What would you change about how Higher Education works?

[TMW2010]

I've been having a conversation with another forum member about the state of higher education and getting a degree currently works, with ideas on how it could/should be different.

I'm interested in hearing what the other board members have to say on this.

What would you change about higher education/degree-awarding institutions, how would you change it, and (lets be honest here, people) why you feel it should be changed?

The thing I'd change is tuition. (This is probably the only time I'd ever be accused of having socialist leanings, ROFL) Make a baseline bachelor's degree available for the earning to everyone that receives a HS Diploma or GED with reasonable effort (2.0 gpa+), regardless of income level. Private schools, and even state schools, still would have their place, but maybe a Federal program that would offer distance learning along with resources (instead of text books, to save on costs) to be available to anyone and everyone.

But one thing I wouldn't want to skimp on would be the rigor or the checks and balances that would make the degrees easy to cheat through. This wouldn't be a free pass to a piece of paper, the students would still have to work for them, apply themselves for the degree, and learn.

Of course, this type of system would open up more cans of worms I guess and the bureaucracy of such a program would likely be overbearing to deal with. 'Oh, my teacher discriminated against me because of my sex/race/color/creed/height/nosehair/etc (but it wasn't the fact that I didn't do my assignments that got me the bad grade!)', or 'I got a degree, but I can't get hired because I didn't go to one of them fancy state or private schools.' The organization of such a system would be a pretty hefty task and likely in 10-20 years, would be a snake pit of corruption, like a lot of the current government programs.

Ah well... I'd like to think that increasing the education level of today's America would make a positive change, but the population would have to get off their tails and work for it... Which is laughable when they can sit on their rears and collect welfare while popping out 9 kids.

Its kinda depressing the more I think about it...

[ideafx]

I believe there should be uniform transfer policies/general education requirements among all colleges in the country. For example, If I had an AA in Pre-engineering from my local community college, I should be able to apply to any 4-year engineering school in the nation without being required to meet any additional general-ed requirements that particular university might require. Currently, my community college only has articulation agreements with the public universities in my state and a few private colleges. If wanted to pursue a bachelors degree at an OOS school, not all of my credits are guaranteed to transfer.

This is a much bigger issue at expensive private schools.

A friend of mine was planning on starting his senior year at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL. He was in their bio-medical engineering program. Unfortunately, he ran out of finaid and did not want to take on additional Stafford loans. His academic adviser wouldn't allow him to take the additional courses needed for graduation at a cheaper state school.

[TMW2010]

I believe there should be uniform transfer policies/general education requirements among all colleges in the country. For example, If I had an AA in Pre-engineering from my local community college, I should be able to apply to any 4-year engineering school in the nation without being required to meet any additional general-ed requirements that particular university might require.

I could see a lot of cons to this, mainly due to the diversity of programs throughout the nation/world. The CC's would have to totally revamp their degree structure, probably hire on more experienced teachers to meet a minimum level of eligibility, and for this to work, a lot of universities would end up with a more 'vanilla' program.

I know when I was checking into the pre-engineering degree at my local CC, it had about 21 credits of pre-reqs for the courses in the degree itself, so basically to get through it, you'd be doing 3.5 years at the CC before moving on to a Uni program, with another 2-2.5 years there.

Another thing to consider is that alot of schools (especially the smaller ones) don't have the resources to offer every degree, so that is also limiting to what they may take, simply because they don't have a way to correlate transfer courses to their own courses.

His academic adviser wouldn't allow him to take the additional courses needed for graduation at a cheaper state school.

This part confuses me. He was out of aid and didn't want to take on loans so that he could finish graduating from the school, but he wanted to take courses at the same school that would allow him to graduate from a different school, how was he going to pay for them, and why wouldn't he just use the money to take the classes he needed to graduate from that school? Or why didn't he just transfer to the state school, and take the classes there and gradute from that point?

[april004]

How would I change higher education?

I know this sounds like it may be going against everything most people believe but I don't think a college education is a right (for everyone). There are good jobs that can be had with a technical degree or diploma.

There are so many people with a college degree that the value of it is somewhat diluted.

I think high school counselors should stop trying to direct EVERYONE into college.

Guess what? I don't think everyone is suitable for college. I guess I have alot of nerve saying that, right? Especially since I now have my degree. But wait, I shall give an example.

Also, alot of counselors look at trade school with disdain. I know when I was in high school the local trade school never was mentioned. That was for failures who couldn't go to college. That attitude from the counselors trickled down to the students.

Here is my example- one guy I dated(prior to the PHD I am currently with) received his bachelor's in business from a nearby university. One day we stopped at a local fast food joint where the cashier had to count back his change....she didn't know how. And neither did he!

I had to do it for them.

Good god. I might have expected that with someone who made minimum wage...but a man with a degree in business? How did he receive that degree without knowing basic math?

He definately shouldn't have gone to college. All that tuition money and he can't add and subtract.

I remember at the time I did not have my college degree, and it irked me. I know that if I had the funds right after high school- I would have thrived in the university environment.

This man-boy(yes he was a typical frat type, even many years out of college), went to school and from my conversations with him, may have been the most ignorant, stupid, person I have ever met. College was simply party central, not a place to acquire knowledge.

What a waste.

At least he was pretty.

But that would be my contribution, I wouldn't direct everyone to college. Just those I think would thrive and the ones that thirst for knowledge.

[peace123]

I would like to see the accreditation issue of RA versus NA be resolved.

For example DETC reviews down to the course level but I believe RA accreditation is on the school level rather then down to the course level. So to me it seems the DETC standard is more in-depth.

If they are both recognized by the US Dept of Ed , and CHEA, then I feel they should be viewed as equal , and they should transfer equally.

I do not think it is fair for RA to have more recognition, just because they were the original accreditation standard.

[jlctop]

I would agree with April004. The party line (no pun intended) has been that a college education is the gateway to the American Dream. While I agree that to be able to compete in a global world we need to move forward from the Service-minded culture that we have become to a more forward-thinking country that understands the marketplace is beyond the boarders of the US.

The fact that there are college graduates that received their degrees without aquiring the basic skills (counting proper change for one) that are needed in daily life, validates the point that college is not for everyone and if you are going to plop down the $ for a college degree, you should do your due dillegence to make sure your getting your money's worth.

Their are many wonderful vocational/technical cc's that prepare people for the global marketplace. Counselors need to point students towards careers and education goals that fit the person first and foremost. Doing so will fill many critical jobs that need to be filled, and it also would serve to bring the cost of a degree down to more realistic levels.