Oscar Wilde once said that a cynic is “a man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.” Ohio Gov. John Kasich would appear to be that cynic. He believes that he has found an easy way to dealing with high tuition costs in college — cut the college education itself. In a move that would be a disaster for the quality and standing of Ohio universities and colleges, Kasich wants schools to reduce college educations to three rather than four years to pump out more graduates in a shorter time.
I have long opposed a similar proposal in law schools to reduce the three year curriculum to two years — a proposal by deans who want to convert legal education into a factory operation.
Kasich ordered state universities to investigate ways for students to get a bachelor’s degree in three years and has called for a crackdown on what he views as lazy college professors who do not teach enough. He is getting support from Matt Mayer of the Buckeye Institute — a conservative “think tank” that (on its website) bills as its “vision” “a revitalized Ohio that ranks among the top ten states in high household wealth, low taxation, and low government costs.” Mayer states in the article below that “If we really kind of strip down higher ed and the four-year degree down to a really rigorous three-year process, for many kids that would be a great road to get their skills, get their knowledge base, graduate and then become productive members of society.” Add a second cynic to the list.
What is missing from such analysis is the process of learning and maturation that occurs in a four-year program. College is not primarily about getting a degree to get better jobs — at least not for educators. It is about producing well-educated individuals with an appreciation for a wide array of knowledge. It should be a time of intellectual awakening for students who are exposed to great ideas and great writers. This exploration can lead students into new fields or simply open up a lifetime interest in learning. “Stripping down” education suggests that some knowledge or course are merely frivolous distractions as opposed to the core classes needed to be functional in society. You can strip down a lawnmower and it will still produce a sharp cut. When you strip down education, you just get a dull graduate.
The desire to rank the “quality” of schools based largely on tuition produces absurd results, as shown in the discredited Forbes rankings.
As for those lazy academics, this seems part of the growing trend of demonizing intellectuals in contemporary politics, particularly among some conservative leaders like Sarah Palin and Newt Gingrich. Colleges benefit from professors continuing research and writing to keep new ideas and works flowing through their classrooms. They are not shop teachers who just teach a single unchanging skill. The quality of teaching depends on teachers remaining intellectually productive.
If Kasich succeeds, the standing of many fine Ohio schools will decline dramatically. The academic standing of schools will plummet in academic rankings and the quality of students will decline in response. The result is a downward spiral where Kasich will be able to show “success” in cranking out more degrees but his state will become a second-rate educational center. As the standing of Ohio schools fails, top professors are likely to go elsewhere as are businesses who want the best and the brightest graduates.
Kasich needs to have someone explain the difference between the price of education and the value of education.
Source: NPR
Jonathan Turley
Pete, they ARE trickling down on us. It is warm and yellow. In vast quantities.
OS
but if we did that they might not trickle down on us
As has been pointed out, it’s quite possible to do a Bachelor’s in 3 years, assuming that the student is willing to load up on additional courses, and doesn’t have any interfering things like jobs, or a family. If they were to take 20 hours a semester instead of 16, it’s possible. But, that doesn’t seem to be what Gov Kasich is suggesting. What he’s suggesting is cutting the curriculum or requirements to make the degree fit into a 3 year time frame.
OS,
Well said!
the world is a much simpler place when you believe all of it came into being 6000 years ago.
makes education easier too
Eric Von Stroheim sez: “…Robin Hood took from the non-productive and gave to the productive that which had been taken from them.”
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Which is exactly what needs to happen now. Take the taxes that should be paid, but are not because of the tax giveaways from the Bush years. Get that money from the non-productive like the Wall Street banksters, the Koch Crime Family, Grover Norquist’s bathtub and so forth.
And use that money to help out the productive peons whose very souls, livelihoods and health care are being stolen from them by cabals of the uber-wealthy and their political enablers.
EVS,
Thanks for making my point! The wealthy are the non productive ones.
Actually Robin Hood took from the non-productive and gave to the productive that which had been taken from them.
Education in this country is a joke anyway. It has been dumbed down, maybe 3 years will let students keep some of their mental faculties intact.
Most colleges are teaching people that should be in trade schools and would do far better financially if they learned how to operate a lathe or wire a building.
The smartest man I ever knew never saw the inside of a college classroom. He read the great books on his own, sometimes I think he read everyone of them.
Mike A.,
You hit the nail on the head. He wants to save money from the liberal intstitutions and give it to corporations and the wealthy. I think Bernie Sanders called it the Reverse Robin Hood concept!
Here’s the deal. A university and a trade school serve very different functions. Gov. Kasich’s proposal is likely to accomplish nothing other than to turn out graduates who are neither educated nor trained in a marketable skill. But, of course, it will be cheaper. Besides, if the ultimate goal is simply to create a new workforce with greatly lowered expectations, why have a public university system at all?
mr.ed
1, April 20, 2011 at 2:52 pm
This is quite popular here in Ohio. It’s quite possible to do if you know your major and don’t change after you’ve had an epiphany or damaged your brain with chemicals. Our niece is doing a music degree this way, currently taking 8 courses for 23 credit hours. No, she doesn’t have another life, but music (and medicine) students don’t anyway. She’ll save tens of thousands of dollars.
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bingo!
Kasich just wants to make sure that Ohio’s youth stay just as stupid as he is.
PatricParamedic sez:
“You should see the physicians allowed to license from other countries.
Actually, no you shouldn’t.”
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The Republican solution to those pesky problems is to make it a lot harder to sue for malpractice. I am from a family of health care providers, but there is no excuse for some of the sorry excuses I see on almost a daily basis. Some are good, and when they are good, they tend to be very good indeed, but the others….
I wouldn’t fret to much about it. These “graduates” can always become police officers:
http://island-adv.com/2011/03/obama-administration-forces-dayton-police-department-to-lower-its-testing-standard-for-police-recruits/
As a public safety professional for 3 decades, I can report that the dumbing down of American society isn’t limited to the classroom.
You should see the physicians allowed to license from other countries.
Actually, no you shouldn’t.
This is quite popular here in Ohio. It’s quite possible to do if you know your major and don’t change after you’ve had an epiphany or damaged your brain with chemicals. Our niece is doing a music degree this way, currently taking 8 courses for 23 credit hours. No, she doesn’t have another life, but music (and medicine) students don’t anyway. She’ll save tens of thousands of dollars.
I got though a doctoral program in record time by taking 21 hours a semester. The Dean caught me in my last semester, and was he pissed! But, he could not take credits away from me, so he made me drop a couple of classes. That caused me to have to take them in the summer and so did not graduate until August instead of May. That pissed ME off.
I do not recommend that class load to ANYBODY, but I was married, had three kids and needed to get out and start earning a living. We were barely surviving on the pittance Fellowship money they gave me out of the Federal grant I wrote for them.
eniobob,
that is scarey.but not surprising. Probably more corporate money coming in.
“No Einstein: Tennessee Legislator Falsely Quotes Einstein As Embracing Christianity As Thinking Man’s Religion”
“McEducation: Kasich Orders Ohio Universities To Look Into Three-Year Degree Programs”
This headline was in our local paper today and makes these two post more scarey at least here in Jersey:
“N.J. Republicans raise more money than Democrats so far this year … April 19, 2011, 10:45AM”
Does Kasich want to reduce the number of credits required for graduation or increase the number of credits students take per semester? As a lazy professor, I prefer the former.
Great video Elaine. What a tool that guy is. How do people believe this crap??