This month, college students across the country are returning to campus eager to reconnect with friends and start their fall semester; their experience, in the first few days, will likely be similar regardless of what school they are attending; they will receive the royal treatment, the red carpet rolled out to excite them and seal their commitment to the school. This is vastly different from what it was like in the mid-80s; there was little effort given to helping students settle in. Regardless, I fondly remember the first few days of the fall semester, even though it was almost 40 years ago; in many ways it was the simplest time of my life. Acknowledging that the different approach to welcoming students is a new reality and not likely to change, there is something else new students can count on that wasn’t a part of my time at college; they will be greeted with new buildings and lots of construction.
As the parent of young adults, I've spent a lot of time thinking and talking about higher education. Higher education is right for some, but not for all. I think young adults are making that realization and making different decisions. While I agree with you about AI impacting education, I don't think it is the only thing. Universities should take a broader look into the future and adapt to changes instead of digging their heels into preserving their way of life.
Oh gosh Mike. This is a hot button for me. There is sooo much wrong with the direction colleges and universities are going. Look, like you, I’m a huge fan of higher education. I grew so much in college and I got ready to become an adult. I am better off because of my education and I launched. BUT…I my experience as becoming less and less likely.
Costs are out of control and higher education is being mismanaged. 63 colleges have closed since 2020. 15 shut down in 2023 alone. The reckoning has already begun. I don’t know about the great state of Tennessee but the State of South Carolina gives $175,000,000 a year to both the University of South Carolina and $175,000,000 to Clempson State College. USC only accepts 53% of its student body from SC. Clempson only accepts 51%! In 2017 Clempson only accepted 49%! What!? Weren’t land grant universities originally started to educate the residents of their State? How far we have fallen. I mean seriously…Almost half of $350,000,000 of SC State residents tax dollars go to educate people from other states? If that’s not the definition of misuse of funds, I don’t know what is.
A bright spot and shining example of goodness is the North Carolina has a State mandated maximum of 18% of its State University system that is allowed from out-of-state. Thank heavens.
I hear you on the value of AI in education BUT studies have shown that that (for example) the value of graduating from Harvard is not the education you receive, it’s in the network and the relationships the students build. The best way to build a solid relationship and culture is still face-to-face.
Since 1980 the average cost of higher education has outpaced inflation by 66%. Oof. What I think is also very unfortunate is how this is increasing the distance between the haves and the have-nots. The United States has been built on the ideal that here, we possess a grand opportunity that all can work hard to achieve. There are lots of ways we have failed at making this possibility universal. I hope that higher education doesn’t become an elitist only system where people like me, my wife, my father, and you no longer have such a grand opportunity to step up and grow.
Appreciate your comments. I think this is a hot button for a lot of people. We want what is best for our kids and it is harder to discern what is the "right" approach. I have received a lot of thoughts on this post. Hopefully subscribers will post their thoughts on here.
As the parent of young adults, I've spent a lot of time thinking and talking about higher education. Higher education is right for some, but not for all. I think young adults are making that realization and making different decisions. While I agree with you about AI impacting education, I don't think it is the only thing. Universities should take a broader look into the future and adapt to changes instead of digging their heels into preserving their way of life.
I think you're right. The model that has worked historically, needs to be evaluated.
Oh gosh Mike. This is a hot button for me. There is sooo much wrong with the direction colleges and universities are going. Look, like you, I’m a huge fan of higher education. I grew so much in college and I got ready to become an adult. I am better off because of my education and I launched. BUT…I my experience as becoming less and less likely.
Costs are out of control and higher education is being mismanaged. 63 colleges have closed since 2020. 15 shut down in 2023 alone. The reckoning has already begun. I don’t know about the great state of Tennessee but the State of South Carolina gives $175,000,000 a year to both the University of South Carolina and $175,000,000 to Clempson State College. USC only accepts 53% of its student body from SC. Clempson only accepts 51%! In 2017 Clempson only accepted 49%! What!? Weren’t land grant universities originally started to educate the residents of their State? How far we have fallen. I mean seriously…Almost half of $350,000,000 of SC State residents tax dollars go to educate people from other states? If that’s not the definition of misuse of funds, I don’t know what is.
A bright spot and shining example of goodness is the North Carolina has a State mandated maximum of 18% of its State University system that is allowed from out-of-state. Thank heavens.
I hear you on the value of AI in education BUT studies have shown that that (for example) the value of graduating from Harvard is not the education you receive, it’s in the network and the relationships the students build. The best way to build a solid relationship and culture is still face-to-face.
Since 1980 the average cost of higher education has outpaced inflation by 66%. Oof. What I think is also very unfortunate is how this is increasing the distance between the haves and the have-nots. The United States has been built on the ideal that here, we possess a grand opportunity that all can work hard to achieve. There are lots of ways we have failed at making this possibility universal. I hope that higher education doesn’t become an elitist only system where people like me, my wife, my father, and you no longer have such a grand opportunity to step up and grow.
Appreciate your comments. I think this is a hot button for a lot of people. We want what is best for our kids and it is harder to discern what is the "right" approach. I have received a lot of thoughts on this post. Hopefully subscribers will post their thoughts on here.