CHAPEL HILL – Anyone who’s taken the SAT knows that sometimes the answer is “all of the above.”

And that’s how University of North Carolina President Margaret Spellings responds in the accompanying video when asked whether universities should focus on training for specific jobs or providing a sound, flexible education.

“We need to do both of those things – all of those things,” she says.

“And that starts with an education that is rooted in the skills of communication and inquiry and writing and the ability to cipher and so forth – those basic skills that we need in any career.  But it’s also important for us to stay in touch with the business community and listen to what they need, where the opportunities are.

“You know, you go to college because you want to get a good job.  You want a successful life.  You want to raise a family comfortably and send your own children to college.  And these are not mutually exclusive goals,” Spellings says.