Share/Bookmark Subscribe in a reader
 
Picture
Recently I have been involved in a hot topic about our current College and University system that is in place on Modite.  We have been discussing the current procedures they have in place and how that it may not be in the best interest for the student.  I will talk about my own personal experience which you may not agree with.  Please post all of your comments so that we can discuss how your experience may have been better or if you have had a similar experience I would love to hear about it. 

 

I will list the 5 hurdles that I believe Colleges and Universities are facing right now.  Both the good and the bad will be discussed why I think something is a good practice in place right now or why I think something needs to change.  At the end of each section I will have a question for you to answer.

 

  1. Part-Time Professors
  2. Overcrowded Classrooms
  3. Real Life Experience
  4. Cost Vs. Value
  5. The Final Result “Career”
 

First I will talk about Part-Time professors.  I think this is a failing process because Part-Time professors do not get paid like they are a Full-Time professor.  This means that more than likely they will have another career as their main source of income.  The problem is that Part-Time professors cannot focus 100% of their time and energy on the student’s education because their other position will require their attention as well.  Every time their other position will get the greater amount of attention over the student because they have to retain that main source of income.  Rightly so but should it be at the students expense they are not getting the same amount of commitment? 

 

However the advantage of having a Part-Time professor is their real life experience that they can offer.  Obviously if you are taking their class you have some interest in learning about their career and if that is what you want for your future career.  You can also pick up a mentor along the way to help you become successful and talk with you about their goals and failures and how they got where they are.  This is important to learn from doing and from someone who has had the experience so that you do not make the same mistakes they have made in the past.  I will end it with that sentence or else I will get to far into number three.

 

Question 1:  Do you think it is worth the lack of time commitment and ability to focus 100% on the students from the Part-Time professor to learn real life experience?

 

The second hurdle I believe Colleges are facing is the over crowded classroom.  With the recession in full swing many unemployed workers are returning to Colleges to learn new skills and open new doors for themselves.  My problem is when they have over 100+ students in one lecture hall feverishly writing down every piece of literature they see on the projector screen.  To many times have I been in a huge classroom doing nothing but writing down notes for the entire hour and a half never actually listening to what the professor said and having no interest or ability to learn the information. 

 

The only advantage to having large classroom sizes that I could think of is the networking opportunities and meeting others with similar career aspirations.  Having group projects to work in and also study groups is a great way to meet people and learn different things from them.  Utilize this time to learn work styles and personality traits from people to help you read individuals actions this will help you in the workplace.  Teamwork and the ability to work with others is a great trait to learn while in college so your office coworker relationships can develop and grow while in your career.

 

Question 2:  How do you work best in a large group or by yourself? 1, 5, 15, 50

 

The third obstacle colleges are struggling with I find to be the most important.  How do you offer real life experience in colleges and universities?  Most classes they teach you how to take notes, study, meet deadlines, etc. but how do you teach a college student important life experience to help them meet their goals to find a great career.  Our colleges have been employing very young professors that have little to no real life experiences and they are trying to teach about it.  When you have professors that complete their under grad to continue on and get their graduate degree and then they go and get hired directly from the university.  This is great for them they have a great schedule and a secure job but they do not have real life in a workplace or office setting experience to offer them.  There must be a steady median to work out in which colleges offer more than just an internship for real life experience to the students.  Most of the internships that I had been offered included me doing a lot of paperwork and some kind of research that had nothing to do with what I wanted in a career.

 

I do think in some cases it is a good thing to have younger professors teaching as they may be able to relate better and also they may be more subject to change compared to the tenured professors.  Generally tenured professors do not like change so they stick with what they have always taught which is not always what is happening in the real world.  For instance look at the last couple of years if a marketing teacher still talks solely about billboard and television advertisement to sustain a business that student will be far behind the curve.  In regards to Marketing they must talk about the age of Social Media Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook all have been created in the past couple of years but are influential to the ways the business world operates.  I think some of the younger professors are more likely to adapt to the change and help the college students benefit from it.

 

Question 3:  Do you think internships alone offer enough real world experience for college students to be an asset to a company?

 

We all know the value of a college education is priceless.  At least that is what we have had stuffed into our brains from our parents and role models alike since many of us could talk.  In all reality how can we put a price on what our college education is worth?  I will tell you any College or University anywhere has no problem telling you what it is worth and it is always astronomical.  Since I went to college in my hometown I lucked out and did not have to pay housing fees every year.  I recently went on to a website from the College Board it helps you calculate the approximate cost that will be associated with going to a four year college.  Just attending an in state public college for four years will cost you over $80,000 not including books or any other ridiculous charge they like to get you with.  My main focus in this section is the fact that you have to pay out that much for college I think it should be worth it. 

 

I do understand that colleges have expenses that they must pay and that some of that cost is directly a reflection on tuition.  Also with that tuition they can expand their research and facilities to make the college more credible which is very important.  I will say it is extremely important to have a college degree in this time that we live in as just about any professional position you apply for any longer you must have a 4 year degree.  You should also consider a college degree an invaluable asset and a great accomplishment. 

 

Question 4:  Here I have two questions the first.  If college were offered to everyone at no extra cost would it be as prestigious to have a degree?  If college cost over a million dollars for four years would you still attend?

 

The final barrier I see that colleges have been running into helping the students achieve the final result a career.  Generation Y has recently been hit with a stunning 18% unemployment rate.  With over 20% of that statistic being recent graduates.  What are colleges and universities doing to help college students find their careers?  Many of them are offering job boards and some are even reaching out to the community to help place some of the recent graduates.  What skills are offered in college classrooms to help them reach their goals of obtaining a meaningful career?  Some possible reasons Generation Y is having difficulty finding a job.  Prior generations are sticking in their jobs in this tough economy in fear of leaving their current positions for better ones.  Due to unemployment prior generations with greater experience are willing to take positions paying less than what they usually make.  Think of it like this one candidate a recent graduate with 4 years of part time retail experience working while attending classes.  The second candidate has 10 years experience in the field you are looking for and they are willing to take a little bit more than the recent grad.  The choice of which candidate to choose is obvious.

 

There are some great benefits to the prior generations holding on to all the jobs.  Many Gen Yer’s are turning to entrepreneurship to fill that void in unemployment.  We have been very successful in creating new business models that prior generations would have never thought of.  Companies involved in Social Media and online networking have ballooned over the past couple years because of college students and recent college grads coming up with new and innovative ideas.  The ideas they come up with everyday will mold what our business model will look like in the future.

 

Question 5:  Do you think Gen Y has been driven to entrepreneurship more so than any other generation?

 

Like I stated earlier this is just my opinion from my own experience I look forward to reading your comments and will reply to each one personally.

 

-Scott

 
 


Comments


Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply