This document discusses moving beyond traditional higher education models to focus on competency and workforce needs. It summarizes that traditional degree programs are not adequately addressing job demand or student success. Instead, it advocates for modularized, competency-based models aligned with employer needs where student success is defined by job placement rather than course completion. The focus is on technical education programs that get students job-ready and employed rather than keeping them in courses. This represents a shift toward competency as the currency in higher education.

1. Moving Beyond Degrees:
Why Competency is
Currency
Michael Bettersworth
Texas State Technical College
michael.bettersworth@systems.tstc.edu
October 5, 2010
TCCIL

2. Source: CollegeGrad.com. College graduates moving back home in larger number. 22 July 2009!

3. U.S. Credit Card Debt U.S. Student Loan Debt
$826.5 billion $829.785 billion
An estimated “$300 billion in federal
student loan debts have been incurred in
the last four years...”

4. Four times the rate of inflation.
Almost twice the rate of
healthcare costs.

5. On average, tuition tends to increase about 8% per
year. An 8% college inflation rate means that the
cost of college doubles every nine years.
For a baby born today, this means that college
costs will be more than three times
current rates when the child matriculates in
college.
-FinAid
Source: FinAid. Tuition Inflation. Retrieved from: http://www.finaid.org/savings/tuition-inflation.phtml.

6. “There is a growing sense among the public that higher
education might be overpriced and under-
delivering.”
-The Chronicle of Higher Education
Source: Cronin, Joseph & Horton, Howard. Will higher education be the next bubble to burst? The Chronicle of Higher Education. May 22, 2009.

7. And yet...
“American workers’ unmet need for further
education and training is exacerbating today’s
unemployment problem and portending long-term trouble
for workers and businesses -- even after the economy
recovers.”
-Business Roundtable
Source: Business Roundtable, New survey reveals obstacles to training and education are threatening U.S. competitiveness and worker prosperity. October 8, 2009

8. The War on Work
The Education Dichotomy
The Higher Ed Imbalance
Defining Student Success
Moving Beyond Degrees

9. “We have
declared War
on Work”
“...the collective effect [...] has
been this marginalization of lots
and lots of jobs. And I realized
[...] to me the most important
thing to know and to really come
face to face with is the fact that I
got it wrong about a lot of things.”
Mike Rowe, Dirty Jobs
Source: TED Speech, December 2008.

10. There is much talk of
“diversity” in
education, but not
much accommodation
of the kind we have in
mind when we speak
about the quality of a
man, or a woman: the
diversity of
disposition.!

11. “We have come to see labor as something we do in
exchange for money and not as an expression of our
intrinsic nature. Many a white-collar man works hard
but lives in a world of soul-killing abstraction, where
what he does, what he feels and who he is have little to
do with one another.”
Rod Dreher
Dallas Morning News
Source: Dreher, Rod. The soft bigotry of high expectations. The Dallas Morning News. May 29, 2009.

12. This “War on Work” has led to a perceived
devaluation of certain career and educational
pursuits.
Up to 3 million highly-skilled technical
positions remain unfilled as of June 2010.
How did we get here?
Source: The new competition for america’s jobs. Trends Magazine. June 2010.

13. The War on Work
The Education Dichotomy
The Higher Ed Imbalance
Defining Student Success
Moving Beyond Degrees

14. “Mental”
20%
Blue Collar White Collar
80%
“Manual”
The Class of Work

15. This division has been
applied to American
education.

16. Smith-Hughes Act 1917
Education Dissected
Vocational
Education
Academic

17. Smith-Hughes Act 1917
Education Dissected
Academic Vocational

18. “Cubicles” “Fries with that?”
20% 15%
“Engineers”
“Experts” “Skilled” Skilled “Labor”
“Professional”
Unskilled “Labor”
65%
“Developers” “Craftsmen”
“Technicians” “Paid” “Hired”
DOL’s New Model

19. Higher education must serve all of these segments;
however, according to the Chronicle of Higher
Education, “colleges are taking on too many
roles and doing none of them well.”
- The Chronicle of Higher Education
Source: Hacker, A & Dreifus, C. Are colleges worth the price of admission. The Chronicle of Higher Education. July 11, 2010.

20. Engineering schools realized this in 2001
Source: About CDIO, http://www.cdio.org/about_cdio/about_1_cdio.html, Retrieved July 7, 2009.

21. Source: About CDIO, http://www.cdio.org/about_cdio/about_1_cdio.html, Retrieved July 7, 2009.

22. “Imagination is more important
than knowledge.”

23. People need to know how to think,
inquire, analyze, question, challenge,
explore, empathize, relate, decide,
innovate, grow...
People also need relevant competencies so
they can get a job.

