I have a history professor who more than once has been moved to near tears, because he believes the current situation for college students is worse than it was in the '60s and '70s, and we're either too complacent or too scared to do anything about it. Maybe he's right. Or maybe we should just skip straight to the torches.
The system is widely acknowledged to be flawed and at the point of collapse. The McCarthur Foundation, the Gates Foundation and a couple other fellowships are all working on systems whereby college credit would be interchangeable, could be challenged via testing to earn without paying, and could be accrued online, in person, etc. such that all college credit would be effectively the same. When that happens a whole bunch of calcified interests are going to crumble, and a whole bunch of for-profit diploma mills are going to shutter.
COULD. Lots of COULD, SHOULD, WOULD and EVENTUALLY in this thread. Very little actually happening. And any positive change would be years off. Employers determine the market for employees, and right now employers demand a 4 year degree and years of experience for entry level positions. They are able to do so, and will continue to do so until there is incentive otherwise. Edit* Who says it's at a tipping point? On what evidence? Who benefits from saying that we're at a tipping point? Who suffers? Whose wallets are affected?
Damn, dude. Chillax. I also said "are" and could have just as easily said "will" as "would." As far as "who says", how 'bout the editor of the chronicle of higher education?
http://www.jeffselingo.com/about/
sigh So instead of reacting, try listening. That's the former editor of the Chronicle of Higher Education, arguing in not one, not two, but three books about the coming disruption in college structure. This is not unlike the editor of Hot Rod Magazine writing a book about the 'tuner possibilities of Nissans and Mazdas since Ford and Chevy are obsolete. It's akin to the editor of Guns and Ammo magazine arguing that gun control is going to be better for recreational shooters. And he's not recommending changes. You said "who says it's at a tipping point?" Well, the people who oughtta know. The MacCarthur foundation paid out 250m last year. Not sure what they spent on their initiative, but it was a non-negligible sum. The Bill & Melinda Gates foundation isn't exactly poor, either, nor are they known for doing little. We're in a position where I say "things are changing" and you caps-lock your way to NO WE AREN'T and then I say "no, really, we are," and you're still getting up in my grille. Read the damn book. Then come back and shout at me. If you'd asked for more, I would have given you more... but if you're just gonna get spittle on my glasses I got better shit to do with my day.
Not the intent, and I'm sorry that's what came across. Unless there are measurable real-world consequences, even a single persons anecdote, I have a really hard time believing that any amount, of any amount of money spent, accomplished good. I have a few different sources who have been involved with government budget allocation at several levels, and I learned from them that a million dollars here, a million dollars there, can vanish, and nobody knows what it actually did. I'll add the book to the library awaiting my academic digestion.you're still getting up in my grille.