Summary Of Pondering The Purpose Of College

Project 1 – Pondering the Purpose of College
Today’s colleges in the U.S. are attempting to meet student and employer needs by moving toward a more experiential education model. This change is taking place gradually and quietly. In her article “Vocation or Exploration? Pondering the Purpose of College,” Alina Tugend discusses the purpose and types of college education, including this new experiential model.
Tugend first explores the most commonly accepted reason for college, to “ensure a good job after graduation.” She cites recent applicable political actions surrounding higher education. Florida governor Rick Scott proposed a shift in state funding toward science, technology, engineering, and math majors, as these degrees result in
She then immediately asks, “can a college education do both?” In order to present the answer to this question in the appropriate context, Tugend next discusses the most recent successful major change within the higher education system. Quoting from Professor Carnevale, she explains a shift in the early 1980’s from a liberal arts based higher education model to a more specialized one. The liberal arts based model, popular prior to 1980, is cited as having been much more flexible in that a student could “get a B.A. in history and become an accountant” (Carnevale qtd. In Tugend). The early 1980’s saw both an economic recession and the growth of computer-based technology, which meant an increase in the need for computer skills on the job before there were college courses available for this same skill set. My experience has shown that the need for computer skills and the ability to obtain these skills outside of a college atmosphere still holds true. However, learning-as-you-go often also leaves out important base principals that would have been taught in a classroom setting. Based on this experience, I agree that this movement was in the right direction at the
In answering this question with a soft “no,” Tugend now looks to Professor Colby in her work “Rethinking Undergraduate Business Eduation.” Professor Colby, Tugend tells us, worked with colleagues and discovered that the best undergraduate business programs combine liberal arts and professional training. Unfortunately, Tugend does not provide the definition of “best” in this context. The reader is left to assume that this definition is contained within Colby’s work. A few examples of this type of integrated program are given, one at Santa Clara University and one at Indiana University. Tugend also quotes Assistant Professor Jose Luis Santos with reference to the market response of higher education institutes. Santos states the main issue with the response is “they don’t do it in a timely manner” (qtd. in Tugend). In a quick bit of independent research, I can see that in the roughly two and a half years since Tugend wrote her article, more colleges and universities are recognizing Life Experience as a valid learning source, and employment more internships with more supervision (Henderson). This makes me hopeful for the future of my personal education, as well as that of my almost-preteen