2008 Woodie Awards
Higher Education in U.S. Lags Behind Other Nations
Jane Stancill
Issue date: 2/26/07 Section: Holt News
- Page 1 of 2 next >
The nation's colleges and universities need to churn out 37 percent more graduates each year by 2025 if the United States is to compete with the best performing nations, a new report says.
It was the latest in a series of alarm bells from national organizations that warn that the United States is losing its competitive edge in higher education, which could risk the country's economic future and social well-being. At the same time, costs are rising, students are paying higher prices and, some studies suggest, college graduates' skills are declining.
The United States is falling behind other developed nations in higher education degree production, and the gap will grow to 16 million degrees by 2025, said the report, "Hitting Home: Quality, Cost and Access Challenges Confronting Higher Education Today."
The data is from the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems for a new project called Making Opportunity Affordable.
"We believe there is a real and growing productivity problem in the United States," said Travis Reindl, author of the report and leader of the initiative.
The country must expand opportunity at a cost that taxpayers and students can afford, Reindl said, and that will require deep change to a higher education system that often values reputation over results.
The report's message is stark:
Seven nations - Belgium, Canada, Ireland, Japan, Norway, South Korea and Sweden - already lead the United States in the percentage of adults with two-year degrees or higher.
Among 30 developed nations, the United States and Germany are the only countries in which the percentage of younger workers with degrees lags that of older workers.
To remain globally competitive by 2025, 55 percent of U.S. adults will need to have degrees, compared to about 40 percent today. To close the gap, 10 million more minorities must earn college degrees by then.
"We want more students to and through (college)," Reindl said. "We want to improve quality. We want to contain the cost."
It was the latest in a series of alarm bells from national organizations that warn that the United States is losing its competitive edge in higher education, which could risk the country's economic future and social well-being. At the same time, costs are rising, students are paying higher prices and, some studies suggest, college graduates' skills are declining.
The United States is falling behind other developed nations in higher education degree production, and the gap will grow to 16 million degrees by 2025, said the report, "Hitting Home: Quality, Cost and Access Challenges Confronting Higher Education Today."
The data is from the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems for a new project called Making Opportunity Affordable.
"We believe there is a real and growing productivity problem in the United States," said Travis Reindl, author of the report and leader of the initiative.
The country must expand opportunity at a cost that taxpayers and students can afford, Reindl said, and that will require deep change to a higher education system that often values reputation over results.
The report's message is stark:
Seven nations - Belgium, Canada, Ireland, Japan, Norway, South Korea and Sweden - already lead the United States in the percentage of adults with two-year degrees or higher.
Among 30 developed nations, the United States and Germany are the only countries in which the percentage of younger workers with degrees lags that of older workers.
To remain globally competitive by 2025, 55 percent of U.S. adults will need to have degrees, compared to about 40 percent today. To close the gap, 10 million more minorities must earn college degrees by then.
"We want more students to and through (college)," Reindl said. "We want to improve quality. We want to contain the cost."
Be the first to comment on this story