8 Ideas to Change College Time Mag

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http://ideas.time.com/2012/10/18/8-ideas-to-improve-higher-education/

 

A few neat tidbits.

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Found the following two bits striking:

 

"There are 18 million undergraduates attending U.S. colleges and universities, but a surprisingly small portion of them fall into the category of “traditional†students: just 27 percent are fresh out of high school and studying full-time at a four-year school." Molly Corbett Broad

 

and

 

"The key question now is how quickly these MOOCs will offer not just a breakthrough mode of learning and attaining skills, but bona fide credentials that students seek because employers value them. Once a sufficient infrastructure of credible exams and assessments around MOOCs is in place—Colorado State University’s Global Campus has already started giving credit for Udacity’s introductory computer programming course if the student passes a proctored exam—we’ll enter a new era in which employers will be in a position to act like Colorado State is today. That is, they’ll have the confidence to give job candidates “credit†for work done and certifications given outside the officially “accredited†institutions of higher education."

[creekland]

I suspect with the first idea (tying funding to graduation rates) that they will soon see the requirements to graduate decreasing, if not on paper, than in content. I don't see where that is a good thing at all.

 

more than a quarter of federal financial aid goes to for-profit colleges, yet nearly 50 percent of these students drop out within four months—a development that calls for a closer look at the standards to which we hold schools that receive federal aid.

 

I fully agree with this.

 

By 2018, 63 percent of all jobs will require at least some postsecondary education, according to the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce.

 

We've discussed this sort of thing a bit in our house. Mine want to go to college, so I don't need to coerce them, but there are definitely reasons to have a slip of paper. Those I know IRL who are getting their first degree when they are older are all making sure their kids go right after graduation (or soon after). It's simply easier when one remembers all "that stuff" and doesn't have family/major work commitments.

 

Twenty years ago, tuition at UCLA was $1,624; adjusted for inflation, that would be $2,564 in today’s dollars. This year tuition is $12,192.

 

We have this discussion too - and it's why I really, really, emphasize getting good scores/stuff to qualify for scholarships - and why we also look at schools offering decent financial aid packages. It's hard to afford college otherwise (at least, it is for us).

 

All in all, an interesting read. Thanks for sharing!

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Found the following two bits striking:

 

"There are 18 million undergraduates attending U.S. colleges and universities, but a surprisingly small portion of them fall into the category of “traditional†students: just 27 percent are fresh out of high school and studying full-time at a four-year school." Molly Corbett Broad

and

"The key question now is how quickly these MOOCs will offer not just a breakthrough mode of learning and attaining skills, but bona fide credentials that students seek because employers value them. Once a sufficient infrastructure of credible exams and assessments around MOOCs is in place—Colorado State University’s Global Campus has already started giving credit for Udacity’s introductory computer programming course if the student passes a proctored exam—we’ll enter a new era in which employers will be in a position to act like Colorado State is today. That is, they’ll have the confidence to give job candidates “credit†for work done and certifications given outside the officially “accredited†institutions of higher education."

 

There are some not for profit schools that have really horrible graduation rates. I stopped mentioning one scholarship program when I learned that a couple of the schools involved had graduation rates that were under 20% (and no, it wasn't because they were graduating engineers in 5-6 years).

[Sebastian (a lady)]

I'd also like to see colleges stay focused on their core mission. Which in my world doesn't include the ever expanding administration, larger dorms, extravagant fitness centers, study centers restricted to varsity athletes or funding of so many student clubs.

 

(If students want to form a club, great. Let them hold fund raisers or pay for their events on their own. But don't hold student fees hostage to what are often very partisan groups.)

 

And I don't think we do a favor to push students who can barely finish high school directly into college. I would like to see a much more robust apprenticeship system here.

[Nscribe]

I find myself increasingly questioning the validity/value of the traditional 4 year live in college experience. The likelihood Dd will do only a BA/BS is pretty low. Thus, 2-4 additional on campus years may well be part of her experience. If MOOC's did cut into that and allow for travel and/or work experience flexibility, it might be appealing.

[Dmmetler]

I'd be more likely to accept it had I not seen just how badly TN has gutted higher education budgets overall-and seen programs with a 100% graduation and job placement rate cut because they didn't have enough paying bodies. I suspect Haslam is looking less at "how to improve college" and more "how to make it cost the state less and the students more".