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A rts degree — Still~ ticket to success?

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By Steven Hunt

rinted from the Uniter

nadian University Press ehow, coming on the nd of a recession and in the middle of a ological revolution, the ‘on “What is the value .A.?” comes across as sort of accusation, like ding nuclear weapons, e Blue Bomber’s pass

ce. ertheless, an informal

educators and students tes there is still a role arts education.

nd bosses of the world.

.. 4,. A... tor

ness-oriented students”, thinkers in enough

hen.

- value of the Bachelor rts degree still, thank- can’t be determined by nizing an income flow or any of those othere ical means most arts nts are hazy about. ome flow charts? You like the United Way ometer'Z”)

etable talents with a r understanding of life eral.

e’s value are affecting rsity program direc— Liberal arts universities

s life-skills arguments, re trying to meet the rns somewhere in the e.

m an economic per- ve, an arts degree is tely not obsolete. A Bell 3 study, conducted g its nearly one million yees, found liberal arts ates rate a 46 per cent ood of rising to ement level positions. study ranked business ts at 32 ‘per centwith er/science/math stu— on the botton at 21'per

.eral arts grads rated or in interpersonal unications, innovation I oblem solving. '

ewise, Great West Life

y of business, govern- -

nce to hire one, now,

value lies in combining.

controversy over the

istening to the jobs'

Insurance Company still hires arts students. “We hire a certain number of business- 'oriented graduates to work in

areas such as finance and ’

accounting,” said Bill Hook, the company’s personnel representative, “but in other areas, Such as underwriting and general insurance we hire graduates with all types of

university degrees.”

Hook said personal per- formance ranks.higher than formal education when it comes to promotions, citing himself as an example — a psychology major who moved up to senior manage- ment.

“A B.A. will close some doors,” he admits, “but there are jobs out there for arts graduates you just have to go out and find them.”

One place you’re not likely

to find them is in govern-

ment. Manitoba’s public service commission, the body responsible for hiring bureaucrats, isn’t talking to any 'recent university gra- duates very much these days, and not at all to arts students.

“In the early seventies,

. your disdaiinetlidn’t matter

very much, but today the various governments want to see your inventory,” said Ken Graham, the man who used to hire students there. “They want students with business—oriented training —

MBA’s, MPA’s, Honours'

Accelerated Commerce. It’s become extremely difficult for liberal arts.”

To Graham, that fact is not surprising. “Nobody ever expected toget a job with a liberal arts degree anyways,” he said.

Graham advises unem- ployed arts graduates to “Go back to school and get some business and administrative training.”

Jim Fyles, an employment officer at the University of Winnipeg, said employers are not jumping'at tne cnance to hire arts. graduates.

“We hardly get any (em- ployers) up here,” he said. “In bad times, employers go for the specialized skills first

And believe-me, these are very bad times.”

But Bill Hook said Great West Life hires all its arts students from applications off the streets. “We don’t recruit arts students on campus only students with professional training,” he said.

The economic value of an arts degree fluctuates. While “idea people” are recruited during growth periods, Fyles said in bad times companies are more concerned with holding their own, and hiring of fice managers.

While an arts degree may net pay off quickly in terms of a job, many point to its value in training the ,mind.

Psychology student Heather Weiss is blunt about what her degree is likely to bring in terms of financial

. gain. “Probably nothing,” she said, “but I never.

expected it to.” Rather, she said, “I’m learning about life..While commerce is a business apprenticeship arts are an apprenticeship for society and everyone has to live in society.” Universities and colleges are being pressured to stress skills training over liberal arts, and the system is be— ginning to respond. A 198] employment and immigration department report said the federal government should tailor education funding to “increase the system’s flexi— bility in responding to changing market needs.” In other words, Canada needs more engineers and less

‘ liberal arts.

Walt Stein, University of Winnipeg’s Dean of Curri- culum, recognizes a need for more skills training in an increasingly society. He said new skills programs are being intro— duced, possibly childcare and nursing, but arts courses will be included in the programs.

Universities are responding reluctantly to society’s demanc’. for more skills- oriented programs, Stein said.

“When you’re holding on to something that precious, you’re reluctant to give any of it up.”

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