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A Bubble in the Higher Education Market?
In early June, Glenn Reynolds published a column in The Washington Examiner arguing that the housing bubble of yesteryear was nothing in comparison with the bubble in higher education. In the interim, Andrew Hacker (whom I knew forty years ago) and his “partner” Claudia Dreifus have written a book on the subject, and Michael Barone, Matthew Schaffer, James Poulos, Mark J. Perry, Mike Riggs, Schumpeter at The Economist, and others have taken up the theme.
They are all worth reading (especially Mike Riggs on student loans), and I agree with everything that they have said. Back in the Fall of 1998, when my former student Brigid McMenamin interviewed me for Forbes on the subject, I told her that “the B-minus student may be better off not going to college,” and I suggested military service as an alternative, ticking off – as she summarized my remarks –“the pluses: Getting paid rather than paying for something you’re not using, learning a marketable skill, discipline, and an opportunity to mature.”
The simple truth is that most high school graduates are either unsuited to college-level work or uninterested in it. The massive, much-celebrated expansion of American higher education that began in the 1950s has eventuated in a dumbing-down of our colleges and universities, and the four or more years that most students spend in these institutions are more like an expensive vacation than anything else.
I have been in the world of higher education for forty-three years. Four great changes have taken place in this period. First, the proliferation of programs in fields where undergraduates learn little or nothing – education, psychology, sociology, communications, business, and the like. Second, grade inflation on a massive scale. Third, a vast expansion in the size of university administrations. And fourth, the transformation of institutions of higher learning into a cross between country clubs and brothels (complete with condom machines in the bathrooms). All follow, as the night the day, naturally from higher education’s ill-conceived expansion.
In nearly every college or university, the faculty know where the administration parks those lacking the wit or the desire to get an education, and generally it is these departments that have grown like topsy (both in majors and in staff). In the last four decades, there has been very little increase in the number of those teaching history, philosophy, literature, and the like, and it looks to me as if, down the road, the liberal arts could conceivably get crowded out. They have already been marginalized; and, given what has happened to departments of literature in the last couple of decades and the changes that are now taking place in the history profession, it is hard to see how, when the bubble bursts, the humanities professors will be able to articulate a cogent argument as to why anyone should study what they teach.
I am fortunate to be teaching now at Hillsdale College – an institution to which the criticism sketched out here does not apply. But before coming to Hillsdale three years ago, I spent almost a quarter-century at the University of Tulsa, watching it slowly drift away from its moorings, and listening to laments from historians, students of literature, and philosophy professors who taught elsewhere. If the bubble were to burst, it would be a good thing – certainly for the young people who refrained from piling up debt, but also, I pray, for our colleges and universities. They might find it necessary to imitate Hillsdale College, which takes neither federal nor state subsidies, and ruthlessly eliminate administrative bloat. They might even be forced to reconsider why they exist and what it means to be educated.
Published in General
Assuming we are in the midst of a higher ed “bubble,” what is the likely outcome? In the housing market we have seen prices drop and a glut of supply. In higher ed, would it be a large scale folding of undercapitalized private colleges? If this occurs, then wouldn’t that help to keep tuitions at the schools that remain in operation elevated? And what about the elite, well-endowed privates? What incentive would they have to reduce tuitions?
So would we end up with even more stratification among colleges — if fewer overall numbers — than we already have?
I follow the “bubble” argument and agree that some components are in place, but I need to see the likely outcome cashed out by someone espousing the theory before I totally buy in to the proposition.
So would we end up with even more stratification among colleges — if fewer overall numbers — than we already have?
Agreed. Enrollments at State Universities will increase as Small Liberal Arts Schools retools or folds. Fortunately for some of those small liberal arts schools, at least on East Coast, their endowments are huge. As an example, Franklin and Marshall has an endowment of ca. $300 million with an enrollment of 2200 students. LSU has an endowment of ca. $300 million and an enrollment of 26000 students.
As for me, are there openings in Chemistry at Hillsdale?
