Carnegie
Corporation
of New York
Fall 2007
America’s history of achievement in higher education notwithstanding,
elected offi cials, legislators, corporate CEOs, other business leaders
and many citizens know that America’s college graduates are not
being suffi ciently educated to succeed and lead in our competitive global
society. While America’s colleges and universities have been the
envy of the world—perceived as the gold standard for producing an
educated citizenry—there is a growing understanding that other nations
are not only catching up with the United States but also competing effectively
in offering higher education oriented toward producing graduates who have
the skills and knowledge to succeed in a globalized economy.
Are our college students, enrolled in record-breaking numbers in America’s colleges and universities, also learning what they need to in order to meet the challenges of the twenty-fi rst century—for themselves and their families and for their country? What is the evidence that they are learning what they need to succeed personally, professionally and as active citizens?
At a time when the price tag for a year of study at an elite American college hovers around $45,000, most would agree that these are fair questions. What indeed are the bottom-line outcomes of a liberal arts education in America today? What do colleges actually contribute to student learning? Do we have the tools to measure this “value added” of a liberal arts education? How can we promote a transparent “culture of evidence” in which colleges can harvest the knowledge gained from their respective successes and failures and use it to strengthen curriculum, teaching, and administrative practices?
Roger Benjamin, president of the Council for Aid to Education, numbers among those who believe that these are critically important questions that must be addressed by the higher education community. A senior research analyst at RAND who formerly held professorial and senior administrative positions at the University of Minnesota and the University of Pittsburgh, Benjamin is concerned that the liberal arts are at risk of being “marginalized” in higher education. Indeed, he says, “This is why we got involved,” adding “We don’t live in a world in which you can just assert that you are better than other colleges. We have to demonstrate it.” In the summer of 2000, Benjamin shared his concern with Carnegie Corporation of New York—as well as an idea for a unique assessment tool designed to bring some clarity to the seemingly elusive question of how to measure the value added of a liberal arts education.