The College Dream About to Burst?

This article caught my attention today. It is a student suing a University in the UK because of her "Mickey Mouse " degree. Now I am of 2 minds to this. First, a college degree is not a promise of a job. It should certainly help, but it is no promise. Secondly, Universities have become a big business, and are selling an inferior product to unwitting parents and students who have not gotten proper guidance at the High School level.

Student sues University over "Mickey Mouse" degree
uk.yahoo.com...

On a personal level, I am 51 and just finished up my Bachelor's in Marketing, and am now in my second class of an MBA. Half of my classes have been on-line, and I can tell you that they have been easy. There aren't Finals per se, just papers due that summarize the previous semesters content. These are usually open content as well so that one can sit at home and google all pertinent info, and get a relatively high grade. In fact, my MBA allows one to resubmit work until one passes the course. This is from an accredited school, which has been around since the 1940's.

Usually, a society expects to send 20% of its young uns to college, but lately that number has shot up...a lot. From the Bureau of Labor Stats Of "the 3.1 million youth age 16 to 24 who graduated from high school between January and October 2016, about 2.2 million (69.7 percent) were enrolled in college in October." Further, of those 3.1 million kids, "Among recent high school graduates enrolled in college in October 2016, about 9
in 10 were full-time students. Recent graduates enrolled as full-time students were about half as likely to be in the labor force (34.6 percent) as were their peers enrolled part time (77.1 percent)."
www.bls.gov...

Basically, a lot of kids are going to school full time and not working, leaving at least a 2 to four-year gap before they even seek employment. This, in turn, means that student, and mom-n-pop loans are adding to the massive student debts. In fact, student loans total an unreal $1.45 TRILLION, with an average student owing $38k.
studentloanhero.com...

Many grandparents are suffering as well, for student loans are NOT forgivable either through bankruptcy or death. Many grandparents are having their Social Security benefits garnished to pay for their grandkids education, even though many drop out after 2 years.
www.huffingtonpost.com...

So who's fault is this mess? There is a ton of blame to go around. Personally, I think college has become a huge business, and much like the 2008 housing bubble which lowered borrowing standards to those who could not afford it, so to are universities taking in anyone who applies. Government will loan anyone money through its student loan program, with very little vetting. Oh, and schools have shielded themselves from lawsuits through clever small print.
www.washingtonpost.com... 3066a978

Sure, parents are to blame as well, but a lack of guidance counsellors in High Schools, plus a lack of an alternative route (tech schools or apprenticeships) means a generation of kids are being herded into a life of debt with Mickey Mouse degrees.

Your thought ATS?

Its called entitlement. I paid for an education that stated MAY help me get a job . So , therefore I am entitled to a job making 100 thou a year the instant I get my degree...

a reply to: lakenheath24

I agree with her. If i invest tens of thousands i expect a few things from said investment

- class offerings represent the job market
- the school is managing curriculum so that counsel is properly given to students for carer pathing
- active engagement in the job market to promote my degree and help find employment

Schools shovelling out nothing but crap liberap arts degrees is not only devaluing college education, its understaffing STEM career fields. I directly blame the cash grabbing pigs in chargr of tertiary education for being more interested in $$$ than institutional relevance.

originally posted by: Gothmog
Its called entitlement. I paid for an education that stated MAY help me get a job . So , therefore I am entitled to a job making 100 thou a year the instant I get my degree...

That isnt entitlement. Its investment. Schools recruit empty headed kids with big promises, then fail to direct as relevant.

Its only hurting the schools to keep churning out liberal arts degrees that cannot be monetized. The schools make the empty promises....they need to take some responsibility in return for the tens of thousands they receive.

Eta...funny enough, i asked my family their thoughts on when a student would do this and how it would work out. 3 days later i see this headline. Ive seen it coming.

originally posted by: bigfatfurrytexan
I directly blame the cash grabbing pigs in chargr of tertiary education for being more interested in $$$ than institutional relevance.

Agreed. For us in the United States the Fed's easy money policy and the 'everyone needs to go to college' mentality has helped these useless degrees blossom.

i agree 100%. I work at a college, and we have deny aide to students because they don't read at a 6th grade level.
...and these are high school graduates. What's going on is criminal

The right to free education has become the right to access student loans.

a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan

My oldest graduated with his liberal arts degree amd no idea how to put it to work. Spent 2 years working in a freaking bookstore before his mom and i took action and got him to teaching.

He didnt know hed enjoy doing it and its worked out. But Texas Tech was obviously more interested in his money than his success. Why in the seven hells is journalism even offered as a 4 year degree?????

I would think that a general education in a college or university would be a good thing. It would help you become more well rounded from a knowledge stand point. It could introduce you to an area of study that becomes your true life's passion.

