Archive for the ‘Higher Education’ Category
More Jobs, Higher Unemployment: A Confusing Message for the Class of 2010
Monday, August 9th, 2010The Class of 2010 has graduated into the worst economy in living memory. Those with bachelor’s degrees are joining their under-25 peers in a job market where 11.7% of their cohort is unemployed. And, while other segments of the market recover, the situation for recent graduates is deteriorating. In July 2009, the unemployment rate for college graduates with bachelor’s degrees was 10.1%. A year later, it is 15% higher. Those who chose to “ride out the economy” when the job market first slipped, made a serious error in judgment.
There is no doubt that it is hard for college graduates to find work. But dig deeper in the Bureau of Labor Statistics data, and the news is less gloomy. More that a 100,000 more college graduates are employed in July, 2010 than were employed two years ago.
Careers and College Debt: Don’t Blame the Parents
Friday, June 4th, 2010There is no doubt that today’s college graduates often leave school owing more money than they can easily repay. Writing in The New York Times on May 28, 2010, Ron Lieber puts the blame on higher education, banks and families. Many families have, indeed, been loath to put the brakes on excessive borrowing for college, but I believe Mr. Lieber’s finger pointing at parents misses a very important point.
Parents allow, and even encourage, their children to borrow for college, because they believe higher education provides an economic return on investment in the form of a well-paid job. The better the school (so parents think), the more likely the student will access the path to prosperity. Small wonder that the parent profiled by Mr. Lieber supported her daughter’s desire to attend NYU, even if it meant borrowing many thousands of dollars. Numerous ranking systems are testament to the perceived value of a particular school.
Probe the prosperity assumption just a little, however, and it rapidly disintegrates….
Careers and the College Grad: Predictions for 2010 and beyond
Saturday, January 2nd, 2010December 31, 2009: The Wall Street Journal’s lead story proclaims that 2009 was a banner year for stocks. This is great news for parents paying for their children’s increasingly expensive college education from hard-earned savings. Yet the good economic news disguises an ugly fact: unemployment figures continued to rise throughout 2009, only flattening out towards the end of the year. And, none of the experts expect a significant improvement in the employment picture anytime soon.
Based on my reading of the statistical tea leaves, along with anecdotal data from clients, I have five predictions each for college students, and for the career services offices that help them figure out and find their futures.
Good News for College Grad Employment
Sunday, November 8th, 2009The latest government (BLS) unemployment statistics for October, 2009, were accompanied by a collective national groan. Across all populations, the average unemployment rate rose to a high of 10.2%–up four tenths of a percent from September, 2009, and 54% higher than a year ago. But unemployment woes have not affected every group equally. There is a whopping discrepancy between individuals with no high school diploma, and those with a college degree.
Higher Education: Don’t Ignore Your Liberal Arts Majors
Thursday, November 5th, 2009In an Interfolio blog article on November 5, Mike Lovell makes the case that careers offices should pay more attention to their liberal arts majors. He cites a recent article in the Chronicle of Higher Education by Katharine Brooks. I applaud Ms. Brooks’ idea of partnering with faculty. I also like the idea of offering students a course through which they identify their transferable skills, whether through a credit or a not-for-credit program. But I’d like to go much further. In the 21st century, when an economic return on tuition investment is so important to both students and parents, it is incumbent upon everyone in a college or university—from the President on down—to be talking about education and graduate success in the same breath, and to do so from the first year on. Because if talking about a student’s future is confined to the upper-class classroom and the occasional visit to the careers office, we will still end up with graduates who can’t make the connection between college and career.
2009 College Graduates: Unemployed and Forgotten
Sunday, October 18th, 2009What has happened to the college graduates who received their diplomas last Spring? Since that time, the word on the street—or at least on Wall Street—is that we are no longer in recession. But the improving public mood has not translated yet into hiring. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the overall unemployment rate inched up to 9.8% in September, with no demographic group being spared.
On the surface, the 9.3% unemployment rate for college grads with a bachelor’s degree under the age of 25 seems quite positive. After all, the National Association of Colleges and Employers survey of 16,000 college seniors, conducted through April 30, 2009, concluded that only 19.7% had jobs lined up by graduation. Unfortunately, the Bureau of Labor Statistics data hide some more troubling information.
Management Coaching: A Strategic Investment for Colleges & Universities
Monday, August 24th, 2009When college and university budgets are tight, one of the first items on the chopping block is travel. The non-essential travel ban hits training and conferences the hardest–just at a time when more is being asked of higher education professionals. Luckily, there is an excellent, cost-effective alternative to external training: management coaching.
Why Higher Education Can’t Ignore Graduate Unemployment
Thursday, July 2nd, 2009This press release asserts that as the unemployment rate for college graduates doubles from 2.4% in June 2008 to 4.8% in June, 2009, higher education needs to pay more attention to career services.
Career Services: Cost Center or Strategic Advantage
Friday, June 26th, 2009This recession is different. It will change the approach of young professionals to the work world. It will also change the ways that universities do business, as parents and students demand a high return on their tuition investment in the form of well-paying jobs. Are careers offices ready? How can they become a strategic asset to their colleges and universities? A new model is essential.
Webinar on Revolutionizing Career Services
Saturday, June 6th, 2009On June 3, 2009, Sheila Curran and Laura Boothroyd, Managing Director of Consulting Services at Eduventures, presented a webinar on Revolutionizing Career Services: Meeting the Needs of Today’s Students and Alumni. The webinar discusses why career services through colleges and universities are so important today, questions who is paying attention, and makes the case for totally re-visioning the way in which services are offered. It ends with action steps that colleges and universities can take to better meet the needs of their students and alumni.