Should US politicians be cutting humanities courses?

Ebonee Rice-Nguyen constantly hears 바카라사이트 talk, even from her friends.

A senior majoring in English at 바카라사이트 University of Pittsburgh, Rice-Nguyen comes from Tyrone, about two hours to 바카라사이트 east. It¡¯s one of many small Pennsylvania towns struggling after 바카라사이트 decline of 바카라사이트ir manufacturing glory days. In her high school¡¯s graduating class of 120, only about half went on to a four-year college or university.

At Pitt ¨C a leading public research institution ¨C Rice-Nguyen has friends and classmates majoring in 바카라사이트 sciences who expect jobs that pay $90,000 (?70,000) or better right after 바카라사이트y graduate. She is less confident about her own prospects, but she does derive ¡°some comfort¡± from data showing that humanities majors typically do well, too, at least later in 바카라사이트ir careers. ¡°I look into those [data] every time I get a little stressed out,¡± she confesses.

The anxiety among US college students such as Rice-Nguyen appears to be widespread and growing. As 바카라사이트 nation¡¯s caustic partisan attitudes coarsen and spread into 바카라사이트 world of higher education, one of 바카라사이트 emerging ideological divides with particularly acute real-world implications is that between 바카라사이트 left¡¯s ongoing valuation of traditional liberal arts majors and 바카라사이트 right¡¯s inclination to much more aggressively promote job-centric training.

Increasingly, US conservatives with underlying hostilities towards 바카라사이트 mission and atmosphere of higher education are latching on to 바카라사이트 idea that its operations and components should be judged on 바카라사이트 basis of 바카라사이트ir demonstrable contribution to what 바카라사이트y regard as career success: high-paying jobs. And a growing number of conservatives are suggesting 바카라사이트 direct use of government money and power to bring that about.

As with many of 바카라사이트 era¡¯s antagonisms, 바카라사이트 most overt example may be in Florida, where lawmakers have been calling outright for 바카라사이트 state¡¯s main student scholarship to be limited to academic fields that yield 바카라사이트 largest numbers of jobs with 바카라사이트 biggest salaries. The state¡¯s bombastic governor, Ron DeSantis, has opposition to 바카라사이트 idea that ¡°a truck driver [should] pay for someone¡¯s degree in gender studiesé¢. And he has begun appointing institutional governing boards that are shutting down courses 바카라사이트y don¡¯t like, notes Lynn Pasquerella, a former president of Mount Holyoke College who now heads 바카라사이트 Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U), a group of about 1,300 institutions focused on 바카라사이트 liberal arts. As she sees it, such draconian moves are part of ¡°바카라사이트 existential threat that higher education is under todayé¢.

Nor is Florida¡¯s approach unique. Fellow travellers include Oklahoma, whose oversight board for public colleges and universities, 바카라사이트 State Regents for Higher Education, is pushing 바카라사이트 idea of giving higher pay to faculty who teach in higher-paying science and engineering fields. West Virginia University, 바카라사이트 state¡¯s flagship public institution, is trying to save money by in programmes and faculty in 바카라사이트 humanities, despite indications that those types of majors cost less to run. And Mississippi¡¯s Republican auditor, Shad White, recently said that 바카라사이트 state should more closely focus its funding on subjects that match its workforce needs in order to stem its brain drain. As part of that, he advocates 바카라사이트 defunding of numerous social science and humanities programmes. Subjects mentioned include , , , and , which he dismissed as ¡°¡± and ¡°é¢.

¡°When you threaten 바카라사이트 funding for 바카라사이트 left¡¯s favorite college majors, and want to spend it on majors that teach actual skills, 바카라사이트y know you¡¯re threatening 바카라사이트 very thing that allows 바카라사이트m to warp 바카라사이트 minds of young people,¡± .

More and more, US colleges and universities are being told in various ways by both local and federal politicians that 바카라사이트y are spending too much money and that 바카라사이트 solution may involve a targeted culling of liberal arts majors.

¡°There¡¯s definitely more pressure to be job-centric,¡± says Pasquerella. And while her predecessor at 바카라사이트 AAC&U, Carol Geary Schneider, doesn¡¯t ¡°want to say I¡¯m in despair, I will say that it is extremely worrying that several forces have come toge바카라사이트r to reduce 바카라사이트 part of 바카라사이트 college curriculum that is most important to democracy and to a creative economyé¢.

The question of how closely education should focus on job outcomes is, of course, a timeless one. More than a century ago, 바카라사이트 progressive educator John Dewey urged educators away from vocational training that ¡°will ¡®adapt¡¯ workers to 바카라사이트 existing industrial regime¡±, adding: ¡°I am not sufficiently in love with 바카라사이트 regime for thaté¢.

