--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Colleges and universities, for all the…" description: "\"Colleges and universities, for all the benefits they bring, accomplish far less for their students than they should. Many students graduate without bei..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ce/derek-bok-13117_able_colleges-and-universities-for-all-the-be_1832925.jpg" --- # Colleges and universities, for all the benefits they… ![“Colleges and universities, for all the benefits they bring, accomplish far less for their students than they should. Many students graduate without being able to write well enough to satisfy their employers... reason clearly or perform competently in analyzing complex, non-technical problems.” quote by Derek Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ce/derek-bok-13117_able_colleges-and-universities-for-all-the-be_1832925.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ce/derek-bok-13117_able_colleges-and-universities-for-all-the-be_1832925.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ce/derek-bok-13117_able_colleges-and-universities-for-all-the-be_1832925.jpg) > “Colleges and universities, for all the benefits they bring, accomplish far less for their students than they should. Many students graduate without being able to write well enough to satisfy their employers... reason clearly or perform competently in analyzing complex, non-technical problems.” [Derek Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-bok/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Higher education often fails to teach essential communication skills, leaving graduates underprepared for workplace demands. **In simple terms:** College should teach clear writing and thinking. Key Takeaway Improve critical communication. Themes education communication workplace Mood concerned thoughtful Type analytical critical When to use this quote - job interviews - team meetings - report writing - project planning Key Concepts critical thinking writing analysis Questions to Reflect On - What can students do to fill this gap? - How can universities better integrate writing across majors? A Different Perspective Institutions may lack resources to overhaul curricula. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [College](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/college/) [Colleges and universities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/colleges-and-universities/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Employers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/employers/) [Graduates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/graduates/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Students](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/students/) [University](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/university/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [In Germany, college tuition is free. In America, college tuition is increasingly unaffordable. In a highly competitive global economy, which country do you think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/in-germany-college-tuition-is-free-in-america-college-tuition-is/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [No institutions in modern society are better equipped to catalyze the necessary transition to a sustainable world than colleges and universities. They have access…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-w-orr/no-institutions-in-modern-society-are-better-equipped-to-catalyze-the/) [David W. Orr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-w-orr/) > [I want to spend my time at colleges and universities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-o-leary/i-want-to-spend-my-time-at-colleges-and-universities/) [Kevin O'Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-o-leary/) > [And just because you have colleges and universities doesn't mean you have education.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/and-just-because-you-have-colleges-and-universities-doesn-t-mean-you/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [Ontario’s colleges and universities offer our young people life-changing opportunities. With an education, you can go anywhere and do anything. I am so impressed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-wynne/ontario-s-colleges-and-universities-offer-our-young-people-life/) [Kathleen Wynne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-wynne/) > [I don't believe in colleges and universities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/i-don-t-believe-in-colleges-and-universities/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [Our higher education system is controlled by what amounts to a cartel of existing colleges and universities, which use their power over the accreditation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/our-higher-education-system-is-controlled-by-what-amounts-to-a-cartel/) [Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/) > [B students work for C students - A students teach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/b-students-work-for-c-students-a-students-teach/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [Learning is something students do, NOT something done to students.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfie-kohn/learning-is-something-students-do-not-something-done-to-students/) [Alfie Kohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfie-kohn/) > [We want our students to be the students we want to teach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-warlick/we-want-our-students-to-be-the-students-we-want-to-teach/) [David Warlick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-warlick/) > [After Big Media, U.S. colleges and universities are the biggest enemies of the values of red-state Americans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-schlafly/after-big-media-u-s-colleges-and-universities-are-the-biggest-enemies/) [Phyllis Schlafly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-schlafly/) > [“The world's greatest students are those who graduate from the University of Life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/the-world-s-greatest-students-are-those-who-graduate-from-the/) [Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/) > [Currently, only 70 percent of our high school students earn diplomas with their peers, and less than one-third of our high school students graduate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruben-hinojosa/currently-only-70-percent-of-our-high-school-students-earn-diplomas/) [Ruben Hinojosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruben-hinojosa/) > [Most students graduate from high school knowing nine words about the civil rights movement: Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, and "I Have a Dream."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-aydin/most-students-graduate-from-high-school-knowing-nine-words-about-the/) [Andrew Aydin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-aydin/) > [We must ensure that our students graduate high school and then earn a postsecondary certificate or degree.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-ivey/we-must-ensure-that-our-students-graduate-high-school-and-then-earn-a/) [Kay Ivey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-ivey/) ## More by Derek Bok > [Doctoral training is devoted almost entirely to learning to do research, even though most Ph.Ds who enter academic life spend far more time teaching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-bok/doctoral-training-is-devoted-almost-entirely-to-learning-to-do/) [Derek Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-bok/) > [I think it's sort of an outrage that companies should have to hire firms to teach the college graduates they employ how to write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-bok/i-think-it-s-sort-of-an-outrage-that-companies-should-have-to-hire/) [Derek Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-bok/) > [As countries embrace mass higher education, the cost of maintaining universities increases dramatically relative to an elite system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-bok/as-countries-embrace-mass-higher-education-the-cost-of-maintaining/) [Derek Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-bok/) > [“surveys show that over 90 percent of professors believe that their teaching is above average,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-bok/surveys-show-that-over-90-percent-of-professors-believe-that-their/) [Derek Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-bok/) > [For some students, especially in the sciences, the knowledge gained in college may be directly relevant to graduate study. For almost all students, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-bok/for-some-students-especially-in-the-sciences-the-knowledge-gained-in/) [Derek Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-bok/) > [There is far too much law for those who can afford it and far too little for those who cannot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-bok/there-is-far-too-much-law-for-those-who-can-afford-it-and-far-too/) [Derek Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-bok/) > [An educated man must have a "curiosity in exploring the unfamiliar and unexpected, an open-mindedness in entertaining opposing points of view, tolerance for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-bok/an-educated-man-must-have-a-curiosity-in-exploring-the-unfamiliar-and/) [Derek Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-bok/) > [Once you start worrying about a national football championship, then you begin to worry about getting the quality of athlete, and the numbers needed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-bok/once-you-start-worrying-about-a-national-football-championship-then/) [Derek Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-bok/) > [I think any self-respecting educational institution ought to judge its policies by its best estimate of what their long-term consequences for their students and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-bok/i-think-any-self-respecting-educational-institution-ought-to-judge/) [Derek Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-bok/) > [I think the minority students that we admit to Harvard are every bit as meritorious as the white students that we admit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-bok/i-think-the-minority-students-that-we-admit-to-harvard-are-every-bit/) [Derek Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-bok/) > [There's a great deal of difference between thinking reflectively about moral issues and achieving higher standards of ethical behavior.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-bok/there-s-a-great-deal-of-difference-between-thinking-reflectively/) [Derek Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-bok/) > [Critics of American colleges typically attribute the failings of undergraduate education to a tendency on the part of professors to neglect their teaching to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-bok/critics-of-american-colleges-typically-attribute-the-failings-of/) [Derek Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-bok/) > [Early admission programs tend to advantage the advantaged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-bok/early-admission-programs-tend-to-advantage-the-advantaged/) [Derek Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-bok/) > [Universities are institutions run by amateurs to train professionals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-bok/universities-are-institutions-run-by-amateurs-to-train-professionals/) [Derek Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-bok/) > [The oldest of the arts and the youngest of the professions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-bok/the-oldest-of-the-arts-and-the-youngest-of-the-professions/) [Derek Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-bok/) [Explore all 51 Derek Bok quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-bok/) ## More Able quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/) [Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/) > [In the '80s, the way radio was programmed, if you didn't have a hit record you weren't going to be able to make any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huey-lewis/in-the-80s-the-way-radio-was-programmed-if-you-didn-t-have-a-hit/) [Huey Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huey-lewis/) > [I think I've had the longest career of strength, focus, and still being able to sell records. I think I'm that guy. I'm still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/i-think-i-ve-had-the-longest-career-of-strength-focus-and-still-being/) [Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/) > [I have that need in me, I want everyone to love me, but I'm embarrassed by that need, so I wanted to cover it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-jeselnik/i-have-that-need-in-me-i-want-everyone-to-love-me-but-i-m-embarrassed/) [Anthony Jeselnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-jeselnik/) > [Thinking about the things that happened, I don't know any other ball player would could have done what he (Jackie Robinson) did. To be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pee-wee-reese/thinking-about-the-things-that-happened-i-don-t-know-any-other-ball/) [Pee Wee Reese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pee-wee-reese/) > [I wanted to remember in order to be able to return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/i-wanted-to-remember-in-order-to-be-able-to-return/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [Government schools, with your tax money, now discourage the teaching of multiplication tables by rote memorization but teach reading by the 'look-and-say' method which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-perry/government-schools-with-your-tax-money-now-discourage-the-teaching-of/) Greg Perry > [I don't know if I would qualify as mainstream. I think I have managed to function pretty successfully on the fringes of the music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-metheny/i-don-t-know-if-i-would-qualify-as-mainstream-i-think-i-have-managed/) [Pat Metheny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-metheny/) > [What we're supposed to do as actors is be able to portray real human beings and emotions. And if you grow up in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-browning/what-we-re-supposed-to-do-as-actors-is-be-able-to-portray-real-human/) [Emily Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-browning/) > [The reason that Apple is able to create products like iPad is because we always try to be at the intersection of technology and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/the-reason-that-apple-is-able-to-create-products-like-ipad-is-because/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [It was an important period for us, because even though we weren't a "punk band", and what became a model for a punk band,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-mallinder/it-was-an-important-period-for-us-because-even-though-we-weren-t-a/) [Stephen Mallinder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-mallinder/) > [- You look fine. - Right. I look fine. Except I don't, said Zora, tugging sadly at her man's nightshirt. This was why Kiki…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/you-look-fine-right-i-look-fine-except-i-don-t-said-zora-tugging/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [There is a way to be a woman, ask for what we deserve and be able to negotiate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracee-ellis-ross/there-is-a-way-to-be-a-woman-ask-for-what-we-deserve-and-be-able-to/) [Tracee Ellis Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracee-ellis-ross/) Browse all 17,257 Able quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Colleges and universities, for all the benefits they bring, accomplish far less for their students than they should. 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