A High School Diploma Isn’t Enough
November 24th, 2009 at 11:04 am By Lauren Benditt
Yesterday, NPR’s “Talk of the Nation” held a conversation to discuss the question, “Who needs college, and who shouldn’t go?” For those of us who are interested in higher education policy, that’s certainly a provocative topic. Unfortunately, the question itself is also a bit misleading unless you spend some time to define “college” as used in the conversation. It took me several minutes of awe-struck silence to realize that the first guest was talking specifically about a four-year college leading to a bachelor’s degree. Whew.
Since I also spend a lot of time discussing the importance of “college” to Minnesota’s economic future, I figure I should also be a bit clearer about what I mean. I think of college as any post-secondary program, be it a four-year college or university, community college, technical school, culinary school, vocational program or certificate program. So, when I advocate an increase in college participation and attainment, I mean that a high school education is not sufficient to prepare students for the skilled jobs that our state has to fill in order to remain economically competitive.
Professor Sandy Baum, Emeritus of Skidmore College and Senior Policy Analyst with the College Board, successfully made this distinction on “Talk of the Nation.” As she rightly put it, “No one is going to be a plumber straight out of high school. And when we talk about everybody going to college, what we mean is… Everyone should have the opportunity if they choose to do so and can benefit from it. For many people, the answer will be some sort of a certificate or a two-year degree. For others, it will be a four-year degree.”
So, there it is. “College,” in its broadest definition (AKA post-secondary education), is important for everyone, from plumbers, carpenters and mechanics to doctors, lawyers and engineers. A high school education just isn’t going to be enough to keep Minnesota moving forward.
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