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AN ATTEMPT AT BURSTING THE COLLEGE BUBBLE

Cet article a été publié le 26 avril 2021, en français, sur notre blog hébergé par Le Temps. Retrouvez-le ici.

 

It is generally held that going to college is largely beneficial, both financially and career-wise. Students reading this will probably agree that their studies will allow them to find a good career and lead a comfortable life, and that is what will most likely happen for many. Nevertheless, there are claims that higher education is in a bubble. This is a controversial idea, but its proponents put forth some interesting arguments that deserve a closer look.

One of the most vocal defenders of this idea is Peter Thiel, the billionaire co-founder of PayPal. He argues that “a true bubble is when something is overvalued and intensely believed. […] Education may be the only thing people still believe in in the United States. To question education is really dangerous. It is the absolute taboo.”

Looking at the figures, it may be possible that higher education is in a bubble. In 1965, 6 million Americans were students, and this figure has since risen to 20 million, even though tuition fees are increasing at a rate twice that of inflation. Also, earnings differences between graduates and non-graduates are shrinking, even if the premium gained by going to college is still substantial.

A college degree is no longer a guarantee of success, as colleges are churning out far more graduates than what the job market has to offer in terms of high-paying positions that are usually filled by graduates. In America, there are 80’000 bartenders and more than a 100’000 janitors who hold a bachelor’s degree. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, 17 million college graduates are in jobs that do not require a degree.

Could it be that higher education is more about safety and exclusivity, than it is about learning new skills? There is an implicit promise that by working hard and going to college, one’s future is secured. A college degree is seen as a golden ticket to the promised land. This is why so many students amass outrageous amounts of debt to go to college; they are led to believe that it is the only way to become successful. In fact, 42 million Americans now hold student debt, totalling $1.7 trillion. What is more, according to a PayScale survey, 27% of graduates who took on student debt regret doing so.

The issue of student debt has been propelled to the forefront of the American political discourse by Democratic politicians who are calling on the President to cancel all student debt. The problem is that going to college is a choice and resulting student debt is acquired voluntarily. It isn’t by running the money printer that the problem will go away, the entire system of higher education is in need of an overhaul.

Richard Vedder, emeritus professor at Ohio University, published a paper called Twelve Inconvenient Truths about American Higher Education. He argues that the whole system engages in credential inflation, where people go to school for ever more years simply to get a chance at jobs for which much of that education is useless. As the supply of graduates far exceeds what is needed, employers are demanding ever greater credentials, simply because it helps them narrow down the list of applicants.

College is very useful in that it is often a prerequisite for many careers paths. However, the numbers clearly show that there is an oversupply of graduates and that student debt has become a chronic problem. It could be that the current generation of students views college as essential, because of the influence of older generations for which college was an absolute necessity to become successful, or that they go to college because they are still undecided about their ambitions for the future.

Figures demonstrate that this model is becoming increasingly outdated. The tech sector is at the forefront of this revamping of higher education, as major companies like Google, Apple and IBM no longer require a degree for certain high-paying positions. In fact, Apple’s CEO Tim Cook announced that half of the company’s US employees hired in 2018 were not graduates.

Switzerland has also witnessed a massive increase in university enrollment: there were 100’000 students in the year 2000, this figure has now risen to 165’000. It is possible that the Swiss jobs market will soon face an oversupply of recent graduates. Fortunately, Switzerland has an incredibly diverse higher education system. Apprenticeships are tightly monitored by the authorities which ensures that the exacting standards set for quality in teaching are respected. Vocational schools constitute another important source of qualified employees who are taught concrete skills that are in high demand.

Other countries should follow the Swiss model if they wish to solve some of their higher education problems. College must no longer be viewed as the only way of finding a good job. The key is offering alternatives that provide marketable skills that have great employment opportunities. This would reduce the need for student debt and bring some much-needed diversity in the job market.

Léon Eversham

 

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