.com/article/Canadian-University-Graduates/66078/?sid=cc&utm_source=cc&utm_medium=en.
- 37. Median earnings in Alabama employment market, and certificates/degrees weighted by value to the state and individuals: Source: Kelley, P., The dreaded “P” word: an examination of productivity in public postsecondary education, July 2009.
- 38. Median earnings in Alabama employment market, and certificates/degrees weighted by value to the state and individuals: Source: Kelley, P., The dreaded “P” word: an examination of productivity in public postsecondary education, July 2009.
- 39. Median earnings in Alabama employment market, and certificates/degrees weighted by value to the state and individuals: Source: Kelley, P., The dreaded “P” word: an examination of productivity in public postsecondary education, July 2009.
- 40. Median earnings in Alabama employment market, and certificates/degrees weighted by value to the state and individuals: Source: Kelley, P., The dreaded “P” word: an examination of productivity in public postsecondary education, July 2009.
- 41. It’s not that you study, but what you study.
- 42. The War on Work The Education Dichotomy The Higher Ed Imbalance Defining Student Success Moving Beyond Degrees
- 43. Nationwide, 7,000 students drop out of high school every day. - U.S. House Education & Labor Committee Source: House Education & Labor Committee (May 12, 2009). “High school dropout crisis threatens U.S. economic growth and competitiveness, witnesses tell house panel”. Press release. Retrieved September 23, 2009.
- 44. I dropped out of school because… Source: Bridgeland, Dilulio and Burke Morison, The Silent Epidemic: Perspectives of High School Dropouts, A report by Civic Enterprises in association with the Peter D. Hart Research Associates, Washington, DC, March 2006.
- 45. I could have graduated. Source: Bridgeland, Dilulio and Burke Morison, The Silent Epidemic: Perspectives of High School Dropouts, A report by Civic Enterprises in association with the Peter D. Hart Research Associates, Washington, DC, March 2006.
- 46. Source: American College Testing
- 47. One in every four students leaves college before completing sophomore year. Source: American College Testing
- 48. Only about 60% of Americans who enter a four-year college graduate with a degree within six years. Source: American College Testing
- 49. The colleges that most students attend "need to streamline their programs, so they emphasize employability.” Anthony P. Carnevale Director, Georgetown Center Georgetown University
- 50. “Unless we can align career and technology education with what is needed in the workforce, we will simply not be able to realize the vast potential of the Texas Energy Cluster or other high-growth sectors.” “…I believe that our education system should make a shift to one that is market- driven and takes into account the skills Tom Pauken needed by employers.” Commissioner Texas Workforce Commission
- 51. Higher Ed Accountability On the Rise Drivers Responses Closing the Gaps Growing Public Unrest Gainful Employment Increased Media Completion Agenda Attention Momentum Points Employer Complaints Perkins Funding Student Default Rates Measures Tough Budgets Performance Funding
- 52. What we measure counts. Focal Measurements Fuzzy Measurements Enrollments Placement Rate Demographics Earnings Contact Hours Student Satisfaction Course Completion Employer Satisfaction Graduates New Companies Numbers of Awards Return on Investment Award Levels Value to Taxpayer National Benchmarks Efficiency
- 53. Traditional higher education is a linear progression built on courses, semesters, degree plans and graduation. In order to respond to the nation’s workforce needs, we must do better.
- 54. The War on Work The Education Dichotomy The Higher Ed Imbalance Defining Student Success Moving Beyond Degrees
- 55. Traditional Curriculum Model Start Enroll in Program Intro to Industrial Intro to Auto Intro to Diesel Systems Automotive Electrical Diesel Electrical Industrial Electrical Automotive Hydraulics Diesel Hydraulics Industrial Hydraulics Source: Ron Sanders, Texas State Technical Collge
- 56. Core Curriculum Model Start Technology Core Basic Hydraulics Basic Electrical Assessment Basic Controls Mechanical Principles Thermodynamic Principles Basic Computing Path Automotive Diesel Applications Industrial Applications HVAC Applications Applications Source: Ron Sanders, Texas State Technical Collge
- 58. TSMC
- 62. Modularized curriculum with embedded certificates in flexible schedules aligned with employer demand where student success is defined as job placement, not simply completing a course.
- 63. Technical Education is not about keeping students in seats. It’s is about getting them out the door and on their feet.
- 64. An excellent plumber is infinitely more admirable than an incompetent philosopher. The society which scorns excellence in plumbing because plumbing is a humble activity and tolerates shoddiness in philosophy because it is an exalted activity will have neither good plumbing nor good philosophy. Neither its pipes nor its theories will hold water. John W. Gardner President, Carnegie Corporation Source: Gardner, J. "Excellence: Can We Be Equal and Excellent Too?", p. 86 (1961)
- 65. The Next Phase: Skills Validation (stay tuned)
- 66. The War on Work The Education Dichotomy The Higher Ed Imbalance Defining Student Success Moving Beyond Degrees
- 67. “Education is not filling a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” William Butler Yeats
- 68. Something that is true about fire... it always searches for more fuel.
- 69. Let’s go make torches!
- 70. Moving Beyond Degrees: Why Competency is Currency Michael Bettersworth Texas State Technical College michael.bettersworth@systems.tstc.edu October 5, 2010 TCCIL