It's really not that cool because it isn't true. Costs have skyrocketed. There is a reason there is 1.2T in student loan debt out there.
If the true costs hadn't changed then there wouldn't be such massive expansion in debt per student, administration budgets and benefits for tenured professors. Newsflash, the cost of a World History 101 class isn't really 4,500 bucks.
The schools are taking in more $ and wasting it. This isn't a theory I cameup with, it is a universally held opinion by anyone that has analyzed the subject.
This mismanagement makes its way into the economy in very real ways and has very severe consequences as well. For instance, medical school costs have soared and now we have a doctor shortage, lagging other OECD countries in medical professionals. This causes healthcare costs to go up, then perhaps I don't know let's say a president comes into office and maybe tries to fix the problem with solutions that don't tackle the underlying root causes. So "that's cool"
It depends on the position. I would be very reluctant to hire someone in an engineering, finance, economics capacity with a U of Phoenix degree. There are time management skills, team projects, and long-term assignments that are critical to learn which can only be done in an on-campus program. I have no problem with an online MBA because they are bullshit anyway...simply teaching risk avoidance. That is fine for IBM or Cisco but for most businesses it is pretty useless. I do hire people into admin, HR, and junior marketing roles with online degrees but have to admit that I shook my head when i saw they now give college credit for work experience.
I recently read the end of average by a harvard professor talking about individualized learning and how we should employ more online learning to allow people to learn at their own pace. While i agree people learn different subjects at different paces the fact is that in the real world there ARE deadlines, project due dates, and deliverables that can't just be completed when someone feels competent enough to complete the task. so i'm on the fence with the whole "individual learning" deal...
I recently read the end of average by a harvard professor talking about individualized learning and how we should employ more online learning to allow people to learn at their own pace. While i agree people learn different subjects at different paces the fact is that in the real world there ARE deadlines, project due dates, and deliverables that can't just be completed when someone feels competent enough to complete the task. so i'm on the fence with the whole "individual learning" deal...
Obviously it isn't a panacea of solving education problems but more players allowed to enter the market and compete is always a good thing. Online learning can definitely pickup a huge amount of slack on the low-end core curriculum stuff, especially with how good video-conferencing software has become.
I do think education is ripe for a huge disruption. It might take 10 years, 20 years but the current model will fall. As we get close to having the sum of all human knowledge at our fingertips it really does put us in a world where we can leverage technology to educate people better than ever.
Unfortunately, a lot of these gains are being used for activities that only really seek to dumb us down. Scientists, mathematicians and innovators are less quasi-celebrities than ever before besides some in the Tech world.
no offense but anyone who says "education is a scam" is most likely just a lazy individual frustrated at their own shortcomings. for 99% of people, you're not going anywhere significant if you don't have your college degree (unless you run your own successful business, in which case I salute you)
Which brings us right back to my original points: Harvard, Yale, West Point, community college, financial aid, scholarships, loan forgiveness, et cetera, can prevent you from accruing or holding on to any student debt. Lots of students get scammed by not going those routes, that doesn't make education a scam.
How many people in the US enter college a year? That pathway obviously isn't feasible for everyone and to think it is would be horrible and atrocious policy.
I don't think it is a scam, obviously I think leveraging human capital is probably the most important thing we can do as a society for long-term prosperity. I just am pointing out the extreme inefficiencies in the system that have been building up for multiple decades.
Yeah, obviously market participants making rational decisions would be another big step in improving the process. Bubbles often start with misguided intervention and end with irrational behavior. If people stopped paying 100k for a psychology or liberal arts degree then the cost of these would go down. There is a lot of value in going to a school that is more of a "community" than just a building that has classes though, which is what a lot of CC's basically are. Also, anyone can get into a CC so it demphasizes the need to learn at earlier levels as well. So I'd like to see the system reformed on both ends.
I actually think a lot of these majors have gotten a bad wrap. A philosophy degree isn't as good as an engineering degree, but getting it isn't a waste of time. It teaches you how to think and analyze. The problem is there is just no way it should cost what it does. The degree isn't the problem, the cost is.
Well said.
I'm well aware of the current costs and pros/cons of college education, as my oldest son is heading there this fall, and he's looking at
a private school that is $53K a year. Then I have two more kids that will be heading to college in the next 4 years.
I do think it's overpriced, but not going is not really an option...
Maybe I should look into this:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...versities-in-english-for-free-or-almost-free/
my friends ask me all the time what they should be telling their kids. I give the same answer every time ... go the CC route to slog through your core curriculum, making sure the credits transfer of course, then go to a college away from home that has an extremely strong program in their chosen field. No sense in racking up 50k/yr debt for core curriculum at an average institution when you can get this done for pennies on the dollar at a local CC.
education is absolutely not a scam no matter how many millionaires did it without a degree. unless your kid has exceptional motivation and a truly entrepreneurial attitude he/she cannot expect to follow that path.
I also fully believe in trade programs. a trade degree can be more beneficial, and far less expensive, than a college degree. I still consider this under the heading of education, of course. I would much rather have my HVAC guy holding a certificate in heating and cooling than a liberal arts bachelors...
$573 here for 3 credit hour 100 level class. If there's anything I learned, it recommending a CC or Tech school for at least the first year or two. It also may show one that college isn't right for them, or maybe a two year degree is what suits them better. If I'd went this route, I'd own at least one more house than I do now...
I'm not saying this isn't good advice for many, but I do think just telling everyone "Go to CC to keep costs down and then transfer" isn't really the answer for many people. Even though core curriculum isn't too important, CC is not going to be able to engage and instill the proper learning habits for a fast-tracked, best and brightest type of student. You also lose out on 2 years of living somewhere else, meeting new people and gaining new experiences. Then there is the difference in how rigorous the academic program is. Going to a CC and then a top 20 computer science school is like going from boxing an RX'er to boxing prime Mike Tyson.
CC's serve a very good role, but for a lot of students it would probably be a step backwards. And then like I said, if you're telling your kids to go on the CC track in high school, GL getting them to try to study and get good grades. What is the point? Like Chris Rock said, "Community college means ANYONE in the Community can go!"
I think state school and then transfer to private school after 2 years would be better advice for a lot of your friends parents. Or just stay at the state school obviously. Maybe take CC classes that will transfer over the summer to reduce costs as well.
A lot of ways to skin the cat.
"If you look at the long-term trend, [college tuition] has been rising almost six percent above the rate of inflation," said Ray Franke, a professor of education at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. "That's brought immense pressure from the media and general public, asking whether college is still worth it."
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That article points out that the tuition at Harvard is up more than 1000% from where it was in 1971.
By the way, I have no idea what "a degree is a degree" is supposed to mean, but if it suggests the a U of Phoenix Degree is the same as say one from Columbia, you're mistaken.
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That article points out that the tuition at Harvard is up more than 1000% from where it was in 1971.
By the way, I have no idea what "a degree is a degree" is supposed to mean, but if it suggests the a U of Phoenix Degree is the same as say one from Columbia, you're mistaken.
