It's not really news that we're failing to graduate enough students in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) majors to fulfill the predicted "jobs of the future." An emphasis on STEM education -- at the K-12 level as well as at the college level) -- has been part of the Obama Administration's mantra all year, beginning with his invocation during the State of the Union address that this was our nation's new Sputnik moment.

But a story this past weekend in The New York Times has rekindled discussion of why those graduation rates remain low. According to the NYT, some 40% of students that enter college planning STEM majors end up switching to other fields or failing to get a degree at all. That rate is even higher (60%) among pre-med students -- "twice the combined attrition rate of all other majors."

Read the rest of the story at Inside Higher Ed