Colleges and universities must shape their work with a keen eye toward the demands of the marketplace, a report from the National Governors Association says.
It urges governors to “align higher education with state economic goals” by letting colleges and universities know that they’re expected to contribute to their states’ economic well-being by helping prepare a 21st-century workforce. Governors should create incentives for their state colleges and universities to draw on labor-market research and employers’ input in setting their priorities, the report adds, and track higher education’s impact on student employment and employer satisfaction.
The college-completion conversation should focus not just on getting degrees, the report says, but also on what jobs are well matched for those degrees.
