Serendipity35

Is Higher Education Ready for 'The Education Bubble?' by Trent Batson via http://campustechnology.com  06/01/11

...The bubble is financial: tuitions rising significantly each year despite economic conditions and students taking on student loan debt they then cannot pay off. It is practical: the degree no longer guaranteeing a job and a majority of employers saying that college graduates lack the skills for today’s marketplace. It is cultural: college professors in four-year colleges traditionally educating “for life, not for a specific job” even though today’s college students need job-related education. It is economic: the nature of work in a knowledge economy requiring skills unlike those of graduates of just 15 years ago. It is institutional: a professoriate confronted with so many changes and demands with insufficient background or support to make changes beyond their ken or abilities. The question, “Is college worth it?” has gained a currency that should be troubling to college and university administrators.

The bubble, as we can see by all the dimensions just described, is, in fact, a potential “perfect storm.” How should institutions address this danger? Though community colleges may be better prepared than four-year undergraduate colleges and universities--because many of their courses are aimed at a job--they are not immune from the effects of a burst bubble. Graduate programs in general are so strong and vital, they must just continue to do more of the same...