The New York Times – Patricia Cohen
“Frustrated by soaring tuition costs, crushing student loan debt and a lack of skilled workers, particularly in science and technology, more and more states have adopted the idea of rewarding public colleges and universities for churning out students educated in fields seen as important to the economy…at least 15 states offer some type of bonus or premium for certain high demand degrees…What has incensed many educators is not so much the emphasis on work force development but the disdain for the humanities…“A lot of the feedback we get from employers is not only about the necessity of technical skills, but the soft skills as well — the ability to think creatively, to work in groups, things that you traditionally get in the liberal arts,” said Russ Deaton, the interim executive director of Tennessee’s Higher Education Commission. “It’s not as simple as STEM is valued and worthy of incentives and everything else is not.””(more)