Jim Stout, an English professor at Williston State College in Williston N.D., started losing some of his best students to the oil fields last year.And good for them! If they're doing what they want to do and making good money at it, what more do they need? Maybe some of those "Occupy (insert city here)" folks need to quit whining, quit expecting others to take care of them, and set the GPS for North Dakota and do something productive.
It was too hard to compete: The students could either spend thousands of dollars on a college education or earn $100,000 a year working on the rigs, performing maintenance on oil wells or driving trucks. ..
Only about one-third of Williston State College students graduated from the two-year associate's degree program last year, said Mike Hillman, vice chancellor for academic and student affairs with the North Dakota University System. That rate has stayed around 35% to 40% for the past few years, but Hillman said he expects it to plunge even lower this school year as students exit early for jobs.
"A lot of students are getting a few credits they need -- like one or two welding courses -- and entering the labor market," said Hillman. link
Tuesday, November 01, 2011
There's Nothing Wrong With This
Not everyone should go to college, and not everyone who does needs to graduate:
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3 comments:
Let's place college where it belongs... along side the myriad of options we have in our society for our careers. We've elevated it way too long, and too many people have wasted time and money for something that wasn't necessary or needed in their lives.
Why? Because for too long the message was "Go to college, go to college!" It's not the be all to end all in our society.
The problem is convincing the parents and the voters. While stories like this are great - and I hope to hear many more, the stats still lead parents to believe a BS/BA is a better option. It's especially true when issues of benefits arise. Working on the oil rigs is a great gig at twenty - not as appealing at fifty. And, of course, we still kids that while being a mechanic is a great gig, it's better to own the garage. Sadly, the country needs far fewer owners and many more workers. And the market should decide who becomes the job creator and who works the jobs that are created.
Unfortunately, the stupendous flow of government funding into higher education, along with a similar flood of propaganda about the boundless value of a degree, has resulted in a higher education system that provides poor service for the money spent coupled with an insatiable demand for their services.
It's hardly surprising that a higher education system that's run more and more for the employees and managers of the system is losing it's grip on its customers.
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