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Many Americans are skeptical about the academia culture and increasing tuition costs. However, they all agree that higher education is a must and better ways should be introduced to engage students in learning.

On Feb 25, GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum created a buzz by calling President Barack Obama a snob for persuading everyone to go to college. He argued that President’s ongoing push toward higher education simply ignores the reality and ambitions of young Americans who want to pursue technical career.

President Obama clarified this later stating that by higher education, he not only talks about four year degree programs, but also community college programs. He stressed that getting trained in community college is crucial for manufacturing jobs. Such jobs require employees to handle million dollar equipment pieces. They cannot do it unless they get something more than what they received in high school.

It seems most of the Americans agree with what Obama said. The National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education stated that higher education is crucial for success. The number of Americans who feel that higher education is a must has doubled in the last decade.

Steve Farkas, senior research guy in Public opinion research and public engagement organization said that anyone who wants to do well in American must get higher education today. He added that this situation frustrate business leaders. The higher education system offers a product that every student should buy and they have no other choice. However, the system is not flexible or changing to the varying economic realities.

Farkas wrote a report in 2011 based on the collaboration of the committee for economic development, an independent nonprofit public policy organization with Public agenda to conduct a research to explore the attitude of business leaders towards higher education. In the research conducted in September 2011, the serious weaknesses in the higher education system in the country were pointed out.

The business executives stated that there is no reason justifying increasing tuition costs. They do not believe that high cost is not matching with improving quality. Most of them said that higher education institutions are not effective and they are wasteful.

Farkas said a private college is offering big swimming pools and marble walls. In public four year colleges, these are lacking. However, public colleges would start doing the same thing to compete for those students. He stated that it is important to focus on planting trees and having a good shrubbery on the campus. The federal aid is the taxpayer’s money, so it should go toward that. It should go to qualified professors and in engaging students.

The state of science, technology, engineering and math education has been getting great improvements in recent years. However, when compared to some other nations, U.S is lagging in this field at the elementary and secondary levels. In international comparison of students’ performance in science and math, U.S is getting middle place consistently.

Greg Tobin, president of English, math and student success for Pearson higher education said in order to make more students choose careers in science, technology, engineering and math fields, they need to be engaged at earlier points in their educational career.