Just saw this article in my news feed, and am deeply conflicted about it.
On the one hand, speaking from my own experience, I want to believe that a four-year education can help some people figure out what they want their career path to look like, while also providing opportunities to meet other people from different backgrounds and learn new things about their communities…
On the other hand, there are aspects about the higher education industry that are, to put it mildly, out of touch at best… or, at worst, morally and ethically repugnant. When I was a student, I was REQUIRED to live on campus for my first two semesters (what, so I could “prove” I was “serious”?), which was an extra $25,000 on top of my incredibly expensive tuition and my over-priced meal plan – and while it was nice to get away from my family and try to co-exist with other people, the remoteness of my living space and my required class schedule also made it VERY difficult for me to be available in case of emergencies. Classmates who withdrew were seen as “quitters,” and the process of returning was not only overly-complicated but prohibitively expensive. And, sadly, not all of my classmates were fortunate enough to be able to afford tuition AND room-and-board without taking on incredibly expensive loans, which, I would later learn, COULD NOT be discharged due to financial hardship…
And, honestly, the “career center” on campus was a f*cking joke, and barely prepared me for minimum-wage jobs… NONE OF WHICH cared what I studied. And the stable union job I have now, after nearly two decades of taking on MULTIPLE minimum-wage jobs to try to support myself, ONLY REQUIRED A HIGH SCHOOL EDUCATION!
I honestly don't blame high school graduates for thinking that “traditional” four-year education looks like a trap – looking back at my own experience, and the sad stories my former classmates told me later, there were definitely times it FELT like a trap.
I feel bad for kids like Mia (in the article), under all that pressure… to jump through all these hoops… to apply for federal aid… to pursue something that might not even be a good fit for her immediate and/or long-term career plans in the first place? Only to then have some checked-out advisor (who might also hideously undervalued) deign to accuse her of “not participating”?
Every person deserves to feel like they belong somewhere, and can contribute to society in a meaningful way, regardless of whether or not they come from money. Sometimes that means taking gigs, or maybe it means certificate programs, or maybe even www.governmentjobs.com (check your local listings!). So, as much as I'm glad to have had the opportunity to take classes in subjects I found interesting, I'm NOT wholly sorry that the higher education industry is LOSING potential students, because their introspection about their sh*tty business practices is clearly only skin-deep. When people don't feel valued or supported, they have NO INCENTIVE to feed this particular industry that frankly spends WAY TOO MUCH of their annual budgets on USELESS ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS, as opposed to supporting professors and students. The president of MY college was paid $300k per year, on top of her BS “speaking fees,” to smile, look competent, and CUT ENTIRE DEPARTMENTS to help “save money”… for HERSELF.
My takeaway is that four-year education IS NOT NECESSARILY FOR EVERYONE, and we would all do well to STOP ACTING like it is. “Exclusive” DOES NOT mean “good,” and pursuing one's aptitudes should be more important than FINANCIAL HAZING. And, if the higher education industry doesn't see it that way, then maybe they DESERVE to go out of business. And if they're going to panic about not having enough tech-bros or whatever, THEY SHOULD HAVE THOUGH OF THAT before allowing these programs to become so f*cking EXCLUSIVE.
/rant