Counterpoint: More = better?

This compelling post discusses the goals for increasing the US population’s attainment of college degrees.

The very first thought I had after reading the research was, “College degrees are great – but is granting more of them the solution?”

Here’s a recent article in the Wall Street Journal. I’ve excerpted below:

In the midst of the Asian financial crisis (1998), China’s government decided China needed bold measures. On government orders, China’s universities — most of which are state-controlled — boosted enrollment by up to 30% a year, year after year for most of this decade (In 1998, 3.4 million Chinese attended university. By 2008, the number was 21.5 million.). A more skilled Chinese work force, it was reasoned, would jump-start domestic consumption, helping to wean China’s economy off exports.

China is now suffering from a higher-education equivalent of the global credit bubble. “Objectively there was a need to expand education,” says Yang Dongping, head of a nongovernmental organization dedicated to education reform. “But we’ve just experienced an educational disaster.” The problem: many of the schools turned into diploma mills, churning out poorly qualified students leaving all to wonder “is this education was of any value?”

Here are just a few of my concerns about any similar proposition for the US:

1. Is the goal of increasing college degrees to make people more competitive in the workplace? If so, wouldn’t granting too many bachelor’s degrees dilute the value of all bachelor’s degrees? Will the Master’s degree become the new bachelor’s degree?
2. Is the goal of increasing college degrees to guarantee work for citizens? If so, then urging more to receive college degrees assumes unlimited demand (ie – jobs) and that’s just not a realistic expectation, no matter how good the economy. Only in a Utopian society would a college degree guarantee a job (much less a higher paying job).
3. Is the goal of increasing college degrees to make people better off economically? If so, can we believe that this will disrupt the natural macro-economic equilibrium? For instance, an increase in the minimum wage drives up the cost of labor, which directly translates into an increase in cost of goods & services. So, yes, while workers are earning more, the prices of goods and services are now higher as well. This often results in a net sum zero in overall “better off-ness.”
4. Where will these new students come from? A majority of the students whom colleges admit are grossly underprepared. Only 23 percent of the 1.3 million high-school graduates of 2007 who took the ACT examination were ready for college-level work in the core subjects of English, math, reading, and science.
5. Is forcing an increase in college degrees to increase employability the equivalent of printing more money to pay for a national budget? (Please note that this is not a political statement as every administration has done this – this is why what did cost $1 in 1913 now costs $22.43 in 2008). More dollars chasing fewer goods & services is the definition of inflation, and this always results in the dilution of the value of the dollar…and this leads me back to concern #1.

These are just my personal concerns – and, admittedly, I’ve not seen any documents detailing what the implementation of the goals for attainment would look like. Please post/reply or email me as you come across additional discussions on these important issues – I welcome it!

 

-April L. Mollerberg

 

Sources:

 China Faces a Grad Glut After Boom at Colleges, Wall Street Journal (By IAN JOHNSON) 4/28/09

America’s Most Overrated Product: the Bachelor’s Degree, The Chronicle of Higher Education (By MARTY NEMKO) 5/2/2008

Goals for Attainment

Today I read an article in the May 1 issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education discusses Lumina’s goal for 60% of the U.S. population to earn a degree or “credentials” by 2025. The same article points out President Obama’s 2020 goal for our country to have the “world’s highest proportion of college graduates.” Also today, my boss emailed to me a piece on adult educational attainment from The Nashville Business Journal. In 2008, (only) 29% of adults ages 25 and older in the U.S. had earned their bachelor’s degrees. In Tennessee, as of that year, 21.8% had completed bachelor’s degrees. In my mind, a vast abyss lies between 29% and 60%. However, the Lumina percentage includes associate degrees and people of ages below 25, and the NBJ figure does not . Of course, 60% is exceedingly better than 29%. I am not naive enough to think the road to almost two-thirds of the American population possessing a college degree will be easy. At the same time, I feel like it really should not be this hard.

-Teresa Bagamery Clark

Metro Nashville Schools Face Big Changes

Nashville schools are in the news for the huge changes coming up in hopes of averting low test score results. In the news, new Director of Schools Jesse Register is planning to eliminate 225 jobs. On the MNPS web site, Register has outlined his plans to overhaul the district to increase student performance. On top of this monstrous list of 8 huge changes, there is the rezoning plan going into effect, which will change the dynamics of schools across the district and possibly lead to the closing of 5 schools.

