The Degree in Three

Link: The Degree in Three

A New York Times Op-Ed arguing that the four-year degree is a wasteful relic that ought to be condensed to three years.  Ezra Klein’s Washington Post blog talked about it, too. 

edustir being cutting-edge had this discussion back in September.

I still think this is a good idea on balance, but doing it citing the rising costs of higher education are a bad catalyst for this type of change. There’s no talk of the possibility of eroding educational quality or the fact that according to the National Center for Education Statistics 69% of college students earned their bachelor’s degree in less than five years. I guess I wonder how that number would change if we shortened the route to the degree? Would it automatically decrease over time? One would think, but I think it opens up more questions than it answers.

Seth Godin to Higher Ed: Adapt or Die

Link: Seth Godin to Higher Ed: Adapt or Die

Why do colleges send millions (!) of undifferentiated pieces of junk mail to high school students now? We will waive the admission fee! We have a one page application! Apply! This is some of the most amateur and bland direct mail I’ve ever seen. Why do it?

Because everyone else does it? Because innovation and doing things differently is scary? If we don’t make our own solutions, someone will make them for us. Believe that.