Sources: *Hart Research Associates. Forthcoming. Are College Students Prepared for America’s Global Future? Perspectives of Employers and College Students. Washington, DC: Association of American Colleges and Universities. **Higher Education Research Institute. 2010. CIRP College Senior Survey (CSS). Los Angeles: Higher Education Research Institute.

AAC&U CENTENNIAL SYMPOSIUM America’s Global Future: Are College Students Prepared?

Connecting College Learning and America’s Global Future  Employers are increasingly globally connected and are placing more emphasis on hiring candidates with global knowledge and experience.

Fully 70 percent of employers surveyed say their company or organization is globally connected in at least

one of the following ways*: Has operations or employees in locations outside the United States (41 percent) Has suppliers outside the United States (49 percent) Has competitors based outside the United States (49 percent) Has clients outside the United States (54 percent)

A majority of employers agree that their company or organization is placing more emphasis on hiring candidates who bring global knowledge and experience than they did five years ago.*

A majority of employers want all college students to gain global knowledge and intercultural skills.

96 percent of employers “strongly” or “somewhat agree” that, regardless of a student’s chosen field of study, all

students should “have experiences that teach them how to solve problems with people whose views are different from their own.”

78 percent of employers “strongly” or “somewhat agree” that, regardless of a student’s chosen field of study, all students should “gain intercultural skills and an understanding of societies and countries outside the U.S.*

Employers give students especially weak grades on key global learning outcomes.

Of 17 outcomes graded, the largest majorities of employers rate recent graduates as “not prepared” on the

following five outcomes: problem-solving in diverse groups, scientific literacy, knowledge of global developments and trends, knowledge of cultures/societies outside the U.S., and foreign language proficiency.*

Students understand the importance of global learning.

The vast majority of students (94 percent) either “strongly agree” (65 percent) or “somewhat agree” (29

percent) that all college students should have educational experiences that teach them how to solve problems with people whose views are different from their own.*

87 percent of students “strongly agree” (44 percent) or “somewhat agree” (43 percent) that all college students should gain intercultural skills and an understanding of societies and countries outside the U.S.*

Students believe that colleges need to improve how they prepare students with global learning outcomes. Students rate themselves most poorly on global learning outcomes.

When asked to indicate which three of 17 learning outcomes they would like their own college or university to

place the greatest emphasis on improving graduates’ preparedness, the top three outcomes chosen by the most students were: proficiency in a foreign language, the ability to apply knowledge and skills to real-world settings, and awareness of and experience with cultures and societies outside the U.S.*

Both students and employers agree that students are not well prepared in terms of global knowledge and skills. However, students see improvement in this area as a top priority for colleges and universities. Employers see

other broad cross-cutting outcomes as top priorities for improvement—written and oral communication and the ability to apply knowledge and skills to real-world settings.*

Only 28 percent of college seniors surveyed by the Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA reported in 2010 that their “understanding of global issues” was much stronger than when they began college.**