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March 27, 2014November 15, 2016

Becoming a scholar

This post is provided by an anonymous guest (and colleague), the author of the Hellish Hand-basket blog.

It takes time and effort to transition from student to scholar

I re-read some of my older papers and realized I had a tendency to simply spout the jargon and concepts I’d gathered from the course textbooks. This is common. You have to start somewhere. But the mark of a true scholar is the ability to synthesize what you have read into something that is (a) new, and (b) supports your thesis or claim, the thing you are trying to prove. It takes a lot of thinking and writing to move beyond student-mode into scholar-mode.

Most of you probably have already figured this out. Me, I am a slow learner. My little epiphanies are as rare as sunshine in the Pacific Northwest.

I think the moment I actually transitioned from student to scholar was while I was writing the comprehensive exam essays. Four 15-page essays on the topics of Theory, Research, Practice, and Ethics. With a page limit, I couldn’t ramble on, using the proverbial “shotgun” technique of academic writing (Blam! Whatever sticks, sticks). I had to get concise, I had to make choices, I had to think.

My advice to you is to read each textbook or article over and over until you can spot the flaws in the author’s thinking. Believe me, the flaws are there. Look for the claims that are not proven, sniff out the assumptions that are unspoken. Become a detective for the truth. Then you can claim the title of scholar.

January 28, 2014

Dividing up the pie: vocational education versus “traditional” education

An article by Dr. Brian C. Mitchell on a recent Huff Post College blog got me thinking about the roles of vocational institutions versus the “traditional” institutions, specifically community colleges and public universities. Dr. Mitchell posed several questions about how institutions of higher education can strategically plan for their future. He suggested institutions need to do a better job of defining their core missions.

Dr. Mitchell also asked what institutions should stop doing. He asked, “Should colleges be in the food service, hotel, security, and technology business?”

My response to that question would be no. Not any more than for-profit vocational colleges should be in the degree-granting business.

The lines between the two types of institutions have been blurred ever since the Department of Education in 1972 granted for-profit institutions (almost) equal footing with traditional institutions (Simmons, 2013). Almost equal footing means equal access to federal Title IV funds, the lifeblood of for-profit institutions.

Allowing the for-profits access to federal student loan funding opened the door to abuses by many for-profit institutions, large and small, and prompted a series of Department of Education rules aimed at curbing fraudulent marketing practices, including the 90/10 Rule, and more recently the Cohort Default Rule, the Incentive Compensation Ban (Simmons, 2013), and the Gainful Employment–Debt Measures Rule (Department of Education, 2011).

The for-profits have encroached upon the territory of traditional nonprofit private and public institutions by offering advanced degrees. Some for-profit institutions have been able to gain the coveted regional accreditation status commonly held by traditional institutions.

To compete with the nimble, deep-pocketed publicly traded for-profit higher education institutions, the traditional private nonprofit and public institutions began to offer programs in more vocationally oriented fields. They also adopted more aggressive marketing tactics to differentiate themselves.

Since the reelection of President Obama, enrollments have dropped at for-profit colleges, due in part to growing awareness of fraudulent business practices and disproportionately large student loan default rates (Huff Post College, 2012). However, students still choose for-profit vocational colleges over community colleges when they want to get in and out fast with an accredited degree. Clearly the for-profits offer something consumers want.

Furthermore, a study reported in USA Today in 2012 showed that graduates of vocational programs who earned certificates earned more than those who earned Bachelor’s degrees, suggesting that employers find value in employees with specialized certificates (Marklein, 2012).

The for-profits should stick to what they do well: vocational education. They should continue to have carefully monitored access to federal Title IV student loan funding. However, they should be restricted to granting only certificates and diplomas. Community colleges should be the grantors of Associate’s degrees. Advanced degrees should be the province of baccalaureate and graduate institutions. Vocational institutions should not be authorized to grant degrees.

References

Huff Post College. (2013, November 7). For-profit college shares tumble after President Obama reelected. The Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/07/for-profit-school-shares-_n_2088339.html

Marklein, M. B. (2012, June 5). Study examines vocational certificates’ big rewards. USA Today. Retrieved from http://usatoday30. usatoday.com/news/education/story/2012-06-06/vocational-education-degrees-pay/55410846/1

Simmons, O. S. (2013). For-profits and the market paradox. Wake Forest Law Review, 48(2). 333-360. Retrieved from http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2282868

United States Government Department of Education. (2011, June 13). Program integrity: Gainful employment—debt measures. Federal Register, 76(113), 34386-34539. Retrieved from http://ifap.ed.gov/fregisters/FR061311GEDebtMeasures.html

January 18, 2014November 15, 2016

Should everyone be able to receive student loans to go to college?

I’ve heard that the federal government is promoting the idea that all citizens should be able to go to college, and that it is the job of government to make it happen by providing access to student loan funding.

This article outlines some serious economic threats posed by allowing students to borrow large sums of money to earn degrees in fields that promise little ability to pay the loans back.

More research is needed to understand the link between student loan default rates and specific programs of study. Eventually the only students who will have access to federal student loan funding will be the ones who study computer science, business, and healthcare. It’s all about accountability.

After all, do you want your taxpayer dollars funding art, music, dance, poetry, and philosophy, when the likelihood of employment in those fields is nearly nil? Will you miss the humanities when no one can afford to study them anymore?