Tuesday, July 14, 2009

The Next Bubble

A bachelor's degree?

Point is, little of the data that colleges provide really tell you much about the value of your investment: the quality of the education, the experience of the students, or how the graduates fare later in life. Instead parents have long accepted the value of the diploma on faith. And many assume that a college that charges $50,000 a year will give their child a better education than one that charges $25,000.

That may be about to change. As tapped-out families realize they can no longer borrow more and more for expensive colleges, they are increasingly focusing on lower-priced schools. As two college officials recently warned, higher education may be the next bubble to burst. Many experts are even questioning the value of a college degree in an economy where B.A.s are competing, often unsuccessfully, with high school graduates and those with vocational training.

The times, they are a'changin'. Maybe.

Hat tip to NewsAlert.

1 comment:

Ellen K said...

This may also signal a sort of political shift. Although you will still find signficant liberalism at state schools, it is possible to teach at a state school as a conservative. Plus, as institutions funded by taxes, state schools do have a need to appeal to the taxpayers. And that means not stridently offending them with radicalism disguised as education. There was a time, back 50 years ago, when an Ivy League education was superior to a state school. But know what I do about honors programs and various high levels of technology-state school grads can hold there own. Only time will tell if this creates a pool of more conservative citizens.