America’s Medieval Universities: They are now becoming a costly relic

National Review ^ | 06/05/2014 | Victor Davis Hanson

[SeekAndFind]

Employment rates for college graduates are dismal. Aggregate student debt is staggering. But university administrative salaries are soaring. The campus climate of tolerance has utterly disappeared. Only the hard sciences and graduate schools have salvaged American universities

[Red Badger]

See what happens when you lower the standards to where a college degree is meaningless and teach nothing useful...........

[dfwgator]

Which is one of the reasons I predict more Americans will choose to study abroad, and foreign universities tap into the US student market.

[Dilbert San Diego]

The student loan debt is troubling.

But, students and families have to be realistic about things.

Students should focus on majors which help them into job and career paths, in my opinion.

Why major in women’s studies, for example? Studying women may be fascinating in some ways, but, how many jobs look for women’s studies majors as a qualification?

It may make sense to take on student loan debt, if you are getting a degree in a field which leads to a good paying career. But it makes no sense to take on debt, to major in women’s studies, or history, or many other areas which won’t qualify you for a job at which you earn high enough pay to pay off that student loan.

Some observers have said that tuition and fees have risen dramatically in recent years, precisely because of the availability of student loan funds to pay the freight.

[corlorde]

We cannot expect the current self-interested establishment in charge of the university to reform it. Its failure to educate students for well-paying jobs while charging them excessive fees, may alone force a reckoning

The sooner the better.

[SeekAndFind]

RE: Which is one of the reasons I predict more Americans will choose to study abroad

Is that going to be any cheaper?

[demshateGod]

Thanks for posting. You can count on VDH to use the word “reactionary” correctly.

Many in the universities recognize some of these problem. I went to a lecture last semester by David Krakauer from the Wisconsin Institute of Discovery at the University of Wisconsin Madison. He was basically saying the same thing as VDH.

[Parmy]

See what happens when you lower the standards to where a college degree is meaningless and teach nothing useful...........

True. Most colleges, even at the junior college levee, have to offer remedial courses because the students aren't ready to do the basics out of our high schools.

The whole education system is in a crisis state.

[oldbrowser]

The Internet, tech schools, and correspondence courses are already eroding the monopolies of the campus.

Tech schools are popping up everywhere. However, none of them specialize in minority women's studies or community organizing.

[left that other site]

But they sure have some pretty buildings.

[Vermont Lt]

It’s funny, my daughter goes to a pretty “significant” university for her art major. Most of her recently graduated seniors had decent jobs before they graduated. For her small group, they averages $45k-$60k.

In addition, they were all making pieces that would sell in your run of the mill finr art store for a couple hundred dollars a piece.

I think we might want to rethink the “BFA is a ticket to nowhere” thought process.

Although, this is no “state college art history” degree.

[demshateGod]

I was surprised how many people were majoring in “social justice” in a PhD level class I took last semester.

[Dilbert San Diego]

We should also re-think this idea that everyone should go to college.

The structure of the economy is such that, there is is not enough demand in the economy for college graduates who have not majored in specific fields. In some areas, such as the hard sciences, accounting, nursing, there is demand for graduates with those degrees. In many other fields, there is simply no demand in the economy for graduates with majors in these other fields. Which means that whatever jobs these graduates get do not require that college education.

So many politicians, from Barack Obama on down, tell us we need to send more young people to college, to compete in the 21st century global economy and all that. Is this really necessary? Should our policies really encourage that, through programs such as student loans encouraging more and more to go to college?

[SeekAndFind]

RE: It’s funny, my daughter goes to a pretty “significant” university for her art major. Most of her recently graduated seniors had decent jobs before they graduated. For her small group, they averages $45k-$60k.

Just curious, what is the name of the university? Thanks.

[MrEdd]

The standards were not lowered.
They were abandoned outright in favor of pursuit of Income.
This did not happen today.
It isn't a recent development.
It happened before most Free person were born.

A bellwether to show when this happened for any particular institution will be looking back to see when they limited the amount of course work could be challenged and tested out of. At that point, the institution ceased to focus on who had learned what in favor of who paid what.

No one I have ever challenged with this point has ever continued the conversation for very long. To their credit, people from the hard sciences have never had such an infatuation with their alma mater as to contest the observation.

[dfwgator]

Some observers have said that tuition and fees have risen dramatically in recent years, precisely because of the availability of student loan funds to pay the freight.

Same reason that health care costs skyrocketed once we got Medicare, and people relied on insurance to pay for it. When somebody else is paying, you don't care how much something costs.

[Red Badger]

They have to pay all those tenured profs that sit on their duffs and let the post grad students teach the classes if they even do that any more. Last I saw was a classroom full of recorders on the desks and a automated tape playing up on the dias................

[AEMILIUS PAULUS]

Racial politics have killed our once great colleges and universities. As usual the Federal Government, in particular the Judiciary, is the culprit

[demshateGod]

The crisis in education is that liberal education has morphed to mean “Leftist Education”. David Krakauer said “we’re raising a generation of Philistines.” The sixties radicals, having successfully razed the “mettanarratives” of Western tradition, are currently building new, idiotic mettanarratives that have no historical, natural vetting.

One of the problems with hard science, it’s easy to disconnect it from cultural considerations. Fine Art doesn’t have that luxury/problem. It must needs look at history even if only to offer straw-man critiques. FA people should make good employees, because they understand people.

[logic101.net]

The WI university system was recently found to have huge secret slush funds all over the system. This despite crying poor every year for decades to justify 5.5% tuition hikes every year. Gov Walker imposed a tuition freeze. Ok, I think a refund should have been ordered but I’m in the minority on this.

The UW leadership did, after this realize they had a problem. Their brilliant solution? Increase spending and raise room and board fees! Yes these are the people we send out kids to for education?