Comments on: Access Denied at the Very Time of Increased Need for College Graduates http://www.theother85percent.com/2009/06/access-denied-at-the-very-time-of-increased-need-for-college-graduates/ Working adults and the new world of higher education Thu, 20 Jan 2011 03:48:27 -0800 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Mike Offerman http://www.theother85percent.com/2009/06/access-denied-at-the-very-time-of-increased-need-for-college-graduates/comment-page-1/#comment-11668 Mike Offerman Fri, 05 Jun 2009 19:43:39 +0000 http://www.theother85percent.com/?p=161#comment-11668 Kelly, thanks for taking time to post your comment. And congratulations on your achievements in balancing life and education. Mike Kelly, thanks for taking time to post your comment. And congratulations on your achievements in balancing life and education.

Mike

]]> By: Kelly http://www.theother85percent.com/2009/06/access-denied-at-the-very-time-of-increased-need-for-college-graduates/comment-page-1/#comment-11667 Kelly Fri, 05 Jun 2009 17:04:13 +0000 http://www.theother85percent.com/?p=161#comment-11667 Higher ed in this country really needs a complete overhaul -- everything from admissions policies to how it's financed to what's expected of people once they get there. While physical barriers to entry need to be removed so that more non-traditional students (like me) can participate, we probably could use a few more academic barriers to entry. If someone who isn't really college material and wouldn't be able to finish a degree in 4 years of full-time study gets instead sent to trade school or community college, that should not be viewed as a failure. We still need electricians, mechanics, and dental assistants (and those jobs can never be outsourced to India). What is a crime is having classrooms filled with unprepared students who have taken on thousands in debt that will follow them for many years after they've left school without a degree, while academically qualified, non-traditional students are shut out just because they can't attend full-time classes on a physical campus. This situation is improving (I'm a 42-year-old senior at Excelsior College) but it still has a long way to go. Higher ed in this country really needs a complete overhaul — everything from admissions policies to how it’s financed to what’s expected of people once they get there. While physical barriers to entry need to be removed so that more non-traditional students (like me) can participate, we probably could use a few more academic barriers to entry.

If someone who isn’t really college material and wouldn’t be able to finish a degree in 4 years of full-time study gets instead sent to trade school or community college, that should not be viewed as a failure. We still need electricians, mechanics, and dental assistants (and those jobs can never be outsourced to India).

What is a crime is having classrooms filled with unprepared students who have taken on thousands in debt that will follow them for many years after they’ve left school without a degree, while academically qualified, non-traditional students are shut out just because they can’t attend full-time classes on a physical campus. This situation is improving (I’m a 42-year-old senior at Excelsior College) but it still has a long way to go.

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