There’s a tie-in with the demography conversation of yesterday: Few trends have done more to delay adulthood–job, spouse, kids–than the unquestioned notion that 4, 6, 8 yrs of college is the “next step” after high school (often including a mound of debt which may further inhibit one’s ability or inclination to make a nest and start a family). The expression “college kids” says it all. Not so long ago, we were men and women at that age.
Also, to make the case for alternative choices more effectively, it might make sense to phrase it in the positive: instead of “some high school graduates are unsuited for college,” we go with “some are suited for x, y, and z,”–to learn a trade, to be soldiers, to immediately start making a living and be independent, to be auto-didacts instead of paying for an education, etc. As it is now, we’ve created the impression that doing something other than being a student for years and years into adulthood represents a substandard choice, or even a “lack of wit.” Not true in many (even most) cases.
The bubble can’t burst soon enough.
I would agree with many of these points, except for this: it is important to distinguish between a four-year liberal arts degree and post-secondary education. The latter includes all manner of training and instruction that can prove incredibly valuable.
The real bubble is the insistence that everyone receive a four-year liberal arts degree. But that doesn’t mean that everyone can’t benefit from some training that advances their skills, job prospects and earning potential. The truth is that given the state of public education, a high school diploma qualifies one for very little. To his credit, the president has called for at least one year of post-secondary education for all.
That does not mean a four-year beer party. And I agree with Scott that the real challenge before us is to remove the stigma associated with making an alternative — and often more interesting — choice.
The real bubble is the insistence that everyone receive a four-year liberal arts degree. But that doesn’t mean that everyone can’t benefit from some training that advances their skills, job prospects and earning potential. The truth is that given the state of public education, a high school diploma qualifies one for very little. To his credit, the president has called for at least one year of post-secondary education for all.
·Sep 10 at 6:2
You are, of course, right that not everyone should get a liberal arts degree. My point, however, was that most of the training offered at our colleges and universities is a waste of time. The explosion in higher education has not bee in the liberal arts. It has been in communications, business, sociology, education, and the like — and most of what is taught undergraduates in these programs is pap.
Mac Sledge:
So would we end up with even more stratification among colleges — if fewer overall numbers — than we already have?
As for me, are there openings in Chemistry at Hillsdale? ·Sep 10 at 5:21am
Edited on Sep 10 at 06:25 am
There might be such openings soon. We may be adding a third science course to our core curriculum.
There are liberal arts colleges that will collapse, but I doubt that the state universities will gain. They are the worst offenders with regard to grade inflation, bogus majors, and the like. At many such schools, one can get a degree without knowing how to read. Moreover, the current economic crisis means that they will lose the subsidies they receive in state funds. Then tuition charges will skyrocket.
I’m not going to grant you the business degree. I think it depends on the caliber of the instruction — truth is there is lots to learn there. But I was really thinking in terms of heating/ventilation/air conditioning repair, medical billing & coding, and etc.
Except for majors in economics or accounting, undergraduate business degrees are nearly always a joke. A few years back, I am told, the University of Arkansas’ business school added a math requirement. One-third of its students transferred to . . . communications (which had no such requirement). Graduate programs in business can be useful. They build on experience.
Attention Ricochet Powers that Be:
Can you all make room for Prof. Rahe in the permanent stable? Every guest blogger has been welcome and appreciated. But I get the sense that Prof. Rahe may be just getting started with us and I, for one, will hate to see him go at the fast-approaching end of the week.
Or maybe I should address my request to the King and Queen of Ricochet? Pat? Claire? What say you?
I agree with Paul. I’m getting an MBA for the sole reason that my peers are getting one. I’ll work hard to get something out of it, but I am skeptical as to what my professors will really teach me about business and people. I know I could do better on my own, but the MBA bullet point on my resume keeps my foot on the corporate ladder.
Here’s an interesting pop-up ad on this subject that I am not making up:
John F Kennedy University offers degrees in Higher Consciousness and/or Integral Life, including…
Integral Theory? Whatever it’s about, I bet it has nothing to do with integrals. Transformative Arts? Somehow I don’t see that being about transformers, or linear transformations, or even plain ol’ ordinary arts. What do these words even mean?