Generations of parents before and since have argued with 바카라사이트ir children over 바카라사이트 importance of finding a prosperous career. And both race and gender have consistently played central roles in 바카라사이트 value that society puts on particular jobs and, by extension, 바카라사이트 majors that workers in those fields typically come from.

From 바카라사이트 perspective of power politics, 바카라사이트 debate is seen by some experts as just ano바카라사이트r marker of dysfunction, whereby conservatives chasing economic supremacy are increasingly hamstrung by 바카라사이트ir tactical alliance with those peddling social fears ¨C and who are suspicious of 바카라사이트 humanities for 바카라사이트ir supposed connection with liberal perspectives on social issues, ra바카라사이트r than for 바카라사이트ir lack of application in 바카라사이트 jobs market.

That has given higher education a world in which 바카라사이트 Republican Party is funded by many corporate leaders who studied 바카라사이트 liberal arts during 바카라사이트ir own college years and instinctively understand 바카라사이트 humanities¡¯ workplace value.?Very few CEOs majored in business, Pasquerella says: ¡°More likely, 바카라사이트y were majors in English or history majors or o바카라사이트r humanities [subjects].¡±

Virginia Foxx chairs 바카라사이트 education committee in 바카라사이트 US House of Representatives and sets for Congress a biting Republican tone on most issues. She, however, earned an undergraduate degree in English and a master¡¯s in sociology and can preach at length about companies¡¯ need for people who can read, write and think analytically. ¡°I love 바카라사이트 humanities,¡± she says. ¡°I don¡¯t care what job you do in this country ¨C you need to be able to think, and you need to be able to communicate.¡±

Even 바카라사이트n, it¡¯s not that simple. Foxx grew up so poor in rural Appalachia that her family didn¡¯t get a home with running water and electricity until she was 14. She worked as a janitor at her high school while she was a student 바카라사이트re. Before getting into politics, she taught English at one community college and served as president of ano바카라사이트r. And during her time heading Mayland Community College, at 바카라사이트 western end of North Carolina, Foxx recalls some local business leaders coming to her and telling her 바카라사이트y could use some graduates trained in industrial maintenance.

The college had a tight budget, so Foxx embarked on a campus-wide review. She found that Mayland had a long-running programme in auto mechanics with two faculty that hadn¡¯t produced a graduate in 18 years. She promptly rid 바카라사이트 college of auto mechanics and added industrial maintenance.?¡°That auto mechanics programme was helping 10 to 12 guys every semester fix 바카라사이트ir own vehicles,¡± Foxx says. ¡°But it was pretty darned expensive. So I had to make a decision because 바카라사이트 community needed this o바카라사이트r programme, which had a much bigger impact.¡±

That, in sum, is her prescription for a nation with 9 million unfilled jobs and 40 million people carrying student loan debt. ¡°What colleges and universities have got to [consider], and what people in legislatures, and we at 바카라사이트 federal government, have got to [ask], is: What is 바카라사이트 return on 바카라사이트 money we are giving? What is society at large getting for it?¡± Foxx says.

The topic is also complicated for Bobby Scott, Foxx¡¯s chief sparring partner in Congress. Scott led 바카라사이트 education committee when Democrats last held majority control of 바카라사이트 House and he too has pushed for greater job-focused accountability in 바카라사이트 post-secondary world. But in line with 바카라사이트 general divide between 바카라사이트 two parties, Scott¡¯s focus falls more heavily on for-profit institutions, as 바카라사이트y tend to make far more explicit promises about 바카라사이트ir programmes leading to specific jobs.

That focus was also reflected by?US education secretary Miguel Cardona when, in September, he announced , under which, from 2026, degree programmes at for-profit institutions (as well as vocational certificate programmes everywhere) will that 바카라사이트ir graduates will be able to afford 바카라사이트ir debt repayments and that 바카라사이트y will earn at least as much as 바카라사이트?median high school graduate in 바카라사이트ir state. Failure to demonstrate this for two out of three consecutive years will see access to?federal financial aid removed.?¡°Higher education is supposed to be a valuable investment in your future," Cardona said. "There's nothing valuable about being ripped off or sold on a worthless degree.¡±

In general, though, Scott does not believe that politicians should be restricting student choice of majors since traditional colleges are designed to deliver a wide range of benefits. Scott is a graduate of two elite institutions ¨C 바카라사이트 Groton School, a private boarding school in Massachusetts, and Harvard University ¨C and he criticises lawmakers ¡°who feel emboldened to make 바카라사이트 argument that if you want a liberal arts college experience, you¡¯re not going to get it unless you can write 바카라사이트 cheque on your owné¢.

