I taught college writing courses at two different East Coast universities for six years—four while in graduate school, and two as an assistant adjunct professor until I stepped away from teaching two years ago. I was 30-years-old, jaded, and needed to perform a philosophical autopsy on my life, dissecting the paths on which I could tread onward. I had grown disgusted with the conventional expectations that had led me to this conundrum in the first place. It wasn’t the fault of higher education: the fault was in the ideals I had brought to higher education.
With the unnerving technological advancements that have unfolded since the advent of the internet, a traditional undergraduate degree doesn’t make sense anymore.
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In The Atlantic, in his January/February 2018 article, “The World Might Be Better Off Without College for Everyone,” Bryan Caplan writes, “I’m cynical about students. The vast majority are philistines. I’m cynical about teachers. The vast majority are uninspiring. I’m cynical about “deciders”—the school officials who control what students study. The vast majority think they’ve done their job as long as students comply.” My view isn’t dramatically different from Caplan’s, I just think we can do something about it.
The world wouldn’t be better off without college for everyone; I think the world would be better off if our higher education system was replaced with a simplified structure that’s accessible, free, and individually tailored—all founded upon the technology that has, and will continue to, change the world at a rapid pace. The four-year degree is outdated. With the unnerving technological advancements that have unfolded since the advent of the internet, a traditional undergraduate degree doesn’t make sense anymore.
A college diploma is overpriced, considering how little work goes into it, regardless of the pay benefit of employment. According to Caplan, “Fifty years ago, college was a full-time job. The typical student spent 40 hours a week in class or studying. Effort has since collapsed across the board. “Full time” college students now average 27 hours of academic work a week—including just 14 hours spent studying.” When my parents went to college, there were no computers; writing a 10-page essay that required research was a serious undertaking. Now, that same essay can be done from bed.
The same core class material can be learned without needing to pay massive tuition costs.
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The employer doesn’t differentiate much between the student who works hard and the student who simply gets by and earns the diploma—because the diploma is virtually all that matters. Caplan, in another article for The LA Times, puts this succinctly: “As long as they have good grades and finish their degrees, employers care little about what they’ve learned.” The college diploma is a filter, improving the odds that an employer will hire a capable employee, regardless of whether their studies are relevant to a given industry.
The same core class material can be learned without needing to pay massive tuition costs. Standard core classes that four-year schools require (what, more-or-less, goes into a two-year associate’s degree) are already available online for free. Take the online education technology company Coursea, for example: from Duke University’s English Composition I to the University of Virginia’s The Modern World, Coursea offers online courses from some of the best professors in the world. Coursea also offers certificates for a nominal fee, specializations that cost a bit more, and online degrees. Can higher education join forces with, dare I say, the government to create a subsidized system with accredited courses where every American can receive a two-year degree, online, for free? This would be an initial path forward to creating a universal higher education system.
If employers have tunnel vision on the end result—the diploma—then let’s eliminate the main barrier that keeps individuals from getting one: financial. If Americans want to learn, give them the credit for doing so without having to pay for the piece of paper proving it, letting the individual decide, after getting his or her feet wet, if continuing in a more structured environment is for them.
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