GRADUATING, BUT WITH RIGHT SKILLS?; OPENINGS ARE IN HEALTH CARE, TECHNOLOGY, BUT STUDENTS CHOOSE OTHER MAJORS
BYLINE: KRISTEN JORDAN SHAMUS
Thousands of newly minted graduates from Michigan colleges and universities flood the job market each year with degrees in areas where few openings exist. Meanwhile, hundreds of jobs across the state in growing fields remain unfilled because there are no qualified candidates for them.
The numbers are prompting some experts to ask whether the state could - or should - find ways to direct more students into fields critical to Michigan's move to a new economy.
"Michigan desperately needs people who are educated in math and science, which leads to technology innovation, which could lead to the development of entirely new industries," said Jeff Padden, president of Public Policy Associates, a Lansing-based think tank.
Over the last seven years, the state's 15 public universities have produced a glut of graduates with bachelor's degrees in education (up 24.8%), communication and journalism (up 44.3%), and the performing arts (up 59.6), at a time when few jobs exist in those areas in Michigan.
In the same period, the number of graduates with degrees in high-demand areas such as health care, computer science and engineering has been flat, dwindling or just not meeting the need.
Many of the graduates who aren't able to find jobs ultimately leave the state, contributing to Michigan's so-called brain drain. That is prompting debate about the best way to keep Michigan's students in the state and how to make sure the graduates of today are prepared for the jobs of tomorrow.
To prevent students from leaving the state, one public policy group wants the state to reward college graduates who stay in Michigan, offering to turn loans into grants if they live and work in the state for three to five years after graduation. Some universities are building partnerships with local businesses that are helping students get internships and later, full-time jobs in the state.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, meanwhile, suggests that the key to getting students more interested in fields where there is likely to be job growth is to prepare them better in high school. With a better understanding of math and science, they might voluntarily gravitate toward majors clearly tied to new-economy jobs.
"Kids really do need to find their own way," Padden said. "That said, I think there's a really critically important role for state government to play in providing an education that students and parents might find useful in mapping their higher education strategy."
Keeping smart grads in Michigan
Stemming the tide of students leaving the state is among Michigan's biggest challenges, said Lou Glazer, president and founder of Michigan Future Inc., an Ann Arbor-based nonprofit.
His organization is calling for sweeping policy changes to the state's education system. Chief among them would be creating a program in which students could get a grant to pay for part of their tuition if they stayed in the state for their first job.
"The state would say: 'If you get your education degree here, and you decide to work in Florida, some portion of the state subsidy will have to be repaid.' " said Glazer, who also is the former deputy director of the Michigan Department of Commerce.
One of the most successful tools in fighting the brain drain could be one of the oldest. Universities are increasingly partnering with businesses to get college students into internships that could potentially give them an edge in getting hired at Michigan companies.
The Applied Technology in Business program at Oakland University, for example, offers students two years of on-the-job training at companies such as DaimlerChrysler Corp., General Motors Corp., Beaumont hospitals and Comerica.
Students get 64 credit hours of tuition - about $15,500 - paid by the sponsoring company. In return, the businesses get their ideas, and often, new employees. Most students are offered jobs by the companies where they interned, said Michelle Moser, OU's assistant director of media relations.
That lines up with a 2006 study by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, which found that nationally, employers offered jobs to more than 70% of their interns.
Nationwide changes under way
Educators and experts agree that forcing students into areas of study doesn't work.
But most agree that students might be more likely to choose new-economy fields if they were better prepared for math and science courses in high school - and if they were educated about what types of jobs are available before they get to college.
It's something the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is getting involved in, pressing for nationwide policy changes that strengthen K-12 education, boost the rigor of math and science curricula and get high school and college counselors involved in dialogue early and often with young people charting their careers.
"Do we have enough guidance counselors who have been in our businesses and understand the skill sets required to be successful in the workplace? They need to work with businesses to understand how to guide students," said Bill Shore, head of U.S. community partnerships for GlaxoSmithKline and a member of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
The state Legislature's move last year to add more-rigorous standards to high school graduation requirements for students starting in the class of 2010 is a tremendous first step for Michigan, experts agree.
Community colleges and high schools also are responding to the need. Set to open this fall at community college campuses across the state are a half-dozen middle colleges and early colleges that will allow high school students to simultaneously receive their high school diplomas and associate's degrees in high-demand health sciences areas.
"That's just one example of what we can do," said Mike Boulus, executive director of the President's Council, State Universities of Michigan.
