The Decline of Popularity of College in America
Jordan W
Amy Ruppert
Summary response 2
10 May 2012
The Decline of the Popularity of College in America College education, in general, is a very controversial topic amongst society mainly in America. The articles “The Purpose of Higher Education” by Richard Kahlenberg of The Chronicle of Higher Education and “America’s Most Overrated Product: The Bachelor’s Degree” by Marty Nemko also of The Chronicle of Higher Education both address these issues associated with college education. Colleges have become a business, often times seeing students as revenue instead of students wishing to learn (Nemko 2). College are building towering, very elaborate buildings, and creating a website that shows everything the college has to offer but leaves one important aspect out: it’s rate at getting college graduates jobs, how much a student learns, and really spends at that institution. College isn’t connecting with its students’ who attend as it once did. Very large lecture classes are a main contributor to the separation of professor and student. This is causing roughly 44.6 percent of students’ nationwide to become dissatisfied with the quality of education they are receiving (Nemko 2). Also, approximately 43.5 percent of students’ nationwide are frequently reporting that they found themselves being bored in class in surveys from the Higher Education Research Institute at the Univ. of California at Los Angeles (Nemko 2). Nemko adds, “A 2006 study supported by Pew Charitable Trusts found that 50 percent of college seniors scored below “proficient” levels on a test that required them to do such basic tasks as understanding the arguments of newspaper editorials or compare credit-card offers” (2). Despite the inabilities for colleges to produce well rounded, qualified individuals, they are constantly being given more taxpayers dollars and allowed to raise tuitions (Nemko 2). According to Nemko, “College should be held at least as accountable as tire companies are” meaning that
Amy Ruppert
Summary response 2
10 May 2012
The Decline of the Popularity of College in America College education, in general, is a very controversial topic amongst society mainly in America. The articles “The Purpose of Higher Education” by Richard Kahlenberg of The Chronicle of Higher Education and “America’s Most Overrated Product: The Bachelor’s Degree” by Marty Nemko also of The Chronicle of Higher Education both address these issues associated with college education. Colleges have become a business, often times seeing students as revenue instead of students wishing to learn (Nemko 2). College are building towering, very elaborate buildings, and creating a website that shows everything the college has to offer but leaves one important aspect out: it’s rate at getting college graduates jobs, how much a student learns, and really spends at that institution. College isn’t connecting with its students’ who attend as it once did. Very large lecture classes are a main contributor to the separation of professor and student. This is causing roughly 44.6 percent of students’ nationwide to become dissatisfied with the quality of education they are receiving (Nemko 2). Also, approximately 43.5 percent of students’ nationwide are frequently reporting that they found themselves being bored in class in surveys from the Higher Education Research Institute at the Univ. of California at Los Angeles (Nemko 2). Nemko adds, “A 2006 study supported by Pew Charitable Trusts found that 50 percent of college seniors scored below “proficient” levels on a test that required them to do such basic tasks as understanding the arguments of newspaper editorials or compare credit-card offers” (2). Despite the inabilities for colleges to produce well rounded, qualified individuals, they are constantly being given more taxpayers dollars and allowed to raise tuitions (Nemko 2). According to Nemko, “College should be held at least as accountable as tire companies are” meaning that
Cited: Kahlenberg, Richard. "The Purpose of Higher Education." 01 Sept 2011. 2. The Chronicle of Higher Education . Web. 10 May 2012. Nemko, Marty. "America 's Most Overrated Product: the Bachelor’s Degree." 54.34 05 May 2008. 4. The Chronicle of Higher Education. Web. 10 May 2012.