Is College Worth It? (the coming digital revolution in academia)

Forbes ^ | 3/26/2006 (issue) | Rich Karlgaard

[SauronOfMordor]

The EEOC is what is causing the inflation in the value of a college education. Forty years ago, somebody intelligent and fresh out of high school who applied to a company was given some tests (including IQ). People who showed intelligence and dilligence were put on the fast track to management

Then came the 1971 Supreme Court decision in Griggs vs Duke Power Co. Now, any test which created "disparate impact" (ie, which had more whites passing it than blacks) was forbidden.

SO companies started figuring out how they could justify requiring college degrees as a way of assuring themselves, without testing, that the applicant had some basic literacy at least. The colleges, seeing an increase in demand, jacked up their prices. And so it goes

[Dark Skies]

Here is something more to your liking IMO...

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1594737/posts

[SauronOfMordor]

Oddly, students from all over the world have no problems with our universities. Nearly every country on the planet sends their best and brightest to America for an education...

They send them here to qualify for an H1B or green card

[goodnesswins]

Yep......my husband and I would help fund a business for the grandson BEFORE we EVER helped with college in general. Also, we'd help fund a 401k OVER college!

[The Fop]

Well here's an all American mom who does have a problem with our universities........

noindoctrination.org

[lafroste]

virgins who couldn't get a date in high school finally getting some action, straight laced kids who wouldn't dare to misbehave under their parent's roof puking their guts up at fraternity keg parties, or smoking their first joint while Crosby Stills & Nash plays in the background, etc, etc.

You say that like its a bad thing (amazing how you distilled my freshman year in just one run on sentence).

It would be great if there were some medical schools and law schools that kids could attend right out of high school. They could take preliminary courses and have to maintain a certain grade point average before advancing to the next level.

You can, or at least you could. There was program run by Penn State and the Hershey Medical Center in Hershey, PA where a (really bright) kid could go right after high school and graduate with an MD in five years. I don't know if the program is still active.

[durasell]

There are a lot easier ways of getting a green card than CalTech or MIT.

[The Fop]

"You say that like its a bad thing (amazing how you distilled my freshman year in just one run on sentence)".

No, it's actually great fun. My point is that parents want to believe that, by hook or by crook, their kids will somehow benefit from a college education. Meanwhile, the kids can't wait to go away to school and recreate the best scenes from "Animal House". So who benefits from this? The university's bank accounts.

My wife's family were friends with another family. They had a daughter who went to the University of Florida. The parents showed up for her graduation, only she was nowhere to be found. She was in Key West smoking freebase. I asked my wife if the parents called their daughter before making the trip to Gainesville. She said "no, they just knew when the graduation ceremony was scheduled for and they went ahead and booked a plane flight and a hotel room".

This story says a lot about how clueless parents are about what goes on at college campuses, and how they willfully delude themselves.

[Borges]

Is English under the Liberal Arts banner? My experiences in that field both undergrad and Grad school were overwhelmingly positive.

[RussP]

"Is English under the Liberal Arts banner? My experiences in that field both undergrad and Grad school were overwhelmingly positive."

Yes, I would certainly say it is. Are you a conservative? Where did you attend? Are you saying there was no attempts at Leftist indoctrination? Just wondering.

[Borges]

Are you a conservative?

Uummum yeah.

I went to a small state school in IL. With a subject like English the interpretations are going to be subjective. There's no way around it. We did have a Trotskyite professor and he was something of a campus joke. Everyone knew exactly how he would react on every subject. But overall the range of the education I received was highly satisfying and it was at a low cost as well.