Just read the tag line of the transformation plan – “The district realizes it will be difficult to undertake eight major areas of reform simultaneously. But, this is what we must do. None of these areas can wait.” I can feel the weight of the competing pressures smooshing this poor district – NCLB requirements with a possible mayoral takeover on one side, and the sheer size and number of changes necessary being almost overwhelming on the other.

These themes might come up again in another blog, but for now, I want to focus on numbers because I am a numbers geek (surprised? really?). So, I am looking at the closing of 5 schools and the loss of 225 jobs thinking, how in the world can any district absorb this many people? Surely most of them will bump out teachers without tenure, leaving the district with no new teachers and a lot of shuffling of those that stay. But then I went to the web site and counted the number of job position open for certificated staff. (Yes, I sat and counted them all out. I told you. Total numbers geek. It was actually a little fun for me.) Now, before I tell you the numbers there is something you have to know. This does not count the new middle school or elementary school, nor does it count the additions needed at newer schools that are now growing. These numbers only represent the number of jobs open at current schools that are separately and distinctly posted as of April 23, 2009.

Elementary – 113 positions

Middle – 159 positions

High School – 161 positions

Total – 433 positions

That’s enough to drop in the 225 from central office AND those from the 5 closing schools, shake them around for a bit, and still need to go out and recruit.

In other words, all you recent graduates out there, there does not seem to be cause for fear. It would seem that even with a gigantic restructuring plan in place, MNPS could still use a few good men (people).

-Ted Murcray

Congrats to Vanderbilt’s Peabody College

You may recall this post from a few weeks ago where I enumerated the reasons I chose to attend Vanderbilt’s Peabody College of Education & Human Development.

UPDATE: This morning I saw the great news – Peabody College is ranked #1 in the nation for 2009!

Congrats!

 

-April L. Mollerberg

It’s that time again…

You know it’s that time of the semester again when you start seeing blogs about comps and facebook status messages about final exams and papers. Everyone’s definitely feeling the crunch – no one is exempted.

Here’s what I want to know – does anyone else have a problem getting motivated sometimes?

How do you deal when you’re tempted with procrastination?

I have a major paper due this Friday that’s worth more of a percentage of my grade than I’d like to admit; I just put in another 10-hour day at work and I’m having just the most awful time getting motivated to write.

Here’s a rundown of things I’ve done to avoid writing:

• Answering high-priority work emails
• Answering medium-priority work emails
• Answering low-priority work emails
• Ordering textbooks for summer classes
• Completing some of my Junior League project commitments
• And, tonight, I went here. That’s right – I toured the Shiloh Battlefield. I’d never been before and since I am in Corinth, MS on business, I decided to check it out! It wasn’t something I’d planned in advance, clearly, as 6pm saw me hiking through the woods in my suit and high heels to go check out a monument .2 miles off the tour route.

Now I’m back at my hotel & thinking about going to bed so I’ll be ready for my 6:30am meeting. One thing is for certain – tomorrow night I’ve really got to f-o-c-u-s!! I know that Dr. C reads this blog from time-to-time (Hi Dr. C!) and he’s probably less than enthused about my lack of get-up-and-go…

 

-April L. Mollerberg

Comp-Time

As Landon pointed out, right now our lives are basically consumed by the impending comprehensive exams. Our friends have said their goodbyes until after May 15. Stacks of binders and books, arranged by course, cover the floor of our study, which is really mine because Landon does not use it. He studies, of course, just in a different room. (We learned the first semester that doing homework in the same room was a bad idea; we talk to each other about everything we read, so it is really distracting.) Pink- and blue-striped note cards, clipped with shiny, semi-industrial-sized paper clips, await review. Soon, sticky poster paper with color-coded topics (a la Dr. Smrekar’s bins) will line the burgundy (I have always disliked this paint) walls. Alerts on our phones and computers remind us which course to study when. I have never liked to rush time–I am a carpe diem kind–but I will be just a bit more pleased (to put it lightly) at 3:15 on May 15.

