Is college really preparing students for the working world? Is getting a bachelor’s degree worth it?

Debates over the advantages of higher education have been raging for years, usually centering on a cost-benefit analysis for the students, and many young people go ahead and pursue a degree due to the higher earnings and employment rates that come with graduating.

But in the professional world, one nuance that hiring companies are increasingly considering as they bring in young workers, and a highly discussed topic nationally, is whether recent grads’ cognitive and analytical abilities – like creative thinking, the ability to identify bias and misinformation, decision-making prowess, and problem-solving skills in the workplace – are strong enough to help their organization innovate and excel.

While they naturally prioritize candidates with job-specific skills, almost 90% of organizations also place a premium on the qualities of a critical thinker, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers. However, in recent years, those same businesses have said that only around half of graduates are adept in these areas.

To make a degree truly worth the increasingly expensive investment , top colleges and universities must recommit to cultivating the deep analysis, discussion, and creative thinking they’ve historically been known for. Intelligent business leaders will get ahead by identifying and building on the skills their young (and older) employees already have and developing new ones through a culture of continual learning.

College's Impact on Decision-Making, Creativity and Problem-Solving

Fundamentally, higher ed classrooms are ideal grounds for enhancing critical thinking – defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as “the objective, systematic, and rational analysis and evaluation of factual evidence in order to form a judgment on a subject, issue, etc.” Critical thinkers reach logical conclusions by pursuing the truth and then using that information to make informed decisions and intelligently solve problems. The qualities of a critical thinker also lend themselves to creative thinking because these individuals see all angles of a topic and can think outside the box.

At their best, colleges nurture these qualities most often through:

• Conversation and debates with diverse peer groups that enable students to express ideas, learn about and from different perspectives, back their arguments with evidence, address challenges to their opinions, and grow the scope of their knowledge;
• Advanced classes that push them to analyze and solve complex problems, conduct extensive research, read critically, and coherently communicate ideas; and
• Interdisciplinary coursework, which helps them approach problems from a fresh angle and reimagine solutions by bringing together insights from multiple fields of study.

The Core Qualities of a Critical Thinker and the Advantages They Bring

Graduates who recognize the benefits of critical thinking and adopt it in their day-to-day lives exhibit many of the same characteristics, including:

• A love for continual learning and research and a highly inquisitive mind
• The ability to see and root out bias (including internal bias) and unverified information
• Openness to changing their mind when met with new information
• The aptitude to see connections others don’t, share new insights, and draw one-of-a-kind conclusions using creative thinking
• The capability to arrive at decisions by weighing options and assessing consequences of choices

In the professional world, these attributes are universally valuable. They can be seen, for example, in a doctor who uses all available clinical records and their own creativity and problem solving to make a difficult-to-reach diagnosis, then references demographic data and health-related social needs to create a personalized treatment plan that doesn't perpetuate inequitable care. A marketer often must let go of established expertise and best practices to adapt to new channels and trends, as well as investigate competitor successes and failures to find hidden opportunities.

The benefits of critical thinking, continual learning, and problem-solving skills in the workplace are wide-ranging. Those with the qualities of a critical thinker can:

• Contribute to or lead problem-solving sessions with creative thinking
• Save their companies money with original solutions to ongoing problems
• Make well-informed and ethical decisions that avoid moral ambiguity and bias/harm
• Anticipate and address roadblocks before they cause trouble
• Communicate and present information in a clear, rational way
• Collaborate with anyone on their team
• Provide clear, constructive feedback to team members
• Respectively resolve disputes when they arise
• Ensure their organization’s more adaptable to shifts in their industry
• Challenge the status quo and assumptions

How a Learning Culture Improves Mindsets and Organizational Success

Critical thinking, creativity and problem solving are particularly vital during periods of major change for a business, such as a product launch, merger or acquisition, or entry into a new market. But organizations can only reap the full benefits of critical thinking and expand their employees’ capacity for creative thinking by supporting the growth of these skills with a learning culture.

Establishing productive, growth-oriented teams means nourishing the curiosity intrinsic to critical thinkers and enhancing the proficiency of their talents while simultaneously engaging employees less inclined to these competencies and helping them build strong, discerning mindsets. This may include engaging with a learning and development provider for required online courses, allowing individuals to invest their time in free or paid critical thinking courses offered by outside vendors and universities, or bringing in expert consultants who specialize in mindset improvements.

Creating a learning culture encourages employees to ask questions of their peers and learn more about how they can help your business. It empowers individuals to own their roles and pursue excellence beyond their day-to-day responsibilities. It also inspires creative thinking that drives new ideas and industry leadership. In fact, according to Deloitte, organizations that prioritize learning are 92% more likely to innovate.

The Pacific Institute strengthens company culture and improves individual mindsets by teaching teams how to unlock their potential. Using lessons from behavioral and cognitive psychology, we guide people to let go of unhelpful beliefs and thinking patterns, use critical and creative thinking, and focus on reaching individual and organizational goals, ultimately helping businesses achieve better alignment and productivity. To learn more, contact us today.