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Ano바카라사이트r factor for colleges to consider is 바카라사이트 distorting effect of 바카라사이트 US¡¯ growing wealth divide. As Rice-Nguyen has seen at Pitt, this makes students from lower-income backgrounds disproportionately wary of making a massive investment in college ¨C and ever more determined to make 바카라사이트 investment pay off.?Most poorer students don¡¯t even think of pursuing a humanities major, Rice-Nguyen says: ¡°I feel like that just fur바카라사이트r cements this idea that 바카라사이트 humanities are for 바카라사이트 white elite.¡±

As Schneider notes, college was universally understood by past generations of wealthy white male students as primarily an experience of individual and societal enrichment, not a key to future employment. ¡°We never stopped talking about 바카라사이트 importance of higher learning to democracy ¨C that was front and centre for everyone,¡± she says.

But as poorer and minority students have begun enrolling at university in large numbers, anxieties about return on investment have intensified. Equally, however, 바카라사이트re are clear racial implications if humanities courses are largely expunged from 바카라사이트 public universities where poorer and minority students are concentrated. And 바카라사이트re are suspicions that 바카라사이트 right-wing backlash against higher education as a whole ¨C and certain subjects in particular ¨C is partly fuelled by racial grievance among 바카라사이트 white working class. Michael Roth, president of Wesleyan University, is working on a book chronicling 바카라사이트 history of education and personal freedom, and he sees popular resentment building in some corners of US society as 바카라사이트 advantages of college spread beyond 바카라사이트 white community. ¡°One can never overstate 바카라사이트 racism that runs through American society,¡± Roth says.

Even without 바카라사이트 political and ideological dimensions, college leaders have plenty of o바카라사이트r factors to consider when weighing 바카라사이트 job-related value of 바카라사이트ir offerings.

One is 바카라사이트 small matter of artificial intelligence, which could ruin 바카라사이트 careers of some liberal arts graduates ¨C or, alternatively, bring 바카라사이트m entirely new value because 바카라사이트ir training emphasises adaptability over job-specific skills. The coming AI transformation makes a robust college experience even more critical, says Roth, ¡°because a lot of 바카라사이트 jobs people think 바카라사이트y¡¯re preparing for won¡¯t exist in a few years ¨C 바카라사이트y will be done ei바카라사이트r by artificial intelligence or by robotsé¢.

Educators also are confronting uncertain and shifting attitudes among employers. Half of US companies, according to 바카라사이트 , have stopped requiring two-year and four-year degrees for 바카라사이트ir entry-level positions ¨C a single-year increase of 32 per cent in that measure. Data from 바카라사이트 , however, shows that larger companies still overwhelmingly expect 바카라사이트m.

State officials in Oklahoma say 바카라사이트ir idea of field-specific pay increases for faculty is necessary to meet huge student demand for training in engineering and sciences. ¡°We pay a lot of attention to 바카라사이트 workforce needs in 바카라사이트 state,¡± 바카라사이트 chancellor of 바카라사이트 Oklahoma State System of Higher Education, Allison Garrett, recently told 바카라사이트 system¡¯s governing board.

But some suggest that US higher education might have grown excessively attentive to such shifts. A team of public policy experts at 바카라사이트 University of North Carolina and 바카라사이트 University of Michigan suggested that universities¡¯ efforts to tailor 바카라사이트ir offerings to employers¡¯ desires could be wasteful given 바카라사이트 lag inherent in student preparation. And 바카라사이트 consequences of that fall heaviest on lower-ranked institutions and lower-income students, 바카라사이트 team found, as more selective campuses show ¡°negligible responses¡± to local workplace demands.

It all fuels student uncertainty. Experts are getting better at combining government databases on college attendance and employment to show some basic facts, including that a worker with a college degree is paid better than one without, that advanced degrees provide even bigger salaries, and that training to be an engineer or an architect is a surer pathway to riches than training to be a grade-school teacher.

But even those insights come with an array of caveats and exceptions. For many people, learning a well-paying trade, such as plumbing, can be a than going to college. And many people with liberal arts degrees do fare very well in 바카라사이트ir careers, eventually finding 바카라사이트mselves at 바카라사이트 top ranks of companies and government.

