"Why would anyone go to college?" We posed this question on a billboard in Times Square on New Year's Eve. As you might imagine, we received a wide range of responses. A few said a college degree was merely a step toward professions that require graduate degrees, such as medical or law school. One mother did not see the value of college in preparing her teenage daughter to own her own business. A young man said he did not need to attend college to learn a trade that pays very well. These are sobering and insightful perspectives.
Not long ago, attaining a college degree was among the most universally esteemed aspirations in this country. Not anymore. Dismayed Americans are rapidly losing faith in higher education generally and in academic institutions specifically. This erosion in confidence is most evident among college-aged Americans. A recent Gallup survey found that just 39 percent of Gen Z (defined as ages 12-26) think college is "very important."
This dim view of post-secondary education should come as no surprise, and as Peggy Noonan recently pointed out, the worst reputational harm has often been self-inflicted. Recent headlines about incidents at college campuses have little to do with what once made our institutions of higher education the envy of the world.
As these troubling events have made clear, many institutions of higher learning have lost sight of their higher purpose. We know all too well from social media posts and news reports about lectures interrupted by activist students, guest speakers who have been shouted down by an agenda-driven audience, and most shockingly, threatening and violent mobs of students seemingly calling for genocide. After all that humanity has suffered in the past century, how can it be that thousands of college students would call for wiping out an entire people group? Yet the academic lectures continue. Final exams are taken. Diplomas are awarded. As these recent events in higher education have clearly demonstrated, the college experience has failed to provide far too many students the character-forming experiences necessary for a free and flourishing society.
This has to change.
Higher education must realize and reclaim its foundational higher purpose, which is to develop and equip people of value and virtue who in turn infuse value and virtue in their communities, countries, and the rest of the world.
To accomplish this, colleges must form academic communities that appreciate viewpoint diversity, safeguard academic freedom, and stimulate intellectual curiosity. With that firm foundation in place, faculty can foster critical thinking and spur intellectual exploration in their students. Students and faculty must be encouraged to question assumptions and engage in constructive dialogue about competing viewpoints. Scholarly research is strengthened by multiple perspectives—without undue influence or outright censorship in service of the then-prevailing viewpoint.
Colleges must take an active role in nurturing students' understanding of and appreciation for foundational American values, including freedom of religion, freedom of speech and assembly, and a free press. Students should grow in their understanding of these fundamental rights, the stories of the (admittedly flawed) heroes who secured and defended those rights, and their responsibility to preserve these freedoms for future generations. If taught to and embraced by students in college, these values will be embedded in our communities and strengthen the democratic process for generations to come. As the late educational reformer John Dewey once said, "Democracy has to be born anew every generation, and education is its midwife."
Colleges must also build character in their students, instilling values such as integrity, humility, and selflessness. They should demand uncompromising academic excellence, in which integrity is a foundational component. They can play a critical role in imparting humility by exposing students to the world through international programs that broaden their perspectives and encourage humble appreciation for other cultures. Likewise, students learn selflessness through the experience of serving others, and colleges can play a formative role in developing this lifelong leadership trait by helping them identify and meet the needs of others.
Spiritual formation is outside the purview of many institutions of higher education. But at Pepperdine, we believe faith is an inextricable and essential part of the whole person. So we encourage our students to explore their faith as they grow in knowledge and character. Faith is an integral part of our mandatory Resilience-Informed Skills Education Program, which provides students with frameworks that can be used to navigate life's challenges. While students are not obligated to practice religion, our students benefit from a community that purposefully integrates faith and learning.
Critical thinking. Intellectual curiosity. American values. Uncompromising integrity. Cultural humility. Selfless service. Spiritual formation. These are the things that give higher education its higher purpose and offer answers to the question, "Why would anyone go to college." Those of us who work in higher education would do well to prioritize these features of the college experience. When we do, I am confident we will provide an invaluable, transformational experience for students, rebuild the trust of the next generation, and regain our position among institutions that most effectively contribute to a thriving society.
Jim Gash is president of Pepperdine University.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
Uncommon Knowledge
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