Posted this on BlazerTalk, but was interested in some opinions from other college sports fans. Though this article spends more time on (apparently) bloated administrations and the "rock" they have become for the "hard place" of state budget cuts in higher ed, the list of departments being cut at these universities is insane. English, physics, history, philosophy, computer science (though I could see this being consolidated into engineering...in fact, didn't we do that?), economics...at what point would you say, "Just cut athletics (or football)," as the value of your diploma tanks? More a philosophical question, really, so no need to compare your school to the University of DC...just if it came to cuts like this would you be a hardliner for sports or against - or neither?

Slate: A Ghost Town with a Quad

At some point they should probably just close...I was a business major, but I still had to take English, physics, and a whole bunch of other stuff. It broadens your base and gives you a better context and perspective for everything. If cutting sports would fix the problem...I'd rather do that. If not...at some point you should close or you just become a bad community college or one of these shady online universities that are everywhere now.

I'm all for closing many colleges in general. I feel like the whole system is becoming a sham. It is getting harder and harder for most to graduate in 4 years, and the system isn't set up to help people in the real world. There is not one thing I do in my job today that I wouldn't have been able to do fresh out of high school.

There are certain jobs that I feel college is necessary for, but there are many, many more that I don't. The system puts a large percentage of the country into enormous amounts of debt, and in the current economy, outside of getting a select few degrees, or knowing the right people, you are not going to make the kind of money needed to pay this debt off quickly. I don't really care if my doctor can write a paper to please his English professor, or if he can tell me who was President in 1827 and what significant events occurred then. I do care if he doesn't know the difference in my stomach and my kidney though.

The system needs to be overhauled, but I feel that we are too deep into it now to ever make a change.

(11-27-2013 09:45 AM)blazers9911 Wrote:  I'm all for closing many colleges in general. I feel like the whole system is becoming a sham. It is getting harder and harder for most to graduate in 4 years, and the system isn't set up to help people in the real world. There is not one thing I do in my job today that I wouldn't have been able to do fresh out of high school.

There are certain jobs that I feel college is necessary for, but there are many, many more that I don't. The system puts a large percentage of the country into enormous amounts of debt, and in the current economy, outside of getting a select few degrees, or knowing the right people, you are not going to make the kind of money needed to pay this debt off quickly. I don't really care if my doctor can write a paper to please his English professor, or if he can tell me who was President in 1827 and what significant events occurred then. I do care if he doesn't know the difference in my stomach and my kidney though.

The system needs to be overhauled, but I feel that we are too deep into it now to ever make a change.

THIS.

This perpetuation of college being a requirement for everyone needs to stop. Some people are just not cut out for college. Some people should go to a CC for two years, grow up a little or gain some perspective before spending tens of thousands of dollars they don't have. The whole tenure thing is also an issue. Why are teachers/profs one of the only groups of people that are basically safeguarded from being fired regardless of what they do? Very, very few other people can say they don't really have to worry about being fired if they are not performing to the level that they should be. That also goes for the bloviated admin portion of the schools. When you have such a large portion of money going towards admin costs there is something wrong. It is still beyone me how schools can be run so horribly. I do not really have an issue with schools focusing on certain majors. While I do see the importance of producing well rounded students, is there really a need for every school to cover all the bases...to include porno studies and basically half of UNCs class portfolio? IF you can afford it, great. However, if the school is struggling there is no reason to pay for unnecessary classes. There are too many universities/colleges. There are too many taking advantage of people (who are also at fault for not doing their research). The whole system needs to be revamped...from the horrible waste of DoE all the way down to CC's.
As far as sports... if you can't afford them...you shouldn't have them. Sports are a luxury. Very, very few are self sustaining and even less are profitable.

(11-27-2013 09:45 AM)blazers9911 Wrote:  I'm all for closing many colleges in general. I feel like the whole system is becoming a sham. It is getting harder and harder for most to graduate in 4 years, and the system isn't set up to help people in the real world. There is not one thing I do in my job today that I wouldn't have been able to do fresh out of high school.

There are certain jobs that I feel college is necessary for, but there are many, many more that I don't. The system puts a large percentage of the country into enormous amounts of debt, and in the current economy, outside of getting a select few degrees, or knowing the right people, you are not going to make the kind of money needed to pay this debt off quickly. I don't really care if my doctor can write a paper to please his English professor, or if he can tell me who was President in 1827 and what significant events occurred then. I do care if he doesn't know the difference in my stomach and my kidney though.

The system needs to be overhauled, but I feel that we are too deep into it now to ever make a change.

I agree…I think some of the course work in college does create a well rounded person but I feel there needs to be shift to more of an "on the job" training approach as opposed to so much theory. Many liberal arts degrees are worthless these days. Most employers are looking for tangible and measurable skills.

These days most college graduates would be better off attending a 2 year trade school and obtaining a true skill that would provide a clear path into the workforce. They would save tens of thousands in tuition costs and secure a better starting salary as well.