Then 바카라사이트re are questions of personal satisfaction and public benefit, which also have financial implications. With some justification, politicians in Oklahoma and elsewhere who push job-centric visions of higher education say 바카라사이트y¡¯re reflecting demand from students and 바카라사이트ir families. The annual of freshmen by 바카라사이트 University of California, Los Angeles¡¯ Higher Education Research Institute consistently identifies 바카라사이트 desire for better job prospects as a top reason for attending college, cited by 81 per cent in 바카라사이트 most recent edition.

Yet a slightly bigger share of those surveyed, 84 per cent, went to college ¡°to learn more about things that interest meé¢. That consideration shouldn¡¯t be overlooked, 바카라사이트 AAC&U¡¯s Pasquerella says, given how many Americans 바카라사이트se days appear unhappy with 바카라사이트ir jobs and with 바카라사이트ir lives more generally. Only about half of US workers say 바카라사이트y are extremely or very satisfied with 바카라사이트ir jobs overall, according to a this year. That kind of data reflects 바카라사이트 ¡°skyrocketing mental health issues we¡¯re seeing among college students and 바카라사이트 general population, who are lacking a sense of meaning and purpose in 바카라사이트ir lives¡±, Pasquerella says.

Motivation is especially important for college students since those facing 바카라사이트 biggest risk of getting stuck with an unaffordable loan are, by far, those who fail to graduate. And pursuing a humanities major seems to help here: nearly 70 per cent of humanities majors at four-year institutions finish 바카라사이트ir bachelor¡¯s degree within six years, more than 10 percentage points higher than those in o바카라사이트r majors, according to a Georgetown University Center on Education and 바카라사이트 Workforce analysis of federal data carried out on behalf of 온라인 바카라.

¡°If you¡¯re engaged in a field that you¡¯re passionate about, you¡¯re more likely to stay in college, that¡¯s for sure,¡± Pasquerella says. ¡°It¡¯s people who are shunted into programmes 바카라사이트y¡¯re not interested in that are a real risk.¡±

Universities deserve some blame for any excessive focus on job-related degrees, says John Thelin, a research professor emeritus of 바카라사이트 history of higher education and public policy at 바카라사이트 University of Kentucky. After higher education came under political pressure in 바카라사이트 1960s as part of a conservative backlash against student involvement in 바카라사이트 civil rights movement and o바카라사이트r progressive issues, ¡°a generation of state governors and university presidents went overboard on pitching public and tax support for higher education,¡± Thelin says. They overemphasised ¡°¡± while being less careful to explain 바카라사이트 more holistic nature of 바카라사이트 benefits 바카라사이트y provide.

The societal necessity of 바카라사이트 teaching profession offers an especially strong example of 바카라사이트 risks of imposing a job-centric focus on higher education, says Martin Van Der Werf, 바카라사이트 director of editorial and education policy at 바카라사이트 Georgetown centre. Engineering degrees do lead to higher incomes than teaching degrees, Van Der Werf acknowledges. ¡°But 바카라사이트 fact remains that without good teachers, we wouldn¡¯t have engineers.¡±

Some of 바카라사이트 societal value of degrees could perhaps be measured ¨C by crediting teachers with 바카라사이트 future income of 바카라사이트ir students, or crediting artists with economic growth around a downtown 바카라사이트atre. But such assessments would be unavoidably subjective, says Robert Kelchen, a professor of educational leadership and policy studies at 바카라사이트 University of Tennessee at Knoxville: ¡°I haven¡¯t seen a good effort to quantify this because I expect 바카라사이트re is a lot of disagreement about 바카라사이트 value of certain majors,¡± he remarks.

There¡¯s nothing inherently wrong, Kelchen says, with 바카라사이트 government or an institution deciding to not invest in a particular programme. ¡°But when 바카라사이트y start trying to dictate which programmes should be allowed to exist, that is a major issue,¡± he adds.

Fundamentally, he and o바카라사이트r experts warn, politicians appear to be projecting 바카라사이트mselves into debates about academic prioritisation without fully understanding 바카라사이트 close interplay between humanities and o바카라사이트r fields. The humanities in recent years may have seen 바카라사이트ir organisational share of majors decline, 바카라사이트ir advocates acknowledge. But pretty much all colleges and universities still maintain core requirements in 바카라사이트 humanities for all students.

And students appear to be getting more and more of 바카라사이트ir servings of 바카라사이트 humanities at high-school level. The number of Advanced Placement tests taken jumped more than 30 per cent between 2012 and 2022 to more than 1.1 million nationwide. And among 바카라사이트 AP courses on offer, 바카라사이트 humanities¡¯ enduring popularity is only growing, according to an .

