Unread post
by App1990 » Mon Jan 26, 2015 3:09 pm
There is a difference between 'training' and 'education'. Community colleges are suppose to train people for jobs, and in the past, employers trained their new hires. Universities are NOT suppose to only train people for a specific job. It's mission is more complex and more important. Universities are suppose to provide people with the knowledge and skills to succeed throughout their life and to be an contributing part of their community and society. This is done by providing the skills to understand how the world works, how people work, how to interact with people/cultures, and how find their place in the world. Bigger than a specific job, the university is suppose to provide general skills are critical for someone to succeed in an ever-changing social/economic landscape. People do not keep their same job or career their same lives. They will face change, and sometimes big changes. Often for reasons outside their control, and often without much warning. Those with a better grasp of how things work will be better equipped to land on their feet. And this is an INVESTMENT, and all the legitimate research (not Pope Center) clearly shows it is a great investment. Even paying 100% of someone's college education is repaid many times over that person's lifetime. College graduates save the government/society much more than the cost of their education. They use the criminal justice system less. They use the healthcare system less. They draw upon public support less. And they earn much more and pay more in taxes. They also are better informed citizens and generally pass these positives to their kids. The old saying is true--education is not nearly as expensive as NOT educating our kids.
And it is pretty ignorant and arrogant to judge courses, degrees and disciplines from the outside. Just because you can't see the value, doesn't mean it doesn't exist. And truth is, most of the value from a college degree is not something you can easily see or measure. The real value is not from a single course or discipline. It is the combination of courses from different areas. You can't separate english from business. You can't separate sociology from marketing (at least good marketing). You can't separate geography from development. And even seemingly 'soft' courses (e.g., women's studies) can help entrepreneurs see how a new service or product can fill a social/economic need for half of the market.
The problem is that too many people, including Pope, have simplistic views of what education is, and what higher education is. They don't see that higher education is a public good. It isn't only about what it does for the graduate, it is what it does for the state and beyond. Research indicates the public benefits of a person getting a college education is much larger than the benefits for that individual. Our state constitution understood this, but somehow we have forgotten our way on education. Ironically, while we cut education and dismantle public higher education, the rest of the world is increasing their public investment in education and R&D. Every year we fall further behind because we are giving up on the very thing that led to our past success--public universities and public research. It hasn't gotten much attention but the UNC system is being raided by other states. The best faculty and huge amounts of research activity (funding and jobs) are being poached by other states that see how poorly things are at UNC campuses. The UNC system has long been one of the best, but it is in decline. It takes many decades to build such a system, but it only takes a few years to dismantle it.
PS: It is strange that business complain that graduates don't have the skills they need. As mentioned, the university is not suppose to train graduates for a specific job, but further, businesses have long trained their own new hires. I recall my friends graduating from App with a banking degree. They would immediate go off to a 6-12 month training period at Wachovia, First Union, etc. Now of course, they'd like to shift their training costs onto the university and taxpayer, but that is not how is should work.
Regarding Pope, everyone in education and higher education knows that Pope is no friend to public higher education. He has stated many times his disregard and even hate for the UNC system. Heck, the Pope center works tirelessly to undermine the system and the public's trust in the system, partly with 'papers' that are complete jokes. If he is appointed president, the fireworks will be fun to watch, but it will signal the end of a highly respected institution. App certainly will be told to retreat back to its place as an undergraduate teaching college. For the system and App, it will be tough to recover from the damage of the past 8 years, but it could be done. If Pope takes over, it is over. Done. Put a fork in it. And NC will suffer tremendously economically. Hello Mississippi.