Students and parents are beginning to wonder what the purpose of the college education system in society is now more than ever. Unfortunately, it’s a complicated subject with many variables to consider, and there’s no way to answer it in a single post.
Many people debate whether or not it is “cost-effective” to spend four or five years in college. The answer always seems to centre on the concept of return on investment. In other words, would a $100,000 tuition-paying college student earn enough money throughout their lifetime to justify the high cost? The issue is that you’re asking the wrong question about the worth of a college education. The ultimate purpose of a college education, which cannot be quantified in dollars and cents, is the opportunity for students to discover who they are and what they want to become in a non-judgmental environment. It is to foster creative thinking processes through independent thought and analysis and challenge traditional ideas and find a means to improve society.
Students and parents frequently select colleges solely based on what they believe a particular four-year degree will enable them to join the workforce as quickly as possible. Granted, a four-year degree is pretty much a prerequisite for anyone who wants to turn a healthy ambition into a productive job in this day and age, and a four-year degree is a good thing that parents want (and should!) to encourage. And, in this economy, official educational qualifications are a must.
The trouble with this technique is that all too frequently, college buyers are only concerned with the degree to which a B.A. or a B.S. can assist them in landing that crucial first job. In a way, careerism has taken over the deeper aims of higher education. “How will this four-year education form my character as well as my intellect?” is an age-old concern that has been neglected in this higher education buyer’s market. A biblically based liberal arts education responds to this challenge by shunning careerism and instead pursuing new knowledge projects in all disciplines to prepare students for their first job and the sake of the quest for truth.
The Original Purpose: The Clergy & Prestige
When the earliest colleges were established, their primary purpose was to train pastors for the church. Nearly half of Harvard’s first 500 graduates went into ministry, while the other half primarily pursued liberal arts degrees.
For those who weren’t pursuing religious careers, college was essentially a means of indicating prestige rather than anything else. As a result, Harvard and other early universities concentrated on instilling in pupils the necessary habits and soft skills to land significant public positions. However, because most of the students came from wealthy homes, to begin with, it’s unclear how much of an impact the curriculum had on them. In conclusion, colleges began by serving only a tiny population. It wasn’t so much that the expenditures were out of control; instead, most families couldn’t justify the loss of manual labour that would come with sending one of their sons (at the time, colleges were all-male) away for a few years to study non-tangible skills.
First Shift in Purpose: Practical Knowledge
For nearly 200 years, the college experience was inextricably linked to its religious and elitist roots, serving primarily as a means of signalling prestige.
When the University of Virginia was founded in 1825, things began to change. It was founded by Thomas Jefferson, who pushed for colleges to break free from their religious affiliations and become affordable and helpful to the general public.
The first of several significant events shifted colleges away from symbolising distinction and functioning as a place where students might receive more practical knowledge. Another significant event was President Lincoln’s signing of the Morrill Land Grant Act. States could seek free land from the federal government to create public universities as part of the Act. The sole stipulation was that these public colleges had to promote fields of study such as agriculture, engineering, and mechanic arts for students to get practical skills that they could use in the workforce. The sole stipulation was that these public colleges had to promote fields of study such as agriculture, engineering, and mechanic arts for students to get practical skills that they could use in the workforce.
Second Shift in Purpose: The Experience
Even though the Morrill Land-Grant Act increased the amount of vocational education offered at universities, most individuals did not think a college degree was necessary. On the other hand, college enrollment continued to rise for other reasons.
One of the reasons was that institutions began to place a greater focus on their campuses’ aesthetics. As a result, the architecture of the college campus had become a focal aspect of the college experience. During the early 1900s, technological developments mixed with rising levels of affluence in American culture led to the construction of spectacular campuses. Indeed, the quality of building construction during this period is still a major attraction for many historical colleges today.
Even though college was not required for success in society, the visual appeal of campuses produced a gravitational pull for students. In addition, the prominence of social life on college campuses was another gravitational force. Going to college became a life event for many people in the 1920s, thanks to the expansion of fraternities, partying lifestyle, and more lavish spending on college athletics.
Third Shift in Purpose: A Requirement
The introduction of the GI Bill, arguably the most significant event in the history of higher education, occurred in 1944. The GI Bill was intended to assist World War II soldiers. It provided stipends to cover tuition and expenses for over 9 million veterans, among other things. As a result, college enrolment exploded in the decades that followed.
The standard four-year college programme firmly entered the mainstream by 1950. The college system transformed from a nice-to-have to a need-to-have by riding the wave of government support. The GI Bill was dubbed the “magic carpet to the Middle Class” because it forever tied higher education to the American dream.
It was a relatively easy sell when this narrative initially started to take shape. Because universities could keep their expenses low because of significant government support, many students saw it as a fantastic opportunity with few drawbacks. However, during the 1970s, the government began to withdraw financing from universities. It was mainly due to student protests against the draught and reduced military research being forced out of colleges.
Colleges were compelled to hike tuition costs to cover lost funds due to the cuts. As a result, the college model shifted from providing a public service to becoming a classic business model focused on aggressively marketing service to clients. The assumption that a four-year college degree was required for professional success was at the heart of the college sales pitch.
For decades, this sales pitch was met with little opposition. For a while, the prices remained affordable, and a sufficient number of college graduates could find work. Over the last 10–15 years, though, the once impregnable pitch has begun to lose its sting. Costs have been continuously at a much faster rate than inflation. When you add in the reality that an increasing number of college students are dropping out early (46% of 4-year students) or struggling to find work after graduation, you have a group of college administrators who appear like snake oil salespeople.
The Present-day Narrative
As you learn more about college history, you’ll notice that several historical elements are still present in today’s college experience. Take, for example, the concept of prestige. Many colleges still place a high value on status. Certain schools, such as Ivy League colleges, have constructed their whole economic model around the promise of distinction. It’s also on whole show at college commencement ceremonies, where students and teachers dress up in opulent gowns and accessories to signal their status.
At 4-year colleges, significant subjects such as social life and practical knowledge continue to be prominent. In addition, fraternities haven’t vanished, college athletics has grown into a multibillion-dollar industry, and many students continue to enrol in college with the idea of majoring in a field that closely relates to a career.
If you can’t find work or graduate with $100,000 in debt and have to relocate into your parents’ basement, prestige means nothing. Vocational knowledge is useless unless it can be applied to real-world occupations. The collegiate athletics model is under fire for reaping billions of dollars off the backs of amateur athletes who give up many of their freedoms to play for their institution. Reports of rampant alcohol/drug abuse on campus and alarming sexual assault cases have soiled the once iconic concept of the college social experience. Finally, a four-year degree does not appear to be the strongest predictor of professional success, with half of 2011 graduates unemployed or underemployed two years later.
