The Factory of Graduates

CINDY LUO
Staff Writer

Due to states allocating funding for public universities based on graduation rates, universities are proposing new ways to graduate more students more efficiently. For instance, some schools are changing graduation requirements and others are letting students use credits earned by taking online courses.

Though it is understandable that colleges are under the pressure of graduating students more quickly for less money and tying graduates’ skills to workforce needs, the idea that assumes that lowering standards in order to pass more students can be a solution is incorrect.

In recent years, the reasons for attending college have become unquestionably linked with career development and better income potential, but higher education does not guarantee a good job. Instead, education is a tool to help increase students’ knowledge in their intended field all while improving their chances for a more successful future.

According to The Atlantic, most of the curriculum proposed by school officials lack the focus of what students should learn for intended field. Instead, colleges have turned into a mass production stamping out graduates without strict inspection of their qualifications, diminishing the reasons for education. If more and more colleges follow this flow, higher level institutions will turn into academic factories that only aim for the sole purpose of the diploma and neglecting the quality of education.