Blogs:

Our nation today has to deal with many challenges not the least of them being global, domestic and political turmoil. It is time to always keep in mind our strength and hope indicators. One of the most important indicators is the number of people who enter colleges this fall.

Students start their academic year with a lot of determination, hope and optimism. It is necessary to ensure that this enthusiasm is translated into learning in a persistent manner and graduating successfully. The only way we can achieve our President’s goal of enhancing our national workforce’s education level is to ensure that as many students as possible graduate and find successful employment.

A national challenge has been laid out by President Obama to strive to graduate at least ten million by the year 2020. The goal of course is right but the timing is not. Many higher education institutions today are reeling under pressure trying to accommodate additional capacity even as they are straddled with limited resources.

By pulling ten million more students between eighteen and twenty two into the already struggling system is not the realistic answer to address the challenge. It is imperative at this stage to think differently and to widen our lens to address issues such as American competitiveness.

Over 37 million Americans have no credential or degree in spite of attending college according to Lumina Foundation. An important opportunity and challenge is being represented by this population. Our country continues to face very high under employment and unemployment and we continue to face a critical challenge in terms of matching skills of our workforce to jobs.

Among high school diploma holders, our country has suffered a 500,000 job loss according to statistics released by the Bureau of Labor. College graduates on the other hand have benefited from a net gain of 1.2 million jobs. There is a great demand among employers for skilled workers.

The economy today is knowledge based and in order to grow jobs we must first equip our workers with the right skills. The best option for this seems to be the online education programs that are accessible, affordable and convenient.

For working adults, the challenge is higher as they have to expertly balance family, job and education if they wish to succeed. There is no doubt that they must succeed for their own as well as their country’s welfare. There is an urgent need therefore for private and public sectors to change the way business is done. They could improve in many areas.

Working adults in our country face many barriers to enter higher education. These barriers must be eliminated. For this we must provide them with enough resources that will help them return to school and complete graduation.

Our public policy must also encourage risk taking in private sector and large scale higher education innovation to bring down costs and enhance efficiency. There must be increased integration between educational institutions that equip students with skills and skills on demand among employers in the private sector. Innovation must not be restricted by regulators. It must on the other hand be encouraged and supported keeping in mind the goal of enhancing success rates and graduation.