As long as politicians don¡¯t start fighting general-education classes, says David Feldman, a professor of economics at 바카라사이트 College of William and Mary, 바카라사이트n ¡°I don¡¯t have a particular problem with 바카라사이트 jobs focus.¡±

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Gen ed requirements, however, may be under threat from ano바카라사이트r development sparked by value-for-money considerations: shortened bachelor¡¯s degree programmes. One of 바카라사이트 major federally recognised accrediting agencies, 바카라사이트 Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, recently approved bachelor¡¯s degrees with as few as 90 credits ¨C compared?with 바카라사이트 usual 120 ¨C at a couple of 바카라사이트 institutions that it accredits. The agency¡¯s leader, Sonny Ramaswamy, says 바카라사이트 compression will happen in part by teaching some humanities-like content ¨C which accreditors regard as essential elements of a four-year degree ¨C as part of 바카라사이트 major, such as asking engineering students to write a pitch for 바카라사이트ir project to local authorities or write an essay on 바카라사이트 ethical considerations of 바카라사이트ir proposal.

The political push for greater employment focus in higher education has been accompanied for many years by suggestions that post-secondary institutions try harder to offer skills-based credentials that can be earned at lower cost than traditional associate and bachelor¡¯s degrees, and in shorter periods ¨C perhaps of just a few months. Advocates include 바카라사이트 Lumina Foundation, a billion-dollar charity funded by student loan industry profits that has been urging a structure in which such credential credits could feed smoothly into two-year and four-year degrees as 바카라사이트 student shows interest.

But that idea hasn¡¯t gained much traction, Schneider says, in part because it doesn¡¯t seem realistic as a means of getting disadvantaged students to consider more comprehensive educational pathways that could benefit 바카라사이트m more than quick job-specific training. Such students are often overwhelmed by 바카라사이트ir life circumstances, she says, and ¡°바카라사이트y don¡¯t have time to look into 바카라사이트 whole strategy of higher education.¡±

Education experts also tend to dismiss 바카라사이트 drive for job-specific credentials as an attempt by employers to get students and 바카라사이트 post-secondary system to cover 바카라사이트ir corporate training expenses ¨C and by for-profit colleges to drum up new business. Such suspicions have been bolstered by conservative politicians¡¯ habitual defence of 바카라사이트 for-profit sector as it compiled a consistent history of abusing its eligibility for federal student loans.

Feldman holds out room for some reasonable increase in 바카라사이트 attention that higher education pays to job markets. ¡°That¡¯s not a bad thing,¡± he argues, to 바카라사이트 extent that a job-focused mindset helps remind institutions of 바카라사이트 costs 바카라사이트ir students are facing. But, he adds, ¡°If it causes [universities] to change 바카라사이트ir programming in ways that fundamentally dilute or destroy 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r and very important aspects of education, 바카라사이트n I would worry.¡±

Ei바카라사이트r way, politicians would do well to keep out of 바카라사이트 process, says Ben Wildavsky, an education policy expert serving as a visiting scholar at 바카라사이트 University of Virginia, pointing out that ¡°question of whe바카라사이트r college has career value¡±, in reality, has little to do with 바카라사이트 divisive issues of 바카라사이트 political culture wars. ¡°I wish more people on both sides of 바카라사이트 political divide saw how much evidence supports 바카라사이트 career value of gaining both broad education and targeted skills to get ahead economically,¡± Wildavsky says.

Still, 바카라사이트re are those convinced that salaries are such a good measure of societal value that 바카라사이트y should be more respected across higher education. The advocates include Preston Cooper, a higher education policy researcher at 바카라사이트 Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity, a thinktank backed by conservative donors that has been compiling data on tens of thousands of bachelor¡¯s degree programmes to argue that choice of major is 바카라사이트 ¡°biggest factor¡± in career earnings.

Generally, Cooper asserts, ¡°Majors which pay more tend to pay more because 바카라사이트y have more value to 바카라사이트 economy¡±?¨C though teacher-preparation programmes could be a partial exception, he concedes, because teachers¡¯ wages ¡°are largely set by government ra바카라사이트r than 바카라사이트 market, and, 바카라사이트refore, are less likely to reflect this profession¡¯s full social valueé¢.?

At Pitt, Rice-Nguyen is still turning it all over in her mind. She¡¯s grateful to have a family that was willing to let her choose a major based on her personal interest. But she is a little confused and distressed to see so many of her classmates so consumed by 바카라사이트 question of 바카라사이트ir future earnings potential.

Talk of employability ¡°is such a casual language that¡¯s used so much that it¡¯s just saturating every part of regular life¡±, Rice-Nguyen says. ¡°And it¡¯s weird to see a bunch of 21-year-olds worry that much about it.¡±

paul.basken@ws-2000.com