Written by As college costs are rising and so are the number of new graduates it makes you wonder if higher education is becoming a for profit industry instead of a service. A college degree has certainly never been cheap, but current costs are outrageous. The average cost per year of a four year public university is around $21000! Now no one expects tuition to be the same it was 20 or 30 years ago, but tuition seems to increase by giant leaps on a consistent basis. It cannot just be keeping up with operation costs, these schools are most likely making a profit. Has the high cost caused lower enrollment numbers? Not a chance, students are just taking on more debt. It makes you wonder if higher education has the student in mind or just the amount of money they bring in tuition. Is this what is wrong with education? If higher education was more student and service focused would graduates have abetted chance at finding employment and have their degree held in higher regard by potential employers.
Posts tagged Education reform
DEGREE RIP OFF????
New college students are presented with a plethora of degree options and majors. Usually those who have trouble deciding or not sure where to start visit one of the college counselors at their particular school. These counselors then help you find out what interest you and what path you should take during your education.
Here is the part that no longer makes sense. There are numerous studies and data available that suggest certain degrees are not likely to lead to gainful employment much less a nice salary. However schools still offer them and counselors still encourage students to pursue them. My question to you is “How can we continue to offer and recommend an education that will not even come close to helping one provide for themselves?” We still charge them the same outrageous tuition and allow them to rack up loans. It almost seems like a scam and a situation that only benefits the schools and loan companies.
Let’s consider the following: In our society there are different levels of quality for our various products and service. We know and accept that often times the higher quality and service will cost us quite a bit more than the cheaper bargain end option which likely offers far less quality and service. Basically if you want the best you will end up paying for it and you get what you pay for!
Now educational institutions do not operate this way at all. They provide products that will greatly vary in their benefit and pay off to the student or “customer if you will”. However the high tuition remains the same for all offerings. It seems like the reward should justify the investment and this is far from the case in higher education offerings. Now certainly money isn’t everything to some people and there is nothing wrong with pursuing their passion in life whether they reap great rewards or not. It just seems as if schools and counselors should fully disclose the fact that an education no longer guarantees success. Many young people entering college have heard their whole lives that they must have an education to succeed. Now that our country, economy, job market and workforce have changed greatly it seems time that education do the same. Maybe some degrees have become irrelevant and perhaps many no longer warrant the high cost of tuition and large debt many will have accumulated when they graduate.
So do you think there are some degrees that are no longer relevant?
Should the cost of all degrees be the same despite their earning and employment potential?
Are Colleges and Universities doing a disservice to students and perhaps even being unethical by promoting degrees with little worth?
TIMELESS PURSUIT FOR CHANGE….
When Whitney Houston, one of the greatest entertainers of our time passed away a while back I could not help but understand the significance of her body of work. What I understood truly for the first time in my life is exactly how timeless her music is and will continue to be. You may ask, what does that intro have to do with the current state of education. It’s simple, as we look for answers in 2012 and we continue to come up short it is realized that just another trendy answer to the education hot topics just won’t do. A solution dictated by presidential term and not by generational necessities is no longer good enough and at this point it’s no longer relevant. The state of our education commands resolve that will transcend the time we live in and successfully take us to a future worth fighting for. Our generation is looking for timeless solutions that will transcend time, trends or the sexy political hot topics of the day. Just like a very few select music artists could have been played 20 years ago, can be played today, and will still be very relevant 20 years from now…these are the very same type of solutions we need in our education system. No more one hit wonders…please!