24. The War on Work
The Education Dichotomy
The Higher Ed Imbalance
Defining Student Success
Moving Beyond Degrees

25. “Over the next ten years,
26 of the top 30 fastest
growing jobs will
require some post-
secondary education
or training...The
demand for skilled
workers is outpacing
supply, resulting in
attractive, high-paying jobs
going unfilled.”
Emily Stover DeRocco
President, The Manufacturing Institute, National Center for the American Workforce
Former Assistant Secretary of Labor for Education and Training

26. “Essentially, postsecondary
education or training has
become the threshold
requirement for access to
middle-class status and
earnings in good times and
in bad.”
“It is no longer the
preferred pathway to
middle-class jobs—it
is, increasingly, the
only pathway.”

27. Therefore, it is reasoned, we
must increase college
graduation rates. In Texas we
call this, “Closing the Gaps.”
What Gaps Are We Closing?

28. Texas Public Two-Year Colleges Awards
Texas Public Four-Year Universities Awards
110000
82500
55000
College graduation is increasing in Texas.
27500
That’s a good thing.
0
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

29. Texas Technical Public Two Year Awards
Texas Academic Public Two-Year Awards
50000
37500
25000
Technical awards are flat/declining.
12500
Academic awards are now the most common.
This is incongruent with job demand.
0
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

30. Does this output match our workforce demand?

32. The JET Fund - Fingers Crossed for 2012
Career and Technical
Scholarship Fund Launchpad Fund Job Building Fund
$5,000,000 $10,000,000 $10,000,000
Scholarships for two- Support nonprofit Equipment for high-
year college students programs preparing demand technical
enrolled in programs low-income students programs at two-
for high-demand for high-demand year colleges.
occupations. occupations.

33. "A university degree used
to be an entree to a job.”
“Their university degree means
they have a good, solid education
but not necessarily
something that translates
easily into a job.”
Ann Buller, President
Centennial College
Source: Birchard, K. (2010) Canadian university graduates are going back to the classroom for vocational training. The Chronicle. Retrieved from
http://chronicle.com/article/Canadian-University-Graduates/66078/?sid=cc&utm_source=cc&utm_medium=en.

34. "The colleges have
become kind of a
finishing school for
university graduates.”
Enrollment of "postgraduate
students" at Seneca College
has increased at a steady rate,
making up 15 percent of
the full-time student
body and 50 percent of
the part-time
population in 2009.
Rick Miner, President Emeritus
Seneca College
Source: Birchard, K. (2010) Canadian university graduates are going back to the classroom for vocational training. The Chronicle. Retrieved from
http://chronicle.com/article/Canadian-University-Graduates/66078/?sid=cc&utm_source=cc&utm_medium=en.

35. Abdullah Muhaseen graduated with
bachelor's degrees in both
neuroscience and psychology.
Then he enrolled in a public college
to become a paramedic.
“My first year at Centennial was
more difficult intellectually
than my four years at the University
of Toronto combined.”
“At university you can procrastinate
and miss a lot of lectures, whereas at
college you have to keep on top
of your assignments to be at
the top of your game.”
Source: Birchard, K. (2010) Canadian university graduates are going back to the classroom for vocational training. The Chronicle. Retrieved from
http://chronicle.com/article/Canadian-University-Graduates/66078/?sid=cc&utm_source=cc&utm_medium=en.

36. “At one time, paramedics “I love my
were simply ambulance drivers job. No two
days are the
who took people to the same, and it
hospital. Today, a paramedic is fits my
lifestyle.”
trained to recognize
many things, such as
distinguishing between a
heart attack and an aneurism,
and begin treatment at the
scene.You also have to know
your pharmacology to
recognize what
medications your patient is
using and what you can
Abdullah Muhaseen
administer en route to the Paramedic
hospital.”
Source: Birchard, K. (2010) Canadian university graduates are going back to the classroom for vocational training. The Chronicle. Retrieved from
http://chronicle.com/article/Canadian-University-Graduates/66078/?sid=cc&utm_source=cc&utm_medium=en.

37. Median earnings in Alabama employment market, and certificates/degrees
weighted by value to the state and individuals:
Source: Kelley, P., The dreaded “P” word: an examination of productivity in public postsecondary education, July 2009.

38. Median earnings in Alabama employment market, and certificates/degrees
weighted by value to the state and individuals:
Source: Kelley, P., The dreaded “P” word: an examination of productivity in public postsecondary education, July 2009.

39. Median earnings in Alabama employment market, and certificates/degrees
weighted by value to the state and individuals:
Source: Kelley, P., The dreaded “P” word: an examination of productivity in public postsecondary education, July 2009.

