(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
US College Leaders Worry About the Future
For generations, the United States has enjoyed one of the strongest higher education systems in the world. But conditions at U.S. colleges and universities are changing, and that system now faces challenges.
Many higher education leaders worry about their ability to deal with a number of issues in the years to come. However, several experts think the schools will do well if they are willing to try new methods of meeting students’ needs.
In October, the American Council on Education reported on a survey of nearly 500 leaders at four-year, non-profit colleges and universities. The study was a joint effort with the Georgia Institute of Technology and the Huron Consulting Group.
The school officials were asked about what they thought would be the biggest issues their institutions would face over the next three to five years. They also were asked how well they thought their college or university would be able to deal with these challenges.
The study identified the top six issues that the 500 leaders listed. The most common concern was increasing competition with other educational institutions. About 62 percent of those questioned noted that concern. The next most common issue was the decreasing size of the traditional student population, meaning students between 18 and 24 years old.
Thirty-nine percent of the leaders listed the growing numbers of non-traditional students, including adults with full-time jobs. Two other concerns were shrinking state and federal financial support, and decreasing public trust in higher education. Also, the officials said they were worried about political conditions around the world, and their effect on international students coming to the United States.
When it comes to changes in the student population, the college and university officials felt like they have some answers. In fact, 89 percent expressed confidence in their school’s ability to meet the needs of the growing number of students who are working adults.
Peter Stokes argues this is because colleges and universities have always been dealing with change. Stokes is the managing director for higher education with Huron.
"We haven’t had any real consistency in … student involvement in higher education, the degrees that are delivered, the industries that are being serviced. So there’s continual change," he told VOA.
Stokes added that after World War II there was a sharp jump in the U.S. birth rate, leading to an increase in the number of young people going to college. Then, after the Great Recession in 2008, the birth rate dropped. Around that time, the number of working adults starting or returning to higher education began rising.
The traditional student population will likely recover eventually, Stokes says. Until then, schools will have to continue on the path many have already started down of using nontraditional methods to deliver higher education. This includes increasing internet-based and short-term programs to meet the needs of students who have less time and money to spend.
As for the five other issues identified in the study, plenty of concerns remain. No more than seven leaders felt very confident in their school’s ability to find solutions to any of the issues.
Louis Soares is the chief learning officer at the American Council on Education. He says that in recent years, Americans have come to think of higher education as more of a means of getting a well-paying job than as a public good.
This may not be surprising given the increased cost of higher education. But Soares says that this put many educational institutions in competition with one another to prove how their programs can affect better career results.
At the same time, U.S-based companies like Amazon and Google are creating their own educational programs to compete with traditional degree programs. And countries like France, Canada and Australia are becoming more appealing to international students who would have likely looked to U.S. schools in the past.
As a result, some colleges and universities across the country have been closing. The U.S. Department of Education reports that in 2018 the number of institutions nationwide dropped to its lowest level since 1998.
Soares suggests that schools have a better chance of surviving if they work together, as Georgia Tech has, sharing new program ideas and methods with 50 other institutions. But that is not always easy.
"U.S. higher education is innovative, but the innovation tends to be small-scale," he said.
Lynn Pasquerella says what might be more important is working on the issues around public trust and governmental support of higher education. And she suggests the two issues are closely connected.
Pasquerella is president of the Association of American Colleges and Universities. She says U.S. higher education has done a poor job of showing that what goes on at an institution is very important. Many people have come to think of colleges and universities as places where students waste time learning unnecessary subjects or hearing one-sided beliefs.
But many students go on to become business and political leaders who shape policies in hopes of improving living conditions in their communities and nationwide. And major scientific and technological developments usually start out in a college or university laboratory.
"Demonstrating the ways in which … their success is inextricably linked to the physical, emotional, economic well-being of people in the communities in which they’re located and which they seek to serve … is a first and critical step in helping to restore public confidence in higher education," noted Pasquerella.
She adds that as Americans develop a better opinion of the schools, state and federal governments will have little choice but to support them.
I’m Dorothy Gundy. And I’m Pete Musto.
重点解析
重点讲解：
1. worry about 发愁；担忧；
Don't you worry about a thing.
你什么也不必担心。
2. lead to 导致；引起；
This can lead to bodily weakness and muscle wastage.
这样可能会导致身体虚弱和肌肉萎缩。
3. at the same time 同时；另一方面；
I was afraid of her, but at the same time I really liked her.
