In
the book, Knowledge Factory , Stanley
Aronowitz states that perhaps, “the main
function of college attendance is to delay entrance into the uncertain job
market.” (9) This is certainly a pessimistic worldview, but Aronowitz’s
pessimism is not unfounded. While his book was as informative as it was
depressing, it is a wholesale assessment of the state of higher education in
America. One of clearest ideas he expressed is that the ‘bloom may be coming
off the rose’ in regard to the value for dollar that students receive for higher education and the prospect of landing a
well paying job, commensurate to the degree, after graduation.
With
the costs of post-secondary education skyrocketing, the prospect of gaining
employment that will offer sufficient pay to offset the cost of the degree is unlikely
in the present economy. Still, this is not stopping students from flocking to
colleges in record numbers to invest in themselves, by way of an expensive
college education. According to the economist.com,
...In worldwide rankings more than half of the
top 100 universities, and eight of the top ten, are American. The scientific
output of American institutions is unparalleled. They produce most of the
world’s Nobel laureates and scientific papers. Moreover college graduates, on
average, still earn far more and receive better benefits than those who do not
have a degree.
Nonetheless, there is growing anxiety in
America about higher education. A degree has always been considered the key to
a good job. But rising fees and increasing student debt, combined with
shrinking financial and educational returns, are undermining at least the
perception that university is a good investment.
The
rhetoric of the value of higher education is still persuasive, even in the face
of an unrelenting economic crisis. This is a top down, best case scenario with
the best and the brightest making scientific breakthroughs and garnering
rewards and accolades. But what about the average but still intelligent prospective
college student? Are we to discard the everyday, better-than-average student
wishing to achieve the ideal of a better life that is certainly within his or
her reach?
While the country is not facing the unemployment
levels of the Great Depression, it is running a close second. The United States
is a nation of dreamers, and generally this is seen as a positive, but it seems
that many Americans are choosing blissful ignorance to the reality of the
situation. If Americans continue to purse college degrees at such an inflated
rate, surely the bubble will eventually burst.
The universities must take some sort of action
to reclaim their rightful place in society as the educators of people and drop
the corporate business models that allow them to retain the false impression
that they are a business: they are not businesses, they are schools. If the
goal is to have an educated, enlightened, productive society, the country must
once again relegate monies to keep the dream of the dreamers alive by offering
the chance for education. If this is not corrected and the purported education bubble
bursts, there will be a record number of student loan defaults that will put
the housing bubble to shame. Ultimately, those responsible for this crisis must
take the shame off the backs of student and put an end to the policies that are
effectively creating debtors prisons out of universities. Indiana University
has been bold in taking the first step in this direction:
Some signs suggest that universities are facing
up to their inefficiencies. Indiana University has just announced innovations
aimed at lowering the cost and reducing the time it takes to earn a degree. More
of this is needed. Universities owe it to the students who have racked up $1
trillion in debt, and to the graduate students who are taking second degrees
because their first one was so worthless. They also bear some responsibility
for the 17m who are overqualified for their jobs, and for the 3m unfilled
positions for which skilled workers cannot be found. They even owe it to the
37m who went to college, dropped out and ended up with nothing: many left for
economic reasons.
What’s
right is right.
Works
Cited:
Aronowitz, Stanley. The Knowledge
Factory. Boston: Beacon Press, 2000. Print
“Not What It
Used To Be, American Universities
Represent Declining Value for Money to Their Students.” The Ecomomist. 1 Dec 2012. Chicago: Print http://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21567373-american-universities-represent-declining-value-money-their-students-not-what-it
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