Are we in an higher education bubble? Is it going to pop and nail us all?

Amen to that. You can't fit square students into a round hole. I just received a thank you card from my fresh high school grad nephew saying that my "donation" would go towards his college education. This fellow barely made it through high school. We've gotten into the mentality that everyone and I mean everyone deserves a high school diploma. In his case he was promoted through out school and graduated due to this mindset.

 

Yes, it's evidence of the unfortunate advent of degree inflation we have been talking about on this board for awhile. The bachelors degree is the new high school diploma.

 

But to need a bachelors degree to manage a fast food restaurant is amazing to me. That's really food for thought. (pun?)

 

We fixed this in my home by homeschooling my son through junior high. He is enrolled in Ashworth High School, and he'll be taking graphic design courses along with his high school courses.

 

That sounds like a good plan. I'm sure he is getting a much better education for your efforts. I'm interested to know; how does that fix the degree inflation problem for him?

 

I was actually responding to the problem of students not learning anything in public high school. It doesn't fix the problem of degree inflation, but he'll be learning a trade along with his high school courses.

 

Ah, I see. Very wise of you. I would think that's a trade where he should be able to find a good job most of the time. In print, online and other avenues. It's a great thing to give your kid options.

 

As a high school teacher, one of the things I've noticed is that there's too much of a push to go to college after high school. Not everyone needs "college". Some could do perfectly fine with trade school, but our system has been designed to stigmatize everyone who doesn't "go to college" after graduation.

With the risk of sounding arrogant, and I'm not really trying to be, there are some high school grads that have no place in college. I'm referring to the kids who have screwed around and bombed out in high school. Yet, there are an increasing amount of schools, traditional ones no less, which have lowered their standards so much that anyone can get in. When the minimum SAT requirement is a 600, that's basically the equivalent of just randomly bubbling in answers on the test.

I see kids going to these schools, taking out loans, and then dropping out. That's not a good thing at all.

-Matt

 

It entirely depends on the career field. In teaching, healthcare (nursing), and say Wildlife and Fisheries, a bachelors will suffice just fine. I think business, especially with the flood of MBA's, definitely fits the scenario you described.

 

The next wave is the flood of PhDs in business. 10 years ago the MBA was more than enough for adjunct and part time teaching but now the PhD is becoming the norm. The new filter is the requirement of a AACSB accredited PhD or MBA for teaching positions.

 

In some professions yes, but in others it's not so bad. A bachelors is fine.

It appears to be plenty to manage a Burger King. I still can't believe that requirement.

 

What is the source of this statement? I looked at the Burger King website and listed the qualifications below. Maybe you were think of McDonalds?

Restaurant Assistant Manager
Minimum Qualifications:
High School Diploma or GED required, some college preferred

Restaurant General Manager
Minimum Qualifications:
High School Diploma or GED required, 2 years of college preferred

BURGER KING®

 

It took me about 30 seconds to find the answer - NO. A little "fact finding" goes a long way.

 

Degree cost at a Cal State U

I just checked on what it would cost to earn a decent bachelors degree at a Cal State University (assuming the student lived at home and attended local schools).

Cal State University
$2303 per semester (greater than 7 units)
Tuition and Fees at CSULB

California CC
$26/unit x 15 units = $390 per semester

Assuming one takes 4 semester at a CC and 4 semesters at a CSU then total tuition for degree is $10,772.

Of course there is the cost of books and other fees and the above costs are for California residents.

There are probably other states that offer equally competitive tuition for residents.

So I conclude that reasonably priced degrees are still available.

[And yes I realize there are taxpayer subsidies involved.]

 

....My bad

 

Didn't mean it nasty - just feeling a little punchy today

 

If you're a geezer, you can knock that down to $0.

Over 60 Degree Program : SFSU College of Extended Learning : Programs for Mature Learners

Some of the CSUs don't like to publicize this little perk (SFSU is one of few that does), but it's a systemwide program. All of the CSUs are free to people over 60 years old.

The down-side is that individuals enrolled under this program register last, after the regular students, so it's basically offered on a space-available basis. Given the state budget crisis and all the cutbacks in number of sections being offered, there's not likely to be any space available these days for high-demand classes. I suppose that if somebody is determined, he/she could knock most of those classes out by enrolling as a conventional student at a community college and paying the $26/unit like everyone else, then transferring the hard-to-get credits in.

In my case, I already have a BA and an MA, so I wouldn't have to do the general ed over again. I'd be taking upper-division or graduate special-topics classes in subjects like philosophy, Asian art history or classical archaeology, which might still have openings.