40. Median earnings in Alabama employment market, and certificates/degrees
weighted by value to the state and individuals:
Source: Kelley, P., The dreaded “P” word: an examination of productivity in public postsecondary education, July 2009.

41. It’s not that you study,
but what you study.

42. The War on Work
The Education Dichotomy
The Higher Ed Imbalance
Defining Student Success
Moving Beyond Degrees

43. Nationwide, 7,000 students drop out of
high school every day.
- U.S. House Education & Labor Committee
Source: House Education & Labor Committee (May 12, 2009). “High school dropout crisis threatens U.S. economic growth and competitiveness, witnesses tell house panel”. Press release. Retrieved September
23, 2009.

44. I dropped out of school because…
Source: Bridgeland, Dilulio and Burke Morison, The Silent Epidemic: Perspectives of High School Dropouts, A report by Civic Enterprises in
association with the Peter D. Hart Research Associates, Washington, DC, March 2006.

45. I could have graduated.
Source: Bridgeland, Dilulio and Burke Morison, The Silent Epidemic: Perspectives of High School Dropouts, A report by Civic Enterprises in
association with the Peter D. Hart Research Associates, Washington, DC, March 2006.

46. Source: American College Testing

47. One in every four students leaves college
before completing sophomore year.
Source: American College Testing

48. Only about 60% of Americans who
enter a four-year college graduate
with a degree within six years.
Source: American College Testing

49. The colleges that most students attend
"need to streamline their programs,
so they emphasize employability.”
Anthony P. Carnevale
Director, Georgetown Center
Georgetown University

50. “Unless we can align career
and technology education
with what is needed in the
workforce, we will simply
not be able to realize the
vast potential of the Texas
Energy Cluster or other
high-growth sectors.”
“…I believe that our
education system
should make a shift to
one that is market-
driven and takes into
account the skills Tom Pauken
needed by employers.” Commissioner
Texas Workforce Commission

51. Higher Ed Accountability On the Rise
Drivers Responses
Closing the Gaps
Growing Public Unrest
Gainful Employment
Increased Media
Completion Agenda
Attention
Momentum Points
Employer Complaints
Perkins Funding
Student Default Rates
Measures
Tough Budgets
Performance Funding

52. What we measure counts.
Focal Measurements Fuzzy Measurements
Enrollments Placement Rate
Demographics Earnings
Contact Hours Student Satisfaction
Course Completion Employer Satisfaction
Graduates New Companies
Numbers of Awards Return on Investment
Award Levels Value to Taxpayer
National Benchmarks Efficiency

53. Traditional higher education is a linear
progression built on courses,
semesters, degree plans and graduation.
In order to respond to the nation’s
workforce needs, we must do better.

54. The War on Work
The Education Dichotomy
The Higher Ed Imbalance
Defining Student Success
Moving Beyond Degrees

55. Traditional Curriculum Model
Start
Enroll
in Program
Intro to Industrial
Intro to Auto Intro to Diesel
Systems
Automotive Electrical Diesel Electrical Industrial Electrical
Automotive Hydraulics Diesel Hydraulics Industrial Hydraulics
Source: Ron Sanders, Texas State Technical Collge

56. Core Curriculum Model
Start
Technology Core
Basic Hydraulics
Basic Electrical
Assessment Basic Controls
Mechanical Principles
Thermodynamic Principles
Basic Computing
Path
Automotive
Diesel Applications Industrial Applications HVAC Applications
Applications
Source: Ron Sanders, Texas State Technical Collge

58. TSMC

62. Modularized curriculum with
embedded certificates in
flexible schedules aligned
with employer demand
where student success is
defined as job placement, not
simply completing a course.

63. Technical Education is not about
keeping students in seats.
It’s is about getting them
out the door and on their feet.

64. An excellent plumber is infinitely more admirable
than an incompetent philosopher.
The society which scorns excellence in plumbing
because plumbing is a humble activity and tolerates
shoddiness in philosophy because it is an exalted
activity will have neither good plumbing nor good
philosophy.
Neither its pipes nor its theories will hold water.
John W. Gardner
President, Carnegie Corporation
Source: Gardner, J. "Excellence: Can We Be Equal and Excellent Too?", p. 86 (1961)

65. The Next Phase:
Skills Validation
(stay tuned)

66. The War on Work
The Education Dichotomy
The Higher Ed Imbalance
Defining Student Success
Moving Beyond Degrees

67. “Education is
not filling a pail,
but the lighting
of a fire.”
William Butler Yeats

68. Something that is true
about fire...
it always searches for
more fuel.

69. Let’s go make torches!

70. Moving Beyond Degrees:
Why Competency is
Currency
Michael Bettersworth
Texas State Technical College
michael.bettersworth@systems.tstc.edu
October 5, 2010
TCCIL