However, the skills that are now required outside academia are changing so rapidly that universities may struggle to marry the generic cognitive skills taught in the classroom – such as critical thinking, analytical reasoning, problem solving, and writing – with the professional expertise that is increasingly acquired in the workplace. And if years of schooling do not translate into greater cognitive skills, then much of the economic justification for investing in higher education falls apart.
但并非所有欧洲大学都认为自己首先是研究机构。许多大学宁可专注于帮助学生做好进入职场的准备。但是，如今学术圈外所需要的技能瞬息万变，以至于大学要花大力气将课堂所教授的通用认知技能（如批判性思考、分析推理、解决问题和写作）与工作场所日益需要的专业经验相协调。而如果多年的学校教育不能转化为更好的认知技能，那么投资高等教育的经济理由就站不住脚了。