What will the future look like for colleges?

[JLS]

Coronavirus pushes colleges to the breaking point, forcing “hard choices” — The Wall Street Journal

Forecast declines in enrollment and revenue have triggered spending cuts and salary freezes. “The world order has changed,” said a Northeastern University official.

apple.news

As a parent helping kids through college, it makes me question the value of spending thousands of dollars for them to get the same content they are now receiving on line. Maybe it’s a paradigm that seriously needs re-evaluated, particularly when you factor in the debt load many students graduate with and what that does to their future.

 

[rideold]

I don't think college will look the same for a couple of years but I can't imagine them going away all together.

 

[Sytes]

Once a vaccination is released, it will play the same fashion as the flu.
Bump in the road though pretty disappointed it was not open for multi selections...

Bump in the road, Toga, Is it September yet we're my pics...

 

[88man]

They will need to get control of their expenses! Public & Private alike.

 

[beginnerhunter]

I don't think college will look the same for a couple of years but I can't imagine them going away all together.

Right, probably some significant changes coming down the road as kids come to terms with the prospect of crushing higher ed debt. I pray for a resurgence of trade programs and apprenticeships. High school grads need more practical options.

Distance/online learning has its place but it's absurd to think it can totally replace all hands on education.

 

[Tradewind]

At $55,000/yr for a private. Folks will find a realistic, suitable alternative to obtain the almighty diploma.

 

[daltrix99]

A large number of colleges, especially small expensive universities, and poorly managed (re: financially) land grant universities will go under because of this. They will not survive the lack of out of state and international tuition that is coming down the pipe. Here in Montana, I am worried about U of M specifically. MSU is in better shape, but still relies on a lot of out of state tuition.

The ongoing and increasingly worse unemployment situation is going to put more demand on student loans, and will potentially strain that infrastructure.

Frankly, a lot of this may be a good thing. Our university system is bloated and unsustainable. Over-staffed, and over-priced, to say the least. The entire model could use a disruption.

Big name reputable college brands will survive. Talking the large public schools flush with cash, and ivy league.

Highly recommend the podcast 'The Prof G Show' for weekly economic analysis of this particular topic (and others).

 

[BigHornRam]

Adapt or die.......like every other business will have to do.

 

[rwc101]

The virus is a bump in the road. What direction the country takes on student loans will be more impactful, imo.

 

[MThuntr]

Makes for a good argument for picking a trade and being "essential". One could only hope nonsense courses and degrees will become obsolete (at least in public schools)

 

[Gellar]

I have a bachelor of science degree. I would not have gotten a job out of college without it. 4 out of 5 days of the week I am doing something I knew how to do before college or have learned on the job and never had a college class on. We need to stop requiring degrees for jobs that might be better suited for apprenticeships or can be learned with experience.
Loan debt is another thing. My wife and I made the decision we were not going to buy new vehicles or a big house out of college instead we payed off our college loans in half the time. Now many of our friends who have continually put there loans on deferment or have on payed interest might get them forgiven. That is b.s.

 

[BigHornRam]

I have a bachelor of science degree. I would not have gotten a job out of college without it. 4 out of 5 days of the week I am doing something I knew how to do before college or have learned on the job and never had a college class on. We need to stop requiring degrees for jobs that might be better suited for apprenticeships or can be learned with experience.
Loan debt is another thing. My wife and I made the decision we were not going to buy new vehicles or a big house out of college instead we payed off our college loans in half the time. Now many of our friends who have continually put there loans on deferment or have on payed interest might get them forgiven. That is b.s.

 

[justdada]

A large number of colleges, especially small expensive universities, and poorly managed (re: financially) land grant universities will go under because of this. They will not survive the lack of out of state and international tuition that is coming down the pipe. Here in Montana, I am worried about U of M specifically. MSU is in better shape, but still relies on a lot of out of state tuition.

The ongoing and increasingly worse unemployment situation is going to put more demand on student loans, and will potentially strain that infrastructure.

Frankly, a lot of this may be a good thing. Our university system is bloated and unsustainable. Over-staffed, and over-priced, to say the least. The entire model could use a disruption.

Big name reputable college brands will survive. Talking the large public schools flush with cash, and ivy league.

Highly recommend the podcast 'The Prof G Show' for weekly economic analysis of this particular topic (and others).

This….
Sadly, a large percentage of American Universities were near the breaking point before all this went down. Those without huge bankrolls and generous boosters will likely not make it.

 

[Nameless Range]

FWIW, I think we are entering the age of the autodidact in some sectors of the economy that used to require 4 year degrees or more - particularly technology. IT departments across the world are paying big bucks to people who have no college degree, or an associates degree, based not on the paper associated with their name, but because of what they can I do. I see it even in the public sector, and feel it is a far better way to move forward.

I got soured on college, and do not feel I got what I paid for in terms of learning. One could argue I got what I paid for because it allowed me to be eligible for great jobs, but that is kind of backwards isn't it? I attended the University of Montana for 4 years and worked there for 3 years, and to me it was top heavy, and Graduate Students are basically unpaid labor.

I'm not against a broad program, and definitely think folks need a breadth of knowledge outside of their speciality, but the bang for your buck isn't there anymore. It just isn't.

