Are Universities Doomed?

[Ptarmigan]

Are Universities Doomed?
https://amgreatness.com/2022/12/21/are-universities-doomed/

In a famous exchange in the The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway wrote: “How did you go bankrupt?” Bill asked. “Two ways,” Mike said. “Gradually, then suddenly.”

“Gradually” and “suddenly” applies to higher education’s implosion.

During the 1990s “culture wars” universities were warned that their chronic tuition hikes above the rate of inflation were unsustainable.

Their growing manipulation of blanket federal student loan guarantees, and part-time faculty and graduate teaching assistants always was suicidal.

Left-wing indoctrination, administrative bloat, obsessions with racial preferences, arcane, jargon-filled research, and campus-wide intolerance of diverse thought short-changed students, further alienated the public—and often enraged alumni.

Over the last 30 years, enrollments in the humanities and history crashed. So did tenure-track faculty positions. Some $1.7 trillion in federally backed student loans have only greenlighted inflated tuition—and masked the contagion of political indoctrination and watered-down courses.

Colleges have become leftist bastions as quality of education has declined. Cost went up faster than inflation due to federal loans.

[Ptarmigan]

‘Universities are going to continue to suffer.’ Some colleges struggle with enrollment declines, underfunding
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/05/colleges-struggle-with-enrollment-declines-underfunding-post-covid.html

Increasingly, high school students are rethinking the value of college, with a growing number of them questioning the return on investment. Some have decided against a four-year degree.

To be sure, undergraduate enrollment was falling even before the pandemic, but remote learning — coupled with the sky-high cost of college — triggered a nosedive. The number of undergraduates enrolled in college nationwide is now down 9.4% compared to two years ago — a loss of nearly 1.4 million students.

Those steep declines caused tuition revenue to fall, putting some schools in financial jeopardy. A few have had to shut down entirely.

College enrollment is declining. Some colleges have even closed.

[Drafe Hoblin]

I partied my ass off in college.  Now I'm laughing my ass off at colleges.  It's the Boomer way.

[Eupher]

I have zero interest in colleges, their "school spirit" crap, football tailgating, campuses, quads, dorms, classrooms that seat 300+, and student unions.

My college experience was relegated to night school, weekends, and classrooms that took place in a motor pool garage. School terms that lasted all of two months.

Fundamentally, colleges and universities aren't there to educate anyone. They're there to make money. They're a business and their business is cranking out graduates after said graduates have ponied up a ton of money.

And sell, sell, sell the idea that the ONLY way to a successful career is by going through that revolving door called a "college education."

I laugh when I get requests for money or endowments from the University of Maryland trying to cash in on my "school spirit". I couldn't care less.

[DefiantSix]

Are Universities Doomed?

Considering the institution has been in place for over a thousand years, I kinda doubt it. I am avoiding them like the plague until the Marxist fever burns its way thru the various academic institutions, however.

Good thing my son has no interest in going thru the college indoctrination brain washing. He's learning to be a welder.

[freedumb2003b]

I have zero interest in colleges, their "school spirit" crap, football tailgating, campuses, quads, dorms, classrooms that seat 300+, and student unions.

My college experience was relegated to night school, weekends, and classrooms that took place in a motor pool garage. School terms that lasted all of two months.

Fundamentally, colleges and universities aren't there to educate anyone. They're there to make money. They're a business and their business is cranking out graduates after said graduates have ponied up a ton of money.

And sell, sell, sell the idea that the ONLY way to a successful career is by going through that revolving door called a "college education."

I laugh when I get requests for money or endowments from the University of Maryland trying to cash in on my "school spirit". I couldn't care less.

I had an unconventional upbringing (read: poor) but a more traditional college - straight 4 years but at Pepperdine Malibu which is not like other colleges as I learned over the years.

Pepperdine accidentally did a great job or prepping me for my IT ERP career as my Business major taught me a lot that is still quire useful.  I also discovered computers there and that began my career (although had nothing to do with my major as back then there WERE no DP (now IT) majors.

I did well there and am proud of being a Wave.  But I do not do the alumnus thing.

[3rd-try]

Good thing my son has no interest in going thru the college indoctrination brain washing. He's learning to be a welder.

If he sticks to it and masters his craft, he'll find himself doing better than 99% of the paper pushing mouse clickers.

[CollectivismMustDie]

Considering the institution has been in place for over a thousand years, I kinda doubt it. I am avoiding them like the plague until the Marxist fever burns its way thru the various academic institutions, however.

Good thing my son has no interest in going thru the college indoctrination brain washing. He's learning to be a welder.

Unlike regular colleges, Technical Colleges teach things which are generally useful, valuable to ones self to know, and in demand by employers.

Welding is a skill that pays well, as are HVAC repair and installation, Machining, Plumbing, Electrician, OTR driver and a few other fields/careers.

Good on your son for seeing reality through the BS.

[Ralph Wiggum]

I partied my ass off in college.  Now I'm laughing my ass off at colleges.  It's the Boomer way.

Ditto, although I'm Gen X. Back when college was actual college and not an indoctrination center and graduating with less than a perfect GPA could still land one lucrative jobs. A person can learn a hell of a lot more than one's grade point average indicates. But it certainly isn't for everyone for a variety of reasons.  Although it was in retrospect the best thing I ever did. Going off to a campus nearly a thousand miles away, knowing basically no one and learning to adapt to life without the umbrella of my parents was an invaluable experience for myself.

[enslaved1]

Ditto, although I'm Gen X. Back when college was actual college and not an indoctrination center and graduating with less than a perfect GPA could still land one lucrative jobs. A person can learn a hell of a lot more than one's grade point average indicates. But it certainly isn't for everyone for a variety of reasons.  Although it was in retrospect the best thing I ever did. Going off to a campus nearly a thousand miles away, knowing basically no one and learning to adapt to life without the umbrella of my parents was an invaluable experience for myself.

I crashed and burned my first trip to college, not partying exactly, but I was not ready in many ways.  But it was still an important learning experience for me, even if I learned the very hard way.

On topic, doomed universities need government schools pushing people into them, telling the dumb masses that everyone needs college.  My district is pushing college for all, and it's really annoying because one of the ripple effects is, students are deciding as early as middle school that they aren't going to college, so they just need to take up space until they can drop out.  This results in lack of basic skills and knowledge needed to live without a college degree, which is very possible and even preferable for some folks. 

[Old n Grumpy]

Every school offering a liberal arts degree should have a mandatory course to teach how to be a barista and possibly a deep fat fryer operator as well

[Ralph Wiggum]

I crashed and burned my first trip to college, not partying exactly, but I was not ready in many ways.  But it was still an important learning experience for me, even if I learned the very hard way.

On topic, doomed universities need government schools pushing people into them, telling the dumb masses that everyone needs college.  My district is pushing college for all, and it's really annoying because one of the ripple effects is, students are deciding as early as middle school that they aren't going to college, so they just need to take up space until they can drop out.  This results in lack of basic skills and knowledge needed to live without a college degree, which is very possible and even preferable for some folks.

It sometimes takes time to figure out what one's proper path is. I was remiss in making an important point. Unlike elite snobby leftist libs, I don't look down my nose at non college graduates. Haven't seen a statistic in a while, but the # usually hovers at 35-40% of adults who have either a 4 or year college degree. With the direction that leftists have taken college and their curriculum these days, it is even more of a turnoff to waste time and money at such indoctrination camps anymore.