Higher Education and the American Economy

The expansion of opportunities for education beyond high school has to once again serve as the catalyst for the growth of the American economy as it has during much of the past sixty years. The expansion of opportunities can be traced to two major factors. The first is the Truman Act of 1947 and the second the establishment of the G.I. Bill. Through these two congressional acts expanded opportunities for an education beyond high school were made available for every American and the country experienced an economic boom.

America needs this type of landmark legislation today. If America ever dreams of re-capturing its role as a global leader, education has to be a priority. Colleges and universities have a critical role to play in regional, statewide and national economic development efforts. Clearly, higher education and economic development are inextricably linked to one another (Gigerich, 2006) Implications for higher education in the new technological driven flat world are both exciting and challenging. This new horizon of technological advancement combined with increase demands for postsecondary education offers leaders of institutions of higher education, particularly community colleges the opportunity to impact the landscape of higher education.