Think of the job you have now. What percentage of the knowledge you have came from your schooling and what percentage came from on-the-job-training or focused learning after college? I'm sure it is different for everyone, but for me that latter dwarfs the former.

On top of that, as is evidenced by the current distance learning situation - the internet is capable of killing most everything brick and mortar. I'm not saying that's good.

 

[Irrelevant]

For the sake of my son, and every up and coming teenage boy I sure hope it's just a bump in the road. The joys of college cannot be replicated elsewhere or under different conditions.

 

[JTHOMP]

Are the online courses now the same price? When I was in college, for whatever reason that doesn’t makes sense to me, online and hybrid courses were more expensive. Is that still the case for classes starting in the summer or next semester?

Over all I think it’s a bump in the road. Eventually things will go back to normal. The economy will straighten out. And we’ll forget about it as we do most things. Maybe a few more people will realize often learning a trade is a better option then a degree. But then again maybe not. Until a bad oil spill happens I’m not an essential employee while the stay at home order is in place. And probably still in the same situation when the stay at home is lifted and we transition into Phase 1. A degree got me a job that is still secure enough for me to stay home doing busy work while getting the same paycheck every two weeks.

I’d love to see less entry level jobs not require a degree but idk what would have to happen for that to change.

And I also wonder if after this more businesses and government agencies will expand work from home options for employees.

 

[MTLabrador]

FWIW, I think we are entering the age of the autodidact in some sectors of the economy that used to require 4 year degrees or more - particularly technology. IT departments across the world are paying big bucks to people who have no college degree, or an associates degree, based not on the paper associated with their name, but because of what they can I do. I see it even in the public sector, and feel it is a far better way to move forward.

I got soured on college, and do not feel I got what I paid for in terms of learning. One could argue I got what I paid for because it allowed me to be eligible for great jobs, but that is kind of backwards isn't it? I attended the University of Montana for 4 years and worked there for 3 years, and to me it was top heavy, and Graduate Students are basically unpaid labor.

I'm not against a broad program, and definitely think folks need a breadth of knowledge outside of their speciality, but the bang for your buck isn't there anymore. It just isn't.

Think of the job you have now. What percentage of the knowledge you have came from your schooling and what percentage came from on-the-job-training or focused learning after college? I'm sure it is different for everyone, but for me that latter dwarfs the former.

On top of that, as is evidenced by the current distance learning situation - the internet is capable of killing most everything brick and mortar. I'm not saying that's good.

This really mirrors my experience. I went to Montana State, and the whole time I was there it was beat into my head that a Master’s degree was going to be an absolute requirement to ever be employed in my field of study. I was fed up with college enough by the time I graduated that I never considered going back for a Master’s.

I spent every summer working in my degree field (Fish and Wildlife) and gaining a ton of practical field experience that did a lot more for me than any time I spent in class.

For me, college was worth it because a Bachelor’s degree is a stated requirement of my career. I had my goals in place before I ever entered school and knew what I was working towards. In contrast, I knew many people who went to school with no idea what they wanted to do with their degree, and most of them struggled. Even going to a state school is a very expensive way to party and figure out what you want to do with your life.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

Maybe I'm an outlier, but I don't think online learning is equivalent. It is what it is for now, but current students are losing out.

Thinking back on my courses there are only a handful that you could really do online and not walk away with a dramatically degraded experience.

 

[WalkingBird]

This really mirrors my experience. I went to Montana State, and the whole time I was there it was beat into my head that a Master’s degree was going to be an absolute requirement to ever be employed in my field of study. I was fed up with college enough by the time I graduated that I never considered going back for a Master’s.

I spent every summer working in my degree field (Fish and Wildlife) and gaining a ton of practical field experience that did a lot more for me than any time I spent in class.

For me, college was worth it because a Bachelor’s degree is a stated requirement of my career. I had my goals in place before I ever entered school and knew what I was working towards. In contrast, I knew many people who went to school with no idea what they wanted to do with their degree, and most of them struggled. Even going to a state school is a very expensive way to party and figure out what you want to do with your life.

I can second this from a Wildlife perspective. We were also told throughout our college careers in New York (I went to Paul Smith's) that we really need to further our education to succeed, but I was lucky enough to land a wildlife job straight out of school and have spent every year since working in wildlife, while many of my cohort who went on to get their masters, very few of them returned to wildlife or even entered the profession in the first place.

 

[FamilyMan]

I have a bachelor of science degree. I would not have gotten a job out of college without it. 4 out of 5 days of the week I am doing something I knew how to do before college or have learned on the job and never had a college class on. We need to stop requiring degrees for jobs that might be better suited for apprenticeships or can be learned with experience.

Couldn't possibly agree more. I spent four years getting a degree in Civil Engineering and don't use 90% of what I was taught in college - all on the job training! It is my strongly held belief that Universities require students to take all those extra courses (the so-called well rounded education) for the sole purpose of keeping you there longer so that they make more money. Absolutely no reason that an engineer needs to learn what is taught in humanities courses. Heck, two-thirds of my engineering courses were entirely unnecessary. And don't even get me started on Calculus, Physics, and Chemistry. Again, three-quarters of what I was forced to sit through to earn my degree was a total waste of time and its only purpose was to enrich the university.