However, if your major is a dead end concerning job prospects, you'd better be aware of that going into it. Also, if you chose to pursue a tech major or some other specialty, it may require you to constantly update your education so you can roll with the changes. You may have to be more far sighted then the program you are pursuing in order to keep up with changes in the industry you'll end up working in.

As an example, when I was learning advertising design back in the 80s, they were just starting to develop the digital processes. The emphasis was on design from an artistic point of view, not how to influence sales or the soon to be ever present web. They had us working with the physical cut and paste photographic plate making process for print. We had a computer lab, but they didn't care how you produced the end product you presented in class. You probably knew more about the digital aspects, like copyrights concerns or what was needed for a digital file to be reproduced by a print shop then the professor did.

I had worked on 3-D illusions in my higher level design classes among other far sighted ideas I saw for the future. I was more or less left on my own as they couldn't see the need for it. Now we have many movies produced in 3-D, not to mention digital 3-D modeling, something they didn't even have available to study back then unless you were into drafting.

In a way I was so grounded some 20 years in the future it was a disability back then. My older brother who became well off from programming wouldn't even believe my predictions for the future concerning computers back then. He started learning on the Vic 20 and Commadore 64 using DOS, long before Windows. At the time I was pursuing music and had the analog synth down pat and was learning about computer digital synthesis and MIDI during it's infancy. Back then my jazz studies professor refused to call the electric pianos used in the class keyboards, anything with a keyboard was still just a piano from his perspective. All though out things kept changing and becoming more important, so if you fell behind a little, it became a lot quickly.

originally posted by: bigfatfurrytexan
Why in the seven hells is journalism even offered as a 4 year degree?????

Maybe back when they had ethics they actually had to learn something.

The only thing I see different was that the housing bubble was something tangible. Real estate built by real people with real products bought at real stores. If every single person that owes money to a school stoped paying today and never gave another dime what would be lost? Nothing.

These schools would continue to operate. Sure some diploma mills would shut down and a new payment system would be devised but nothing would be lost.

In fact at this point it is necessary. Schools need to be down sized, less people need to go to school, we need for a lot of these useless degrees gone and people that are going to school need to learn real worl skills. Prices need to drop and repayment needs to be based on future earnings.

None of this happens until the system collapses. It’s coming and needed.

Also the biggest thing that is needed is to get rid of guaranteed loans. That will change how these schools do business or should I say how they understand business the fastest.

originally posted by: bigfatfurrytexan
a reply to: lakenheath24

I agree with her. If i invest tens of thousands i expect a few things from said investment

Sorry, but a good, well paid job is NOT a right and cannot be bought, it must be earned in the workplace and environment.

If I was an employer I would value experience over qualifications any day.

If blame lies anywhere it should start with parents who delude themselves and their kids that they are special when they're not.

originally posted by: nerbot
Sorry, but a good, well paid job is NOT a right and cannot be bought, it must be earned in the workplace and environment.

I don't think he's saying it shouldn't be earned but universities with strong networks can leverage those and assist new graduates in helping to land interviews or directing them to who in their respective industries are hiring.

When you're dropping $40-70K per year on tuition you now need some value added benefits for that absurd amount of money.

You couldnt be more wrong. Student loans are not forgiveable. If you stop paying, yiur credit wll be hit. Then your wages will be garnished. It is going to be a bad spiral for them.
ia reply to: iwanttobelieve70

repayment of the loans should be 10% of your annual income. If you are in school for one year you pay that 10% for two years, 4=8 and so on.

Bet they start helping you find a job, bet you have less liberal art degrees, bet they select better out of high school.

a reply to: Gothmog

You paid, or the GI Bill paid?

Personally, I think school is indeed an investment, a product. If that school fails to provide a quality education, then they should be sued. For instance, I nearly failed a MASTERS level class because the other people in my group project apparently never heard of English or APA style writing. Am I then entitled if I lose $2500 for a class??????

originally posted by: lakenheath24
You couldnt be more wrong. Student loans are not forgiveable. If you stop paying, yiur credit wll be hit. Then your wages will be garnished. It is going to be a bad spiral for them.
ia reply to: iwanttobelieve70

I’m saying if the schools stopped being paid nothing would happen. Yes I know as it stands they are not subject to the bankruptcy laws and you will be punished. but if they were not and schools stopped getting paid they lose nothing but future earnings.

a reply to: iwanttobelieve70
If one of these political parties ran on abolishing the guaranteed student loan and make it retroactive they would be hailed as saviors.

I think the republicans have the most to gain with this move.

Ms Wong said she moved from Hong Kong to study at the University only to be left with nothing more than a “Mickey Mouse” degree.

Disney workers are forced to train their foreign replacements...but they don't teach that in college...