-Teresa Bagamery Clark

Comps=Capstone=Graduation=Off-Campus

Right now, the 2010 Ed.D. Cohort is neck deep in preparation for comps. It might seem ridiculous to begin looking towards the future when that future is contingent on such an important examination, but I can’t help it. Comps is one of the final stepping stones t0wards degree completion and graduation, and for the Clark family, graduation means one thing: we get to move off-campus.

Let me preface this paragraph by saying that I have thoroughly enjoyed working in residence life for the last five years, and I will continue working in residence life and “living on” until I finish the doctorate. However, I can assure you that the first night of slumber in my own house, with my own yard, and without 130 freshman guys lurking around will be one of the best nights of sleep since sleep itself was created. I know that my wife will echo my excitement, as we have spent our entire married life of nearly four years living in a residence hall. In fact, for the last 10 years of my life, only two of them have been off-campus. I’ve loved it, but I’m 28…and when I’m 29 and graduate, it will be time to grow up and start paying bills again.

The Clark family will be eternally grateful for the experiences of living on-campus, especially not having to pay rent, but we are really looking forward to living in a place where we do not have to park 3 football fields away from our house.

-Landon C. Clark

The Effects of a Recession on Learning Organizations

Companies have aggressively scaled back the number of employees in their ranks. The amount of jobs lost to date is staggering. But aside from the obvious immediate impact of this, there could be even greater negative effects on future productivity and competitiveness of our nation’s businesses.

So says this recent article from Reuters.

When people are fearful or uncertain about the safety and security of their job, they naturally engage in behaviors aimed at showcasing their talent, hard work and expertise. This is referred to as “managing up” in the article and the primary goal of these activities is to communicate worth and value in such a way as to hopefully minimize the likelihood of termination of employment.

Aside from “managing up” there are other behaviors that employees may also engage in: “sucking up.” Unconditionally agreeing with the boss, complimenting the boss, failing to challenge or confront plans or ideas from higher up in the organization are some of the most common examples of this kind of behavior.

Why is this bad? Isnt’ increased employee productivity a good thing?

Organizations flourish whenever open and authentic dialog occurs, and, whenever ideas are allowed to exist unchallenged, there is danger. Where fear is present (fear of repercussions or consequences) organizational learning is often absent and the contributions and insights of the collective are lost.

Let’s hope that today’s leaders stay focused on the long-term and don’t fail to harness the power and creativity of employees by allowing a culture of fear to permeate.

 

-April L. Mollerberg

Sources: Workers ‘”sucking up” bad for business: experts. Reuters 4/14/09 http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSTRE53D47D20090414

Adults Go to College

Apparently the bad economy could be good for higher education, in at least one way. More adults are returning to college to retool their education and prepare for new careers during the recession. Some of these students are the victims of lay-offs and dried-up industry. By going back to school, they can prepare for the next chapter in their lives including a new job or job preservation. They are flocking not only to community colleges but many choose bachelor’s granting institutions as well.

At a time when several other areas of higher education are taking a hit, this article reports a growth in adult education. Whether this surge is temporary or will last past the economic low remains to be seen. Colleges and universities should take advantage of this opportunity to serve a non-traditional population looking for a place to learn.

-Teresa Bagamery Clark

Why you should move to the South to go to Vanderbilt

If you are contemplating a move to Tennessee to go to Vanderbilt, but you aren’t sure if you can handle the change in environment, I understand.  As a transplant, it can be hard. 

Besides all the obvious reasons, ranking, environment, green campus, etc, that Vanderbilt has to offer and Nashville’s offerings such as music, Gigi’s cupcakes, and “mild” climate”, I have found another reason to enjoy living in the South.

It is that much closer to Disney World!!  Don’t get me wrong, the whole family loves Disneyland.  We used to go about two to three times per month, and it will forever have a special place in our hearts.  Yet, here we are spending a week in the magical kingdom and having an absolute blast!  There is so much to do, that we get up early, stay late, and drag around exhausted – still unable to get it all in.*

So, there it is, ladies and gentlemen.  One more reason to move to Vanderbilt.

*To all of my professors and teammates on various projects –  Although it may seem from this post that I am frivolously spending every second enjoying myself, I assure you, I have set aside sufficient time to read research, prepare papers, and work diligently on my portion of our projects.  Even now I am working on the . . .wait, is that Mickey?  Gotta go!

-Ted Murcray