Life Experience Degrees Exposed
A recent article published on TheBlaze.com reports that online learning is starting to replace the traditional classroom experience for students, and universities are beginning to take notice of this growing trend. Some school and university officials feel that in order to compete with online courses, they need to put more emphasis on offering a quality teaching experience. They feel that if students don't have a human interaction with their professors, it may cause them to lack interest in staying on campus for four years rather than taking online courses in their spare time instead. In response, many universities are now offering life experience degrees where students can earn credits by doing things like babysitting or working retail.
While this option may sound extreme to some, it's actually proven to attract some rather talented students. An article on BusinessInsider.com reports that students from prestigious Ivy League schools have decided to go the life experience route since they can earn a bachelor's degree in just two years instead of the usual four. For example, junior Samantha Greenberg earned enough credits for her English degree by working as a nanny for several different families and she was able to finish the degree in only three years. She also said that she was able to learn more about herself by going through these experiences, rather than sitting inside a classroom and studying other people stand up and talk about their own experiences.
Still, online courses are a growing trend and they are becoming a legitimate option for students who want to get an education without actually having to step foot on campus. It's been reported that students in the United States will save over $155.8 billion by taking at least some of their classes online. While some universities may argue that this is due to them offering high-quality teaching experiences, it's most likely because the inexpensive cost of the courses attract more students in the first place. But with many prestigious colleges offering life experience degrees now, it seems as though they've realized that they need to put more effort into keeping students invested in their own campus if they want them to continue attending school there as long as possible.
Sources:
Bell, Alison. "Masters Degrees in Retail, Babysitting Are Real and a Growing Trend." BusinessInsider.com. Business Insider, Inc, 28 June 2015. Web. 16 July 2015. <http://www.businessinsider.com/the-best-universities-in-the-world-2015-6?op=1>.
Buchholz, Martin A., and Bryan Mathers Pinto. "Courses You Can Earn Credit For." TheBlaze.com: Covering Politics, Culture and Power From All Angles of the Political Spectrum . TheBlaze Network LCC, 22 May 2015. Web. 16 July 2015. <http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2015/05/22/courses-you-can-earn-credit-for/>.
Greenberg, Samantha S., and Robert Dolan. "Samantha Greenberg Finally Achieves Her BA in Only 3 Years." BusinessInsider.com . Business Insider, Inc, 10 April 2015 . Web. 16 July 2015 . <http://www.businessinsider.com/samantha-greenbergs-3year-bachelors-degree-dolan20142015>.
Pinto, Bryan Mathers, and Martin A. Buchholz. "How to Get a Life Experience Degree." TheBlaze . TheBlaze Network LCC, 6 March 2015 . Web. 16 July 2015 . <http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2015/03/06/how-to-get-a-life-experience-degree/>.
"Statistics On Online Education." Wikipedia . Wikimedia Foundation, n.d . Web. 16 July 2015 . <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_50_universities_in_the_world>.
"Student Jobs." Wikipedia . Wikimedia Foundation, n.d . Web. 16 July 2015 . <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Student_jobs>.
To read more on this story, click here for TheBlaze's coverage: Life Experience Degrees Exposed | Mark D. Smith | July 15, 2015 | TheBlaze - Full Coverage
Title: Why College Students Should Consider A Career-Based Degree
Jed Kresnow has a point when he tells students to consider a career-based degree rather than solely focusing on the traditional four-year college degree if they want a secure future in today's job market. The fact is that there are more jobs available if you have a career-based degree rather than a college degree alone. As the popularity of college degrees rise, so is competition, especially when it comes to starting salaries. A survey conducted by Bloomberg Business reports that the average starting salary for a college graduate in the field of computer science is $72,000. However, in the same survey done by Bloomberg Business, those who received their degrees in technology or computer engineering only made an average of $57,700. This is only a mere $15,300 less than the bachelor's degree salary, which is a significant amount of money to lose if you aren't interested in spending four years studying.
Additionally, those who hold a doctorate or PhD degree in the computer sciences are paid even more than those holding bachelor's degrees. The survey shows that people who hold a doctorate or PhD in computer science make an average of $108,000 per year. Plus, those with undergraduate degrees can still pursue master's and PhD programs later on if they feel like it. Those with degrees already will have an easier time getting accepted into these higher-level programs because they have more experience and knowledge to bring to the table.
Conclusion
To read more on this story, click here for TheBlaze's coverage: If You Want A Secure Future, Consider a Career-Based Degree Not Just a Traditional 4-Year Degree | Mark D. Smith | July 15, 2015 | TheBlaze - Full Coverage
Title: Paris Attacks Expose Failed State of Europe
This story is originally from Pat Buchanan's column in the American Conservative on Nov. 18, 2015. It has been republished by Intellectual Takeout with permission from the author. To read more content written by Pat Buchanan and other authors in the Public Interest community, please visit the Pat Buchanan Blog.