A new study shows that students who coast through college often struggle after graduating.
Last year, the higher education policy world saw the publication of a smash, blockbuster book. Well, what passes for that in our little domain anyway–Academically Adrift by Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa. The book was a blockbuster because it put a granite peak of data on the mountain range of anecdotal evidence that lots of young Americans graduate from college without learning much.
The message from colleges and universities to families and the public at large is that they need and deserve support because they’re vital to “investing” in the next generation of human capital. Academically Adrift proves that claim to be at best a considerable stretching of the truth.
Arum and Roksa, aided by two researchers, have now published a follow-up study, “Documenting Uncertain Times: Post-graduate Transitions of the Academically Adrift Cohort.” They surveyed nearly 1,000 students from their original cohort to find out about their post-college experiences.