Some degrees in demand
There are signs that at least in one subject - computer science and information technology - the booming market is fueled by an increasing number of Michigan college grads.
Students graduating with computer and information science degrees rose by 21.1% between 1999 and 2006.
But it's still not enough, said David Hollister, chief executive officer of the Lansing-based Prima Civitas Foundation, a nonprofit economic engine focused on new-economy jobs and spin-offs. He said nearly every IT company in mid-Michigan is growing at a pace of 20% or more.
The state's universities also are trying to add resources and seats in classes that lend themselves to fast-growing sectors. To meet an overwhelming demand for health care workers - an estimated 4,000 by 2012, according to the state Department of Labor and Economic Growth - schools such as Grand Valley State are expanding their nursing programs as fast as they can.
But there are limits, Grand Valley State spokesman Matt McLogan said. Since 2003, the Grand Rapids-based school has doubled - to 250 a year - the number of students admitted to its college of nursing. McLogan said it can't grow beyond that without more faculty.
"We could double it again if we could hire enough faculty to teach our students," he said. "I could give you the same story in computer science and engineering."
The lack of faculty to teach new nurses was among the reasons 2,000 qualified student applications were turned down at Michigan's nursing schools in 2005, according to the Michigan Department of Community Health.
Phyllis Gendler, dean of Grand Valley's college of nursing, said she is pushing for the addition of a clinical nursing PhD program by 2009. It would allow nurses to spend more time working in the field - and less time doing research - than in a traditional nursing doctorate program. Many nurses put off their doctorate because of the amount of research, she said.
But some students, such as 23-year-old Carl Vanidour of Clinton Township, say all the knowledge in the world about the labor market wouldn't sway them to become doctors or nurses.
"I know that's the hottest job right now, but some people don't have the stomach for that," said Vanidour, a fine arts major at Wayne State University who wants to perform one day on Broadway.
"I don't think that's the answer, to steer people away from what their dreams are. You have to make it a diverse economy so there are jobs for everyone."
Contact KRISTEN JORDAN SHAMUS at 313-222-5997 or kshamus@freepress.com
( chart: MICHIGAN SCHOOLS AWARD MORE AND MORE DEGREES SINCE 1999 IN FIELDS SUCH AS... )
up 59.6% Visual and performing arts degrees
up 44.3% Communication / journalism degrees
up 31.5% Computer systems analysis
up 36.4% Physician's assistants
( chart: LOTS OF GRADS, BUT FEW JOBS )
Michigan's 15 public universities are churning out rising numbers of bachelor's degrees in these fields, where there are few jobs.
DEGREES AWARDED 1999-'00 DEGREES AWARDED 2005-'06 GROWTH
Education: 3,717 4.637 24.8%
Visual and performing arts 1,216 1,941 59.6%
Communications/journalism 1,746 2,520 44.3%
Social sciences, history 3,000 3,673 22.4%
Psychology 1,828 2,285 25.0%
NUMBER OF GRADS DOESN'T MEET DEMAND
Meanwhile, fewer degrees are being awarded in these areas where jobs are booming. Even where the percentage of growth is higher, the actual number of students enrolled remains low.
DEGREES AWARDED 1999-'00 DEGREES AWARDED 2005-'06 GROWTH
Biological/biomedical/health 4,405 4,406 0.0%
Engineering 3,828 3,737 -2.4%
Physical sciences 450 490 8.9%
Mathematics, statistics 283 362 27.9%
Computer, information sciences 650 787 21.1%
SOURCES: Center for Michigan, House and Senate Fiscals agencies
BEST FIELDS: COMPUTER AND MEDICAL
The Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth forecast which jobs and career fields would grow in the state through 2012, naming 50 Hot Jobs. Among them are:
PROJECTED ANNUAL JOB OPENINGS PROJECTED JOB GROWTH
Network systems, data communications
analysts 185 45.6%
Computer software engineers,
systems software 270 45.3%
Computer software engineers,
applications 446 36.5%
Computer systems analysts 740 31.5%
Network and computer systems
administrators 265 30.2%
Computer and information systems
managers 341 28.5%
MEDICAL CAREERS
Physician's assistants 139 36.4%
Physical therapists 184 27.3%
Dental hygienists 272 24.7%
Medical and health services
managers 304 22.3%
Registered nurses 3,132 18.9%
SOURCE: Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth
ILLUSTRATION: Chart MARTHA THIERRY Detroit Free Press