- One of the major points that were brought up in this chapter in regard to how higher education is now structured is the difference between the stereotypical 4 year college experience and reality. Selingo mentions how the college experience has been viewed as when 18 year old kids “pack up their family sedans… head off to college” (81), he even referred to this mindset as a “great Hollywood narrative”. This however proves to not be the case in real life as only 2 in 10 undergraduates actually go to a 4 year residential college and even less actually finish on time showing one major difference between higher education now and how it is perceived through Hollywood due to the experiences of past generations. Selingo references how many colleges and many paths of students is now beginning to follow that of colleges such as Valencia college which not only offers its students a 4 year degree but also contains a University of Central Florida outpost in its college giving students an opportunity to also receive a degree with majors from the University without actually having to leave Valencia College.
2) Another point that was mentioned within this chapter is the idea of credits. Credits were originally developed so the federal government can predict how long a faculty member was present within the school which includes teaching time as well as work outside the class. Selingo references in this chapter that there is a flaw with the credit system in modern higher education because campuses no longer hold only 18-20 year old students with a lot of free time on their hands, it is now the opposite with students of many different ages and of course many different responsibilities. Colleges are also more expensive than they were 2 or 3 decades ago yet they still teach the same way in regard to credits and it is something that didn’t evolve with the changing dynamic of college students.
3) The Competency Model (84) is a model of learning that allows students and colleges to receive their credits not on how long they spent in a chair but instead on how much they know. Through a series of tests which serve to see if a person understands the concept it opens up 2 major possibilities that are simply unavailable in the credit system mentioned above. First of all, this series of tests allows a person to move on in their studies once they know the topic, they no longer have to spend 3 months studying a topic that they may already know and they would not have to arrange time to go to the unneeded classes which holds value to the ever changing type of students present in colleges such as a single mother who would like a degree for a new job but simply doesn’t have the time to go to the classes. On the other end of the spectrum the competency model allows members of the college to take as much time as they would need to study for the test. They would not be rushed with the rigor of a 14-15 week semester which may also be crowded with a full time job. The model is seen successful in the case of Sheryl Schuh who paid 3000 dollars for a 6 month period where she can complete as many classes as she could’ve (85).
4) Selingo mentions the importance of prior credits as well (87) and their overall importance to a college student. This is when a college offers credits for things learned outside of the classroom which their skills are tested on. It is mentioned that students who can receive credit for work or skills learned outside of the classroom are twice as likely to graduate than those who did not receive said credits (88).
5) Another big topic that Selingo mentions in chapter 7 is the case of Jose Brown who is a man about to retire but does want to get a new degree to get a job for after his retirement. In turns out that he needs 6 more credits to graduate however the next semester begins in 3 months. Brown sees an ad for “Straighter Line” a diploma mill that doesn’t hand out degrees for cheap (78). Brown decides to take the classes anyway, passes and receives the necessary credits that can get transferred to his college which allow him to graduate.
