So, what is college?

As I understand it, neither the state's elected officials nor my university have clearly articulated to the public what it means to be college educated, especially in the 21st century.  The looming layoff makes it evident that my understanding of what it means to be college educated is worlds away from what the university's managers think.

The following commentary was published in April 2015.
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What is Oregon’s definition of a college education?

I am delighted that Oregon’s Legislature is discussing higher education via the many bills that have been introduced.

There is urgency as well. College education is rapidly becoming a must-have for the young to be economically successful, though I am personally frustrated with the marginalization of vocational education. While a ninth-grade level education would have been good enough a century ago (hence, the tradition of celebrating high school graduation as an achievement in life), the worry now is that a person without a college degree might not even get an interview for an entry-level job.

Further, many students earn college credits from community colleges, for-profit institutions or colleges in other states, and we want to help them with putting all those credits to use toward a degree and not waste that investment. All these matter, especially when a typical college graduate exits the system with more than $20,000 in debt.

I understand, therefore, the legislators’ interest in making higher education more efficient. The bills being considered include accelerated college credits programs that begin even from the high school years, to making transferring credits across institutions easier, to funding that will be tied to outcomes.

However, these also have the potential to make the current situation even worse for a single reason that we do not seem to appreciate and recognize. Investing in, and growing, “intellectual capital” via higher education is not the same as patching together college credits gained from different institutions starting with the high school.

Such a patchwork would add up to a college diploma, yes. However, that piece of paper is not by itself any measure of the intellectual capital that is vital for a vibrant economy and democracy.

If lawmakers believe that higher education is merely a collection of college credits, then their efforts — and the resulting investment of taxpayer dollars — will be wasted. As Aristotle observed centuries ago, the whole is often more than the sum of its parts. A mere collection of credits from different places, or even from the same institution, will only rarely add up to what it means to be college-educated.

If it is more than collection of credits, then what exactly is a college education?

Unfortunately, that is the discussion that is sorely lacking. “What does it mean to be college educated in the 21st century?” is a question that is neglected and increasingly, even discredited.

Higher education institutions in particular deserve to be blamed for not articulating a clear idea of what it means to be college educated. Colleges and universities, instead, typically offer a cafeteria menu-like format of classes to take toward graduation. It is such a checklist system that has also led lawmakers, and students and their families, to think of higher education as nothing but a crazy patchwork of credits.

On the other hand, a committed and sustained discussion on what it means to be college educated in the 21st century will lead to a clear definition of how we ought to prepare students for “a world of unscripted problems,” to borrow a phrase from the American Association of Colleges and Universities.

Now, if only the lawmakers can force us to think about that question!