Is a BA the degree for the future?

The perennial joke that a Bachelor of Arts is a degree in ’’bugger all’’ is outdated and inaccurate as society’s need for them is increasing, an academic says.

Massey University’s Professor Richard Shaw is leading a redesign of the degree, and said its image problem and its future place in New Zealand society were being widely discussed in universities.

Ministry of Education data showed that nine years after graduating, BA graduates were more likely to be employed than people with science degrees, he said.

The BA was widely adaptable and provided a strong foundation of vital skills, Shaw said.

‘‘Employers are starting to look for good minds, the ability to learn a new thing really quickly and then learn another thing, and think critically.’’

The BA is the second-most popular degree at Massey after the Bachelor of Business.

Enrolments had been increasing ‘‘steadily’’ for the past two years, though all other universities in New Zealand had seen a decrease, Shaw said. Employers valued the skills and qualities of BA graduates, but were hazy about what was actually taught.

In response, the university had introduced a core of five compulsory papers. The papers covered civics and citizenship, social identity and critical thinking.

The first of the five papers started in semester one and feedback had been ‘‘overwhelmingly positive’’, Shaw said.

Palmerston North City councillor Tangi Utikere, a Massey BA alumni, said the critical thinking skills the degree encouraged were especially valuable.

‘‘I appreciated the flexibility and broad-brush approach ... it’s about encouraging people to be independent, robust thinkers, and analyse things and not jump to an instant conclusion.’’