Are More Options Always a Good Thing? The Backfiring Effects of Academic Proliferation

James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal ^ | April 8, 2022 | George Leef

[karpov]

The past decade has ushered in dramatic growth in the number of postsecondary degree options available to US students.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the number of bachelor’s degrees awarded in the US increased by 22 percent from 2010 (1.6 million) to 2019 (2.0 million). Likewise, master’s degrees increased by 20 percent, while doctoral degrees increased by 18 percent. Moreover, many of these degrees are in new areas of study: there’s been a 21 percent increase in the number of different degree or certificate programs available since 2012.

Concurrently, non-traditional degree or certificate options have also become more popular. Google’s Career Certificates take less than six months and prepare students for lucrative careers in big tech, while the recent startup Outlier offers for-credit transferable online college classes at a fraction of the cost. The pandemic in particular has spurred growth in interest and employer recognition of these non-traditional programs.

So for the average high school graduate in the US today, there are plenty of choices that are opening previously closed doors. In that sense, the increasing opportunities for education, especially for those from underserved backgrounds, is something to celebrate.

But at the same time, the existence of more options does not necessarily mean better outcomes. Especially in situations where the increasing number of program choices dilutes the effectiveness of each program, the proliferation of options within academia could be backfiring to negatively impact the very students we seek to serve.

[Montana_Sam]

In my experience with recent college graduates, few of the degrees mean anything. So many 4-year degree grads can’t write, can’t think, and have lost all common sense.
The path that Mike Rowe advocates seems like a better choice for many, if not most, young people looking for a better life.

[who_would_fardels_bear]

Instead of getting a degree in computer science, students can now get degrees, not just majors, in topics like AI or Data Mining.

Does a company really want to hire someone who can talk the talk on these subjects but has no idea how to code up actual solutions?

[FarCenter]

With the advances of technology, there has been a great proliferation of specialties. Business has also evolved to be more varied and complex.

Consider electrical engineering. Post WW II, it could probably be adequately covered by power, device, electronics, and computing engineering. Now computer science is a whole diverse branch, and IEEE publishes dozens of journals in various specialties.

[Hootowl99]

I understand what you're describing in that specialized niches in engineering have driven down to the BS level.

I'm a retired fossil ChE and Microbiologist ((double BS) from the 1970s. In my training, the BS degree was broadly based, the opposite of specialization. Different college's BS programs certainly had a different flavor by having a reputation for their BS graduates being successful as process design vs. production engineer vs. R&D types.

It was at the graduate level that specialized training occurred. Still though, the specialization only was apparent on the resume and not the diploma.

I believe the best way at the BS level is to stay with the broader base of generalized training. This does not exclude pursuing specialized interests. There are active research programs that an undergrad student can attach to and be exposed to a universe of specialized areas and bulk up the resume. It's also a path to funnel into graduate school after the BS degree.