Improving the Market Value of Degrees
Washington state does not produce enough bachelor degrees to meet its economic—much less its civic and social—needs. For individuals, there is a clear correlation between education and future earnings. For the state, there is a clear correlation between investing in education and future economic growth.
At the moment, much of the state’s focus seems to be on community colleges and on vocational programs that train people for specific economic tasks. To an extent, this makes sense, especially as hard times force many experienced workers to return to school, retool, and find new opportunities. Yet, as earlier posts have suggested, there is a fundamental difference between training and educating. This difference is not only philosophical and ethical, but also economic.
Four-year degrees carry more market value than two-year degrees. The most valued degrees come from schools that emphasize the liberal arts and sciences. This may be surprising. We often think that vocational degrees—“practical” degrees that prepare people for a job—make economic sense. And, for many, it does. But one need only look around at the most prestigious universities and colleges to realize that the most highly-prized degrees in the market are not vocational. In short, supporting four-year colleges’ liberal arts and sciences programs makes good economic sense.
Why is this? It appears paradoxical. We all hear stories of the liberal arts major who now serves coffee. But in reality, the liberal arts and sciences majors offer exactly what Washington’s economy needs: highly capable creative thinkers with portable skills for an ever-changing market. The more narrow, the more useful, a major sounds, the less it prepares students for long-term success, and Washington’s economy for long-term growth. The bachelor degree’s market value stems from the simple fact that business leaders know that students educated in the liberal arts and sciences can think, write, and analyze; have had exposure to other cultures; understand how to use data; and have developed creative and imaginative perspectives on the world. All of this has cash value. The liberal arts and sciences are practical; they always have been.
Students in baccalaureate institutions are not trained to be specialists but to have depth. To the extent that our economy depends on innovation, training specialists is not enough. We need economic leaders who are imaginative and who can use their knowledge to create new, exciting things. To the extent that our society depends on creative answers to public problems, many unknown today, we do not need specialists but citizens able to think critically about the past, present, and future. Otherwise, we might as well have a planned economy.
Ultimately, the value of a liberal arts and sciences education extends beyond the workplace. America’s Founding Fathers supported liberal education because they understood that educated citizens and leaders were vital for a successful democracy. (The word “liberal” in liberal education shares the same root as “liberty.”) Moreover, a liberal arts and sciences education enriches those graduates who gain a vantage point from which to understand the human condition—our relationship to the social and natural worlds.
The nice thing, however, is that the civic and personal benefits of liberal education are not in tension with its economic benefits. In business, this is called synergy. By promoting the liberal arts and sciences in baccalaureate institutions, we can improve the health of Washington’s democracy, enrich our citizens’ lives, while also producing the most valued degrees in the market
