Roberts T Jones

CHINA-US SEMINAR : CHINA-US SEMINAR Engineering Education for a Global Economy Challenges Facing Higher Education THE BUSINESS VIEW Roberts T. Jones CEO and President National Alliance of Business


CHALLENGES FACING HIGHER EDUCATION : CHALLENGES FACING HIGHER EDUCATION Addressing mismatch between labor market demand and University supply. Preparing for dramatic growth in student enrollment Restructuring curriculum in response to continuous increases in knowledge and technology. Integrating new learning modalities. Implementing competency based graduation requirements. Shortening the period for degree completion.


DEMAND AND SUPPLY : DEMAND AND SUPPLY Tight labor markets for the next 30 years. Job growth outpaces labor force growth. Growth in High Technical skill jobs will increase by 50% over the next decade. Engineers………………….9% Computer Specialists….69% Mathematical Scientists..6% Physical Scientists……..18% Number of degrees granted in corresponding high technical fields dropped by 15%. Engineering……………14% Computer Science…….22% Math…………………….26% Graduate degrees also decreased. Aerospace………………22% Engineering Science…..19% Mining……………………20% Nuclear…………………...32%


GROWTH IN STUDENT POPULATION : GROWTH IN STUDENT POPULATION US Approaching 75% of graduating secondary school students entering Higher Education within 2 years of graduation. Expect 20% increase in Higher Education in the next decade. Increase means more students less well prepared in Math, Science, and Communication skills. Currently only xxx% of students taking high level Math or Science courses in Secondary School. Universities must anticipate higher 1st and 2nd year drop outs and increased remedial investments. Universities must increase partnership with primary and secondary schools. Teacher Preparation Professional Development Curriculum Student Support


CURRICULUM & OUTCOMES : CURRICULUM & OUTCOMES Increasing external pressure to update science, curriculum, application, technology, and professoriate on a continuous basis. Increasing global complexity of quality standards and governmental regulation. Demands for broadened curriculum including communication, interpersonal, creative, and integrated application. Preparing engineers for life long learning requires redefinition of ‘basics’ as well as proficiency in the specialty


INTEGRATION OF NEW LEARNING MODALTIES : INTEGRATION OF NEW LEARNING MODALTIES Diversity of student preparation and increasing numbers of life long learners required new, user friendly, learning opportunities. E-learning WEB Based Learning Increased contextual learning Applications “Certificate” programs with smaller, focused, curriculum. Customer driven system.


STUDENT COMPETENCY : STUDENT COMPETENCY Increasing demand for competency based graduation requirements for Bachelors Degree. Graduation from a prestigious University, Degree, or time on task are insufficient indicators of academic and technical competence. Employers, Students, and University need means of communicating skill base.


Time Degree Completion : Time Degree Completion 5-6 years for US engineering students to complete Bachelors Degree. Need to ‘restructure’ degree requirements and curricula. Cost, demand, and student persistence require the goal of all students on time. Engineering Schools adapting continuous improvement.


Summary : Summary Higher Education will be increasingly challenged to maintain pace with an external environment whose expectations of content, application, technology, achievement are continuously escalating. These forces are inevitable and the market will respond. It is essential that Universities use their enormous creative resources to lead this reformation. The challenge is to respond to these forces while preserving the essence of traditional higher education and it’s value to society.