Council on Competitiveness & Northeastern University Lead Expert Higher Education Panel; Release New National Opinion Poll on Higher –Ed Outcomes
September 17, 2013
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
Lisa Hanna
Vice President, Communications
Council on Competitiveness
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
202-383-9507
(Washington, DC) -The Council on Competitiveness and Northeastern University today led an illustrious, expert panel session, Innovation Imperative: Enhancing Higher Education Outcomes, at the National Press Club to explore the critical skill sets needed for the U.S. workforce to excel in the competitive global economy.
Today’s event coincided with the release of a new national survey commissioned by Northeastern University. The poll, of both the American public and business leaders, examines the skills, competencies and credentials needed to compete and thrive in a global economy. Read “Are you Experienced? Employers Hope So,” Wall Street Journal, September 17th, 2013.
“Education and innovation are intrinsically linked,” said Deborah Wince-Smith, President & CEO, Council on Competitiveness. “Developing a highly-skilled, globally attuned and innovative workforce involves widening the scope of educational experiences – and that’s where industry, government and university partnerships will catalyze innovation and provide students with a unique perspective and the skills for sustainability.”
Some of the survey’s top findings include:
• Americans continue to believe in the importance of higher education, but express concerns about the system’s ability to prepare graduates for success in today’s competitive workforce.
o In fact, just over 6-in-10 (62%) Americans say the higher education system is currently doing only a fair to poor job of preparing college graduates.
• Despite the recent focus on STEM degrees, most Americans and particularly business leaders say it is more important for graduates to be well-rounded and possess broader capabilities such as problem solving and communication skills.
o Nearly 2-in-3 Americans and almost 3-in-4 business leaders believe that being well-rounded with a range of abilities is more important than having specific industry expertise.
o At the same time, roughly half of Americans feel the government should do more to promote policies to increase the number of students graduating with STEM majors.
• Americans express declining confidence in online education, and they remain divided over the long-term benefits and impact of Massive Open Online Course (MOOCs).
o A declining proportion of Americans say an online college program provides a similar quality of education as a traditional program; yet, more than half of all Americans continue to expect that an online degree will be equally recognized by employers within the next 5 – 7 years.
• Americans are divided on whether the greatest responsibility for preparing recent graduates for success lies with employers, colleges/universities or the graduates themselves.
o Americans are mixed on whether the greatest responsibility for training recent graduates for success in the workplace lies with colleges/universities (29%), employees/graduates themselves (35%) or companies/employers (36%).
o Nearly 9-in-10 (87%) Americans contend the higher education system must change to retain a workforce that is competitive with other countries, representing a slight upward trend from 2012 (83%).
“As the nation turns its focus to higher edu¬ca¬tion out¬comes, we see that the Amer-ican system has many strengths, but also many opportunities for improvement and innovation,” said Joseph E. Aoun, president of Northeastern University. “The best attributes of American higher education- its diversity and competitive dynamic - are precisely the qualities that will lead to much-needed innovations."
Also included in today’s panel was Mitch Daniels, Jr., President, Purdue University, Jeff Wilcox, Vice President for Engineering, Lockheed Martin Corporation, James Kvaal, Deputy Director, Domestic Policy Council, The White House and Catherine Rampell, Economics Reporter, New York Times – who served as moderator.
To view Northeastern’ s higher-education survey in its entirety, click here.
ABOUT THE COUNCIL ON COMPETITIVENESS
The Council on Competitiveness is the only group of corporate CEOs, university presidents and labor leaders committed to the future prosperity of all Americans and enhanced U.S. competitiveness in the global economy through the creation of high-value economic activity in the United States. The Council is a non-partisan and non-governmental organization. For more information, see the Council’s website and a full list of publications at http://www.compete.org. Check out the Council on Competiveness’ Facebook page for further updates or follow @competenow on Twitter.
Today’s event coincided with the release of a new national survey commissioned by Northeastern University. The poll, of both the American public and business leaders, examines the skills, competencies and credentials needed to compete and thrive in a global economy. Read “Are you Experienced? Employers Hope So,” Wall Street Journal, September 17th, 2013.
“Education and innovation are intrinsically linked,” said Deborah Wince-Smith, President & CEO, Council on Competitiveness. “Developing a highly-skilled, globally attuned and innovative workforce involves widening the scope of educational experiences – and that’s where industry, government and university partnerships will catalyze innovation and provide students with a unique perspective and the skills for sustainability.”
Some of the survey’s top findings include:
• Americans continue to believe in the importance of higher education, but express concerns about the system’s ability to prepare graduates for success in today’s competitive workforce.
o In fact, just over 6-in-10 (62%) Americans say the higher education system is currently doing only a fair to poor job of preparing college graduates.
• Despite the recent focus on STEM degrees, most Americans and particularly business leaders say it is more important for graduates to be well-rounded and possess broader capabilities such as problem solving and communication skills.
o Nearly 2-in-3 Americans and almost 3-in-4 business leaders believe that being well-rounded with a range of abilities is more important than having specific industry expertise.
o At the same time, roughly half of Americans feel the government should do more to promote policies to increase the number of students graduating with STEM majors.
• Americans express declining confidence in online education, and they remain divided over the long-term benefits and impact of Massive Open Online Course (MOOCs).
o A declining proportion of Americans say an online college program provides a similar quality of education as a traditional program; yet, more than half of all Americans continue to expect that an online degree will be equally recognized by employers within the next 5 – 7 years.
• Americans are divided on whether the greatest responsibility for preparing recent graduates for success lies with employers, colleges/universities or the graduates themselves.
o Americans are mixed on whether the greatest responsibility for training recent graduates for success in the workplace lies with colleges/universities (29%), employees/graduates themselves (35%) or companies/employers (36%).
o Nearly 9-in-10 (87%) Americans contend the higher education system must change to retain a workforce that is competitive with other countries, representing a slight upward trend from 2012 (83%).
“As the nation turns its focus to higher edu¬ca¬tion out¬comes, we see that the Amer-ican system has many strengths, but also many opportunities for improvement and innovation,” said Joseph E. Aoun, president of Northeastern University. “The best attributes of American higher education- its diversity and competitive dynamic - are precisely the qualities that will lead to much-needed innovations."
Also included in today’s panel was Mitch Daniels, Jr., President, Purdue University, Jeff Wilcox, Vice President for Engineering, Lockheed Martin Corporation, James Kvaal, Deputy Director, Domestic Policy Council, The White House and Catherine Rampell, Economics Reporter, New York Times – who served as moderator.
To view Northeastern’ s higher-education survey in its entirety, click here.
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ABOUT THE COUNCIL ON COMPETITIVENESS
The Council on Competitiveness is the only group of corporate CEOs, university presidents and labor leaders committed to the future prosperity of all Americans and enhanced U.S. competitiveness in the global economy through the creation of high-value economic activity in the United States. The Council is a non-partisan and non-governmental organization. For more information, see the Council’s website and a full list of publications at http://www.compete.org. Check out the Council on Competiveness’ Facebook page for further updates or follow @competenow on Twitter.
Contact:
Lisa Hanna
T 202 383 9507
F 202 682 5150
lhanna@compete.org