Higher Education Hard Sell

When it comes to education, conventional wisdom argues that it’s better to go to college after high school. Conventional wisdom states that an educated society will spur economic growth, that a college degree leads to a higher income, and that America needs to increase college enrollment to strengthen against international competition. However, in George Leef’s essay, The Overselling of Higher Education, he argues that this conventional wisdom has flooded universities with apathetic students, subsequently causing a “deterioration of academic standards, credential inflation and soaring costs of college attendance.” Leef serves as executive director of The John William Pope Center for Higher Education Policy.

Leef begins by suggesting that decisions made by federal and state governments to artificially keep the costs of education low, combined with a poor flow of information, have caused higher education to be oversold. For example, in 2001, taxpayers supplied almost 31 percent of the funds exhausted by colleges and universities, “whereas tuition and fees accounted for just 17.7 percent.” Thees discrepancies in numbers result in students and their families paying very little for a college education, which increases enrollment.

However, because of bad grades, bad attitudes, and a lack of determination and motivation, not all students are qualified to attend college. Nevertheless, according to standardized test scores, in 2000 over 100,000 more students went to college than were capable. These unqualified students enroll in higher education because teachers and counselors recommend that they attend college. These students are manipulated by conventional wisdom that is either mistaken or out of date. When students are inadequately prepared for college it leads to a “disengaged” behavior.

Many professors complain about “disengaged” students that “don’t have much interest in studying to improve their knowledge and skills.” The students are accused of not completing reading assignments, not participating in class, and ignoring attendance requirements. Moreover, they bemoan course workloads and demand fewer assignments. The difficulty in teaching “disengaged” students has led to professors compromising standards in order to avoid poor student evaluations. The universities encourage this practice because it keeps the enrollment constant, continuing the flow of revenue that students contribute.

However, the lowering of standards has not resulted positively for students. Many college graduates now enter the workforce with insufficient writing skills. A recent report authored by The National Commission of Writing claimed, “Corporations…express a fair degree of dissatisfaction with the writing of recent college graduates—and also with the academic styles of writing, unsuited to workplace needs.” Furthermore, a study released by the National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) found that only 31 percent of college graduates were proficient in prose, document, and quantitative literacy.

So, if college graduates are not smarter, then how do they earn more money than non-degree holders? Leef explains the difference in earnings by arguing that exceptionally wealthy professionals and executives skew the average earning reports. Moreover, there are many employment opportunities for high school graduates that similarly compare with professions that require a college degree. Considering that, many college graduates are now working as theater ushers and office clerks; therefore individuals who do not hold college degrees would be in no better position if they had pursued higher education. These facts reveal that a change in the economy may not be benefiting college graduates.

Indeed, going to college does not necessarily prepare graduates for technological professions that will dominate the future. Many workers could fill these growing positions with minimal on-the-job training or an associate’s degree. Moreover, the U.S. Department of Labor projects that the occupations that show the greatest growth over the next decade will not require a college degree. In fact, of the top 10 jobs showing the most growth, only two require any form of advanced education.

Leef contends that since many more people hold degrees than in the past, positions that were once filled by non-degree holders are now being managed by college graduates. In addition, potential employers are using college degrees as a screening process because the pool of applicants is inflated, and it’s difficult to consider someone without a degree. The result of the overeducated population has led to credential inflation, whereby an individual will have to continue to seek higher education to stand out in a pack of potential employees. This will eventually lower the value of bachelor and associate degrees.

Unfortunately, this process has already started, as “many who already have earned college degrees are working at what used to be known as ‘high school’ jobs.” In fact, economist Daniel Hecker has detailed this phenomenon, and others argue that “university-educated workers are taking jobs where the average educational level has been much lower.” While higher education was once a platform to better jobs, it is no longer. This uninformed investment in education is not only leading to credential inflation and illiterate college graduates, but it is also slowing economic growth.

In fact, after careful analysis, Professor Richard Vedder of Ohio University concluded that there is a negative relationship between the amount of money states spend on education, and economic growth. Indeed, Vedder found that a 10-percent increase in state education spending will slow economic growth by over 5 percent. This is generally due from spending on various non-educational programs. Given the above evidence concerning “disengaged” students and illiteracy rates among college graduates, the slow growth statistic is not surprising.

Leef believes that the overselling of higher education has led to wasted resources, credential inflation, and weak academic standards in exchange for continuous revenue. Leef contends that to cease the overselling of higher education the federal government must stop subsidizing students, job training institutions must be created, and state governments should increase the cost of tuition. These solutions will force a “disengaged” high school graduate to consider avenues other than post-secondary education. If nothing is done, then the race to the top could become a free-fall to the bottom.

Matthew Hickman is an intern at Accuracy in Media.