Should Employment Prospects Decide College Curricula?

Recently， the Ministry of Education released a list of the 15 undergraduate degree programs with the lowest employment rates in China over the past two years. The list includes many majors that are popular with college students， such as e-commerce， broadcast and TV directing， acting， musical performance， animation， marketing， tourism management， art design and more， throwing universities that are busy adding new degree tracks and expanding student recruitment to fill the departments of these majors into a state of embarrassment. Students， hopeful of finding good jobs by enrolling in these highly touted programs， are now disappointed to learn that they risk higher chances of unemployment when graduating from college.

Some observers believe the majors offered at higher education institutions should be based on social demands and a schools funding and resources. Universities， they argue， are supposed to look toward the future needs of society and take responsibility for their studentseducation. Thus， planning the curriculum for each and every major should not be undertaken lightly， and not every school should necessarily emulate others by adding new majors.

However， others believe that a prospective employment rate is not the only measure by which to judge a degrees worth. For example， despite the difficulty of finding a job in many undergraduate programs， these programs are still necessary in larger society. Following are excerpts of opinions concerning the issue：

Market needs first

Xu Juan （www.people.com.cn）： When planning to offer a new major， universities must first have sufficient educational resources， including qualified teaching staff and classroom equipment and space， to name but a few. Lately， quite a few universities have added as many as 10 new majors to their ranks in just one year. Observers cant help worrying whether or not these schools are operating beyond their capabilities.

Without a normal “retirement system” for majors， outdated majors continue to recruit students. Similarly， when currently popular majors become obsolete in several years time， students pursuing these degrees will find themselves in extremely difficult conditions in terms of job hunting.

In most developed countries， colleges have to take market needs into account， and they are also under strict management by education authorities， which provide information on employment prospects and thus guide the programs on offer. Sometimes companies cooperate with universities in terms of student recruitment and internship or job opportunities. On occasion， students are even allowed to submit suggestions for majors or coursework.

In China， universities tend to have the final say on degrees and their curricula， and this detachment from market needs has inevitably resulted in high unemployment rates in specific areas.

Shi Jingtao （Jiaozuo Daily）： When college graduates are faced with the ever-growing pressures of employment， its necessary to adjust how undergraduate degree programs are designed in order to make job-hunting easier for students. However， this does not mean that universities are right to rush in the opposite direction， suddenly offering several new majors that enjoy high employment rates.

Low employment prospects among college graduates can be attributed to two things： expanding student recruitment efforts over the last decade and structural problems in the labor market. Even with the majors that are most saleable in the job hunt， employment rates will not always necessarily be ideal. Labor surpluses exist everywhere， most especially in cases of increasing numbers of students flocking to oversubscribed programs that promise better chances of employment. No matter how favorable a degree is in the labor market， when so many people are compet-ing for jobs， any major can come to carry a major risk of unemployment.

Wide-ranging education

Zhou Yun （Yangcheng Evening News）： On the recently released list， its surprising to see some majors that have become very popular over the last few years alongside some that are totally new. At one time， these majors promised hopeful prospects for employment， enticing students to rush into their degree programs. Now students studying the subjects are instead faced with a grim reality： a future of sparse employment.

Its a pity that universities have not acted to reverse the trend， but instead， keep adding new majors to their rosters， regardless of future prospects. Sometimes， dozens or even hundreds of colleges start offering a new major at the same time. This oversaturation of the market with graduates holding certain degrees leads to difficulty in finding jobs.

At the same time， the quality of education received by students in these majors is quite dubious. In an environment short of everything from teachers to laboratories， its impossible for students to receive a solid， worthwhile education. Four years of college are hardly able to equip them with sufficient skills to compete and thrive in an already packed job market.

Additionally， most of these degree programs suffering low employment rates are too narrowly designed. Students taking courses in them tend to focus too much on a certain area， and while they might be able to do quite well in this one aspect of the major， its difficult for them to find work in professions requiring other， wider knowledge.

Its improper for universities to expand recruitment by offering dead-end degrees and misleading students about employment prospects. However， its also improper to judge a degree track simply by its expected employment rate. Actually， many majors and training programs in universities silently contribute to social progress despite their graduates not enjoying promising career paths. If schools suddenly stopped recruiting students for these degrees just because employment prospects are low， the damage done to society in the long term would be immeasurable.

Rui Yuan （Southern Metropolis Daily）： The Ministry of Educations recently released list includes both fashionable and highly admired majors like broadcasting and relatively obscure majors such as public utilities management. Generally speaking， the low employment rate is attributed to universitiesinadequate access to employment information， and sometimes， its because certain professions need only a small number of employees. Also， while some majors look promising in the beginning of a students college years， the popular spread of these degree programs can lead to fierce competition by the time they graduate.

While universities are expected to do market research， be familiar with market demands and accept the most competitive students， the aim of education is to provide useful human resources to society. So long as there is a societal demand for experts in certain fields， certain majors will always be needed. But as these degree fields are divided into smaller and smaller subsections of“expertise，” the oversaturation of certain job areas will continue to be a problem.

Nowadays， employers not only demand professional talents， they need employees that can work skillfully from the day they start onward. This strikes a vivid contrast to the old days， when new workers were trained on the job. College graduates must now major in programs that teach what employers require， as the increasing number of talented grads means that companies no longer need to spend their time or money training new hires. As a result， students and universities have had to take on the burden.

Take broadcasting for example. In the past， universities would train natural talents who would be capable of working across all areas of this major. Currently， in order to better cater to employers whims， this major has been divided into several smaller areas of expertise and graduates are able to do much less than before. In most cases， there are no basic courses for the major， as teachers and students believe those meanders too far away from the real jobs.

Universities should not be completely driven by todays job market， but should provide a solid academic foundation and professional education to all students. If employment rates hold too much sway over higher education， it will make it even harder for students to get employed after graduation.