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President Gordon pointed out that in the past, people saw a college degree as benefiting society as a whole. That was the philosophy behind California’s Master Plan of 1960, which provided higher education to any state residents capable of doing the work. He and other panelists thought that in the past 15 to 20 years, that idea has shifted so that a degree primarily benefits the person who has one.
Professor Hall suggested this was part of a larger social shift, seen in health care as well as education, in which people are seen as individuals and where benefits accrue to them rather than to the community.
“With the costs students take on to attend college, people look at it as a personal investment,” Professor Guerin said.
“It doesn’t have to be either-or,” Vice President Palmer said. “Investment in education is good both for the person and for the society.”
“I watch the data on success in American life,” President Gordon noted. “In the last three years I’ve seen devastating data about students without a minimal college degree. The results are mixed for students with some college. Their potential for future success in our society is greatly diminished. A college degree now is similar to a high school degree some years ago. They may not be able to get a career in the field they want, but they will be able to build a more successful life.”
“We need to keep the importance of higher education in front of the community and let them know its value,” said Alumni Association President Crellin. “Don’t wait for problems to come up. Keep it consistent. So we already have a buy-in when problems like funding arise.”
President Milton A. Gordon: I watch the data on success in American life. In the last three years I’ve
seen devastating data about students without a minimal college degree. The results are mixed for students with some college. Their potential for future success in our society is greatly diminished. A college degree now is similar to a high school degree some years ago. They may not be able to get a career in the field they want, but they will be able to build a more successful life.
Ephraim Smith: Students at a macro level are sophisticated about where the available jobs are. Students are flexible; they switch into fields where jobs are available. They can move among disciplines. They seem to have a sixth sense as to where the opportunities are.
Robert Palmer: Employers are not necessarily looking for a particular discipline. Almost half the positions posted in the Career Center require a broad college education, not a particular degree. They are looking for people with skills in critical thinking, communication skills, etc. They find them in students
with a liberal arts background.
Steve Murray: The skill sets employers demand are larger than any one major can provide. If you
pick those skills up in the course of your college education, you’ll have those opportunities. If a student has a narrow career goal and takes courses leading to it, that student has the most difficult time.
Will taxpayers be likely to fund public universities if they doubt that education benefits students financially? Will universities like Fullerton need to present a convincing rationale other than preprofessional training?
President Milton A. Gordon: When I got a college degree, people thought of it as benefiting society as a whole. In the past 15 to 20 years, society came to see [a degree] as an individual benefit. California and its economy benefited from its strong support of higher education since the creation of the 1960 Master Plan [which provided higher education opportunities for all students who qualified for them]. It
discourages me that California is losing the concept that the education of a single student benefits the state and the United States.
Jane Hall: Isn’t this part of a larger social shift in which people are seen as individuals and benefits accrue to individuals rather than community — whether it’s in health care or education? Also people pay more of the cost of education out of their own pockets. They ask “Is it going to be good for my kid?”
Robert Palmer: It doesn’t have to be either-or. Investment in education is good both for the person and for the society.
Diana Guerin: [Because of ] the costs that students take on to attend college, people tend to look at it as a personal investment. We have to ask ourselves how well we teach the crucial skills — writing, critical thinking, social interaction and working in teams — and ask ourselves how we know it. How do we assess the effectiveness of what we do and communicate the quality of our programs to an external community, especially as education becomes more expensive?
Kristin Crellin: We need to keep the importance of higher education in front of the community and let them know what its value is. Don’t wait for problems to come up. Keep it consistent. So we already have a buy-in when problems like funding arise.
What other changes will we see in 25 years?
Steve Murray: Taller buildings. More dorms and apartments. More of a university community.
Ephraim Smith: A South Orange County campus and campuses in other population centers, like Corona.
President Milton A. Gordon: A different student body. A more exaggerated difference between the proportion of male and female student body. A different faculty. The new and younger faculty we’re hiring will reflect some of the same lifestyles as our students. A different president.
Jane Hall: The whole county will look different. Transportation must be different. The campus will be a hub, connected to many others. That will change the nature of what we do and how we do it.
Heather Williams: There will be a lot more connection to the campus and more investment in what’s going on here. We’ll always have students commuting, but I hope we won’t be known as a commuter campus. Our alumni will feel a stronger connection to the campus community. They’ll give back to the campus, take part in activities, give lectures. They’ll consider themselves Titans.
