Several factors have led to the current inefficiency in the university system. One is the pressure the GI bill put on colleges after WW II -- they had to expand, and had to have faculty to do so, and gave generously during a time where there was plenty of money flowing in to the system. In connection with that -- whether as a result or independently -- faculty gained enormous power over the universities, so that they basically wrote the rules. So of course they wrote rules that were favorable to them. Those are now ingrained, and it going to be very difficult to root them out.
We have also developed an expectation that almost everybody should go to college. This is a substantial change from pre-WWII. Employers look for college degrees as though they meant something vauable. Some do, many don't. But as in ancient Rome, they have become a prerequisite to most employment.
Of course, given the deterioration in the eductation provided at the high school level, this is understandable. When high school students can gradute with diplomas without being able to write a decent paragraph or do more than the most rudimentary math, employers have to look for more.
Not all of our educational system is in total disarray. There are many schools, colleges, and universities which work quite well to educate our students. But many fewer, I believe, than was the case when I was growing up. |
