Not Everyone Needs a College Degree!

Dear Commons Community,

An article in the NY Times that was forwarded by my colleague, Greg Johnson, at Hunter College, raises the question of whether there are too many people pursuing a college degree as the main vehicle for job/career success.   The article refers to the low graduation rates of many college students particularly if measured against a six-year completion rate for earning a bachelor’s degree.   This latter issue is controversial because many students especially those in commuter institutions take longer than six years to complete a degree as studied and documented by our colleagues, Paul Attewell and David Lavin, in Passing the Torch.   Regardless the NY Times article (see below for the URL), presents a case that many students rather than pursuing a college education would be better off with intensive vocational training as an extension of high school or through a corporate entity.   The article cites examples of jobs that are predicted to have large growth in the coming decades such as in health care assistance that do not require a college education.

Tony

The NY Times article can be found at:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/16/weekinreview/16steinberg.html