As the cost of a college education has escalated and employment prospects have dried up, parents and students are rethinking the value of a college education. PayPal’s co-founder, Peter Thiel, believes we are in an “education bubble,” too many college graduates chasing a handful of college-required jobs. He is giving money to gifted college students to drop out of school and start their own businesses. Why go to college?
Some 150 years ago, one went off to college to become a refined gentleman (women excluded). Course work included Latin, Greek, philosophy, literature, arts with some science and math to give one a balanced education. Less educated millionaires, who made their money through sheer determination and cunning, made sure their children would be welcomed into the American elite through a college education.
But the industrial revolution required an increasingly educable workforce. A college education meant that an individual had the ability to read, write, and communicate on a high enough level that businesses could train that individual in the company’s protocol and procedures. Pretty much any degree would do: art history, anthropology, or classical literature.
Instead of one’s family lineage, individuals were rewarded through a meritocracy proved by their college degrees. This system worked well continuing with the G.I. Bill after World War II, right through the 1970s.
Then the 1980s recession hit, and for the first time, college graduates held a diploma but not a job. Like today, the value of a college education was seriously questioned. So we have been here before, and once the economy picks up, most likely the questioning of a college education will be quickly forgotten.
But the questions of what we learn, how we learn, and where we learn should not be thrown off too lightly. Colleges are no longer the only holders of the lamp of knowledge. Anyone with a good Internet connection can get millions of books, lectures and presentations all for free.
What colleges do for business is simply screen, however imperfectly, who has obtained the necessary knowledge and who has not. If a system could be devised to do this screening without obtaining a college diploma, colleges might become fairly obsolete for a lot of other industries. The computer programming industry has already figured out that college isn’t necessary. They still hire a lot of college graduates, but in this industry, changes advance so rapidly that no college can keep up with the innovations. So this industry is perfectly willing to accept individuals with proven skills without the diploma in hand.
One can still read the law on one’s own and pass the bar exam in some states. I don’t know if I want to use a physician who never attended medical school, but we do test those who received their medical training in other countries. Alternative certifications for primary and secondary teachers are becoming more popular. Other alternatives in other fields are sure to follow.
In order to keep pace, colleges are making accommodations. Credits are given to older adults returning to college for their years of experience in the field. In order to cut costs, some four-year colleges are considering establishing a stripped-down three year degree. Colleges are expanding offerings to a larger audience without the capital expenditures of new buildings by offering more classes online to anyone’s home computer.
Chances are the value of a college degree is not about to go away anytime soon, but colleges will have to adapt to the changing environment in order keep their relevance in this electronic age.