Trace Urdan
No problem with accounting, for example, but I majored in business, then did an MBA- both at decent (real) schools (integral calculus and statistics were core requirements). The basic curriculum was very similar; most AACSB courses are designed to teach non-business majors about basic business principles, so the guy with a communications degree can learn something useful in grad school. The key difference was that many grad courses were taught by real workers rather than theory professors (HR from the Target Corp HR director).
Management classes taught by PhDs are, indeed, useless.
I agree with Paul. I’m getting an MBA for the sole reason that my peers are getting one. I’ll work hard to get something out of it, but I am skeptical as to what my professors will really teach me about business and people. I know I could do better on my own, but the MBA bullet point on my resume keeps my foot on the corporate ladder. ·Sep 10 at 8:26am
College wasn’t right for me, but I went because employers expect a degree even for jobs that have utterly no relation to college education.
And I made the mistake of studying liberal arts, since that was my aptitude. The “liberal” in that title has taken on new meaning. I really studied progressive ideas about how text itself is meaningless and all that matters is the reader’s own subjective interpretation… provided that interpretation is not conservative. A single class covered technical writing (the majority of writing jobs).
I particularly resent my time at a Catholic university that is no longer Catholic. A crucifix adorned many rooms, yet no one mentioned God. An environmental philosophy class covered every view except stewardship.
Except for majors in economics or accounting, undergraduate business degrees are nearly always a joke. A few years back, I am told, the University of Arkansas’ business school added a math requirement. One-third of its students transferred to . . . communications (which had no such requirement). Graduate programs in business can be useful. They build on experience. ·Sep 10 at 8:19am
My undergraduate was well known for having a large, rather bacchanalian Greek community (the Animal House type, not the European), the majority of which were in the business school. Their second most popular field? Mass Communications. I also don’t think I’ve ever gotten more than platitudes when asking sociology students why they chose their field of study. Needless to say, I agree with your categorization here.
John F Kennedy University offers degrees in Higher Consciousness and/or Integral Life, including…
I’m seeing an ad for a Master of Science in Taxation. As someone from red-blood America, I find a little extra irony in the name of the university: Northeastern.
the four or more years that most students spend in these institutions are more like an expensive vacation than anything else.
Unfortunately, the university where I’m employed/study is a depressing microcosm of this reality. It’s a state university near the Rocky Mountains known for it’s large out of state population (primarily wealthy/upper-middle class whites from California and the North East). In my freshman surveys I encounter a variety of students and usually ask them at the start of each semester to describe their motivations. The out of state students almost universally say they chose to study here because…..of the skiing (and I presume also to get far away from their parents).
I’ve never really quite been able to piece together the disconnect that must exist for the parents of these students. The students seem openly conscious that they’re there only secondarily (if that) for academics and do not have qualms about saying so. Has the status myth about college simply become so prevalent that parents sign off on this just for the sake of getting their kids to go? Or is there something else I’m missing?
I was surprised when I went to a large public University that most of the students in the General Chemistry class were studying kinesiology. I had to ask what it was. When we all get old, apparently there will be a large need for physical therapists. This was opposed to the private school where I taught where the students were mostly pre-meds, and insufferable.
It’s a state university near the Rocky Mountains known for it’s large out of state population.
Does it rhyme with the University of El Dorado?
Paul, thanks for the job lead. It would be great to “come out of the conservative closet” at work. It would make it a whole lot more relaxing.
The folks I know in the business school say that most of the majors are marketing or somesuch where math is limited. It’s harder in Finance.
Most Economics departments are in Arts and Sciences, no?
The folks I know in the business school say that most of the majors are marketing or somesuch where math is limited. It’s harder in Finance.
Most Economics departments are in Arts and Sciences, no? ·Sep 10 at 9:55am
I suspect that it is actually because some people in marketing can make a lot of money. The problem is that marketing is far more art than it is science– you couldn’t teach Steve Jobs in a business course and get something useful from the class if you spent 8 years at it. Highly successful marketeers are born, not made. And many of the best managers are…. engineers.
