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Posted on 12/12/13 at 10:07 pm to I Ham That I Ham
Posted on 12/13/13 at 10:33 am to Hog on the Hill
Everyone has their own opinions on things, so I'll throw mine in the mix on the having a degree discussion as opposed to the kids letter to the ADG.
I think we (society) have gone completely overboard on the "Go to college, get a degree and get a great paying job" spill. There are far too many people getting a degree these days that have no business being near a four year institution and it's watering down the "college educated" product.
There needs to be way more emphasis on specialty training or vocational school because the average high school education in this country is not producing people that are prepared for university level learning.
It's also creating a lot of "Degree debt" for young people because the level of job they could have gotten 10-15 years ago is now filled by someone that has a post graduate degree. That bachelor's degree recipient ends up with a low paying job that didn't require four years of schooling and $20-60,000 worth of debt.
I know, tldr
I think we (society) have gone completely overboard on the "Go to college, get a degree and get a great paying job" spill. There are far too many people getting a degree these days that have no business being near a four year institution and it's watering down the "college educated" product.
There needs to be way more emphasis on specialty training or vocational school because the average high school education in this country is not producing people that are prepared for university level learning.
It's also creating a lot of "Degree debt" for young people because the level of job they could have gotten 10-15 years ago is now filled by someone that has a post graduate degree. That bachelor's degree recipient ends up with a low paying job that didn't require four years of schooling and $20-60,000 worth of debt.
I know, tldr
This post was edited on 12/13/13 at 1:59 pm
Posted on 12/13/13 at 11:01 am to stormlong
https://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2013/12/13/effort-made-to-squelch-discussion-of-university-of-arkansas-audit#readerComments
quote:
Benji Hardy of the Legislative Digest tells me that a hot debate is underway at the Legislative Audit Committee this morning. Sen. Bill Sample has made a motion, seconded by Sen. Linda Chesterfield, to accept the University of Arkansas audit without discussion. Objections are being made. Who would want to stifle discussion of the UA's financial mess and contradictory testimony about accountability and transparency? The list of suspects begins with UA officialdom, of course.
UPDATE: Motion to accept audit without testimony from Brad Choate, the fired advancement division director, and Joy Sharp, the former UA employee who took the fall in the mess. Choate had been expected to take some exception to Chancellor David Gearhart's version of events. Not now.
Vote was 21-13. I'll get a roll call. Sounds like the UA still swings a big stick at the legislature.
UPDATE: The stench increases from this heavy-handed move by the UA to stymie discussion of its shortcomings. The UA did itself no favors by working to silence Brad Choate. Democrats, who made up a significant portion of the vote to cut off debate, did themselves no favors. I'm no fan of the likes of the bullying Bryan King, Rep. Kim Hammer or Rep. Nate Bell, but they were on the side of the angels this morning in seeking to provide a forum for the rest of the story on the UA financial disaster.
Chesterfield told Benji Hardy this wasn't the purview of the audit committee. What? Not getting both sides of a story to which it had already given Chancellor David Gearhart much time? Rep. Charlie Collins was among the Republicans who went in the tank for the UA, which is in his hometown. Remember this when he campaigns on a high integrity platform. Choate told reporters afterward that the move was a "whitewash." As has been reported previously, his separation from the University of Arkansas, which included several months of pay, included his agreement not to speak about the university except in limited official places, such as before the audit committee. That venue has now been closed to him.
His statements to the Fayetteville prosecutor should be open to inspection. I called Deputy Prosecutor David Bercaw about that. He's out of the office today, it so happens. Here's the roll call. It was not a strict party line division. Republican Sens. Jonathan Dismang, Eddie Joe Williams and Johnny Key were among those Republicans voting for the motion to prevent additional testimony. Democrat Greg Leding, another Fayetteville resident serving the hometown university officialdom, also voted to stifle Choate. Some progressive.
Posted on 12/18/13 at 10:53 am to stormlong
quote:
Everyone has their own opinions on things, so I'll throw mine in the mix on the having a degree discussion as opposed to the kids letter to the ADG.
I think we (society) have gone completely overboard on the "Go to college, get a degree and get a great paying job" spill. There are far too many people getting a degree these days that have no business being near a four year institution and it's watering down the "college educated" product.
There needs to be way more emphasis on specialty training or vocational school because the average high school education in this country is not producing people that are prepared for university level learning.
It's also creating a lot of "Degree debt" for young people because the level of job they could have gotten 10-15 years ago is now filled by someone that has a post graduate degree. That bachelor's degree recipient ends up with a low paying job that didn't require four years of schooling and $20-60,000 worth of debt.
I know, tldr
Agreed, and that's coming from someone who holds two degrees from tFlagship.
I think our parents' generation was sold on the whole "everyone needs to go to college" manta that was advanced around the 1980s and 90s, and it's been blown out of proportion as the years drag on. I've argued for years that having the means to go to college doesn't equate to having the ability to go to college. I had a few fraternity brothers whose dads were doctors/lawyers/captains of industry who had absolutely no business being at college, and none of them graduated.
Also, like you said, it's creating a new debt bubble, and it was announced not too long ago that student loans had surpassed credit cards as a source of debt.
But as for the original topic at hand -- while I love my alma mater with all my heart and am intensely defensive of it, I think the kid's letter was extremely naive and misguided. I liked the intent, but part of me thinks it was a bit of a transparent exercise of self-back patting on the part of ASG to show "hey look at me, I'm standing up to bad guys!" the way politicians do when they introduce idiotic pieces of legislation they know will never pass congress so that they can return to their constituencies and brag about "fighting" for them. I'm no AD-G fan and rarely read it, but the kid lost me when he started talking about articles attacking students. Does the AD-G have an ax to grind with brass at the UA? Definitely seems that way, but I've never seen them attack students or actively try to undercut the legitimacy of the education being offered there.
I know that as a person who graduated from the UA and loves it dearly I'm supposed to nod my head, but objectively, this just seems like an instance where a kid tried to sit at the big boy table. This is coming from someone who is family friends with the Gearharts and supports them.
Just trying to be objective here.
This post was edited on 12/18/13 at 10:56 am
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