Many people are writing about why Americans have lost trust in universities. There are, of course, financial reasons, including—at least plausibly—the now higher unemployment rates of recent college grads and the ever-increasing cost of tuition. I leave these to the side.
Allow me here to quickly lay out what I see as a major reason for the loss of trust we are now experiencing.
Start with the fact that many universities have stopped providing the service they were meant to—and historically did—provide. That service? Providing a system of education that creates well-rounded individuals capable of independent critical thinking applicable to anything, and which expands their intellectual abilities. Those universities have switched to providing career-specific education. Or what they think is career-specific education.
The result of this is a loss of trust for those who want a classic education and for those wanting career-specific education.
On the one hand, while career-specific education may be what a majority of Americans want, I’m certainly not the only person who prefers the older, classic model. Anyone like me has good reason to distrust universities. We thought we would be sending our children to learn to think (not what to think) with analytical precision applicable anywhere and everywhere, accompanied by the ability to appreciate the finer things in life—and universities no longer seem to us to do that. They can’t (or, at any rate, don’t) do that and provide career-specific education.
On the other hand, many unfortunately do want universities to provide career-specific education. There are two things to notice about this. First, a large part of the reason people want this (and believe it is what they are paying for) is straightforward: It’s what much of academia sells itself as doing—providing a way to improve applicants’ employability and earnings. Second, though, it’s a fool’s errand. Providing career specific education requires knowing what careers will require in the future—at least 4 years after students start college—and none of us, including university administrators, are capable of knowing that.
For example, a university in 2022 might have set up a new program to train people to work in the film industry by teaching them how to use various computer programs that create CGI scenes and such, promoting this as a great way to prepare people for the TV and movie industries. Four years later, AI (LLM) systems largely removed entry-level positions in such work. Too bad for those graduates. It’s not surprising that they and their parents have lost trust in the university system. This will hold for many (or most) who go to college for supposedly career-specific education.
My conclusion from the above: given that (1) career-specific education is a fool’s errand all too likely to lead to disappointment and distrust, and (2) those who wanted a classic general education that trained people to be able to handle any career have been disappointed in the turning away from that, we should (3) return to that classic form of education. Those who were disappointed in the loss of that would welcome its return and, over time, regain trust in higher education.
Those who wanted career-specific education might not be happy, but would no longer have reason to be disappointed after paying for a failed service. On top of that, if academia returns to advertising itself as honestly providing a general education, those in both groups would know what they were buying before they bought it, and people should always know what they are buying before doing so!
What should be done for those seeking career-specific education? The same thing that was done in the past: Vocational schools should be reinvigorated. I’m not suggesting government do that reinvigorating. I would suggest those schools are well-positioned to advertise their services honestly. And if more people realize that bachelor’s degrees are not suited to that purpose, there should be a reduction in any ill reputation such schools receive for providing their services (when they provide them well). Going to trade school is (or can be) as valuable an experience as going to university (more if they are honest about their wares and universities continue to dissemble). Different strokes for different folks and all.
Of course, hucksters might open schools that falsely purport to provide good vocational training, but that is always an issue. Indeed, some think universities are currently run by hucksters doing exactly that!
Andrew Jason Cohen is Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Interdisciplinary Studies Program in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at Georgia State University in Atlanta, GA.