I was pretty good at technical marketing (years in aerospace), but it was because I was more interested in understanding and developing the technology around the (military) users.
BTW, the worst offender in higher education isn’t business- there, people still try to meet the needs of the market.
No, the worst is journalism- compare graduates of Columbia School of Journalism with your average reasonably literate blogger.
The best journalist here, Mr. Lileks, is a J-school dropout (unless I missed something).
And many of the best managers are…. engineers.
Although engineering is hardly a good guarantee of good managerial skills, either, as some of the worst managers are also engineers, no? (as in Hayek’s “The Engineer’s Delusion”).
I’ve got some great engineers but absolutely horrible managers in my family — really no business sense whatsoever, and trite as it sounds, no “people skills” (read “more Martian than Obama”, if you fancy the Obama-is-from-Mars theory). Then others are both good engineers and good managers.
For some it seems to depend what they’re given to manage. My dad was apparently an excellent manager as long as he got to directly manage the workings of a heavy industrial plant (though I’ve only heard his side of the story), but when he moved on to other things, he was really awful.
Does it rhyme with the University of El Dorado?
When by this time next week I’m posting from Siberia, you can probably make a safe assumption.
In my freshman surveys I encounter a variety of students and usually ask them at the start of each semester to describe their motivations. The out of state students almost universally say they chose to study here because…..of the skiing (and I presume also to get far away from their parents).
The first fifteen years or so in which I taught at the University of Tulsa, I started my Fall freshman class by saying that I had been told that there were students at the University who wanted a degree but not an education. I then added that I could not imagine that this was true, but that if it was, in fact, true for anyone enrolled in my class, it was the wrong class to be enrolled in. One-third self-identified and dropped . . . year after year.
Duane Oyen
And many of the best managers are…. engineers.
I’ve got some great engineers but absolutely horrible managers in my family — really no business sense whatsoever, and trite as it sounds, no “people skills” (read “more Martian than Obama”, if you fancy the Obama-is-from-Mars theory). Then others are both good engineers and good managers.
Edited on Sep 10 at 10:37 am
Of course, you are absolutely correct- the personality distribution is quite broad. The engineers I spoke of were not the anti-human geek-types, but those who liked both people and technology- they were the ones who rose in the company.
I then added that I could not imagine that this was true, but that if it was, in fact, true for anyone enrolled in my class, it was the wrong class to be enrolled in. One-third self-identified and dropped . . . year after year. ·Sep 10 at 11:29am
How did you get tenure?
Paul A. Rahe, Guest Contributor
I then added that I could not imagine that this was true, but that if it was, in fact, true for anyone enrolled in my class, it was the wrong class to be enrolled in. One-third self-identified and dropped . . . year after year. ·Sep 10 at 11:29am
Those who wanted an education were enthusiastic, and I published a 1200-page book.
No, the worst is journalism- …
Wait, what?? The worst surely is education.
I have five children, one disabled, the other four all went into the military after completing high school. At the age of 13 I sat them down and we had the “facts of [financial] life” talk where I made it crystal clear I wasn’t going to have money to send them to college, that I wasn’t going to co-sign loan papers that would garnish their lives forever, that my wife & I would get them through high school and after that they were on their own.
Except for students who really know, and really demonstrate an aptitude for a “real” college curriculum (accounting, chemistry, pre-med, whatever) they’re better off not going to college and ending up with nothing to show for it but a worthless degree and $100,000 in student debt.
BTW, I had to take integral calculus as a pre-req for my MBA, and have never, ever used it for anything. Statistics on the other hand, use it every day.
Miss Nerdly wants you to know:
If you’re using statistics, chances are good you’re using integral calculus, too, although perhaps without knowing it.
Those who wanted an education were enthusiastic, and I published a 1200-page book. ·Sep 10 at 4:10pm
A problem with some of my classes at a large public university was that the teachers were writing books to keep their jobs while grad student assistants actually taught the classes.