我害怕她，但同时也确实喜欢她。
4. tend to 倾向于；有助于；
All children will tend to suffer from separation from their parents and siblings.
他已是不止一次被抢劫了。
参考译文
美国大学的领导者们对未来表示担忧
几代人以来，美国一直享有世界上最强的高等教育体系之一。但美国高校的条件正在发生变化，这一体系现在面临着挑战。
许多高等教育的领导人，对于在未来数年处理大量问题的能力表示担忧。然而，一些专家认为，如果学校愿意尝试采用新方法满足学生的需求，他们会做得很好。
今年10月，美国教育委员会（American Council on Education）报告了一项对四年制非营利大学院校近500名领导的调查。这项研究是与乔治亚理工学院和休伦咨询集团共同进行的。
调查询问学校官员，他们认为在未来三到五年内，学校将面临的最大问题。同时，还询问他们认为自己的院校应对这些挑战的程度如何。
这项研究确定了500位领导人列出的六大问题，最普遍的担忧是与其他教育机构之间的竞争日益加剧。大约62%的受访者注意到了这种担忧。第二个最常见的问题是传统学生人数在减少，这是指18至24岁的学生。
39%的领导人列出了越来越多的非传统学生，包括有全职工作的成年人。另外两个问题是州与联邦财政支持在减少，以及公众对高等教育信任度的下降。此外，这些官员还表示，他们对世界各地的政治状况，以及这些状况对来美留学生的影响表示担忧。
谈到学生人数的变化，大学院校的官员们觉得他们有一些答案。事实上，89%的学生对学校能够满足日益增长的成年在职学生的需求表示怀有信心。
彼得·斯托克斯认为，这是因为高校一直在应对变化。斯托克斯是休伦大学高等教育董事总经理。
“在学生参与高等教育、提供学位、所服务的行业等方面，我们没有实质的一致性。所以，一直在不断变化。” 他告诉美国之音。
斯托克斯补充说，二战后，美国出生率急剧上升，导致上大学的年轻人数量增加。后来，在2008年大萧条之后，出生率下降了。大约在那时，开始或返回接受高等教育的在职成年人人数开始上升。
斯托克斯说，传统的学生人数最终可能会恢复。在此之前，学校将不得不继续采用已经开始使用的非传统方法来提供高等教育。这些方法包括增加基于互联网的短期课程，以满足时间和金钱都较少的学生的需求。
至于研究报告中确定的其他五个问题，仍然存在许多的担忧。少于七位领导对学校具有找到解决问题方法的能力感到非常自信。
路易斯·索雷斯是美国教育委员会的首席学习官。他表示，近年来，美国人开始把高等教育看作是获得高薪工作的一种手段，而不是一种公共利益。
考虑到高等教育成本的增加，这种情况可能并不奇怪。但是苏亚雷斯说，这使得许多教育机构相互竞争，以证明他们的项目如何更好地影响职业结果。
与此同时，亚马逊和谷歌等美国公司正在创建自己的教育项目，以便与传统的学位项目竞争。而法国、加拿大和澳大利亚等国家，也越来越吸引那些过去可能会把目光投向美国学校的留学生。
因此，全美一些高校纷纷关门。美国教育部的报告称，2018年，全国院校数量降至1998年以来的最低水平。
苏亚雷斯认为，如果像佐治亚理工学院一样，与50家其他院校分享新的课程理念和方法，学校就会拥有更好的生存机会。但是，这并非总是一件易事。
他说：“美国的高等教育在于创新，但这种创新往往是小规模的。”。
林恩·帕斯奎拉说，更重要的是围绕公众信任和政府对高等教育的支持展开工作。她认为，这两个问题密切相关。
帕斯奎拉是美国大学协会主席。她说，美国的高等教育在证实一所大学里所发生的事情非常重要方面做得很糟糕。许多人开始把大学院校看作是学生浪费时间，学习不必要的科目或听取片面信仰的地方。
但是，许多学生后来成为商界和政界领袖，他们制定政策，希望改善社区和国民的生活条件。主要的科技发展通常是从学院或大学实验室开始的。
帕斯奎雷拉指出：“展示他们的成功与居住在社区并寻求服务的居民们的身体、情感和经济福祉密不可分，是帮助恢复公众对高等教育信心的第一步，也是关键性的一步。”。
她补充说，随着美国人对学校具有更好的看法，州政府和联邦政府将别无选择，只能支持他们。
多萝西·甘迪和皮特·穆斯托报道。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
