As you've said terminology is important. And yes, I read the article :) . I disagree with it slightly, what I'm arguing for is not to dilute the meaning of degr

As you've said terminology is important. And yes, I read the article :) . I disagree with it slightly, what I'm arguing for is not to dilute the meaning of degree, because that playing field is always going to be uneven in favour of academia. I don't think calling it a degree is helping anybody. If anything it will just cause people to look at the reputation of the institution. (Obviously that already happens a bit, but it's not too bad.) In the UK, they allowed polytechnics (roughly the same as institutes of technology I think) to become universities and award degrees. So while more people were awarded degrees, the reputations did not translate so well. (I think - I welcome rebuttals though.) A consequence of this is that employers put screening tests in place or made them more difficult. These tests favour academic skills. To be fair, a quick screening test will never reflect practical skill well - so it's important the "degrees" or whatever we're calling them called do! Personally, I think there is something lost when you stop using terminology with practical connotations and start using terminology that has academic connotations. People then except roughly the same, so the practical aspect is in danger of being deemphasised. This differentiation is inherently valuable. But I will admit that this rebranding might be a quick, practical fix. I'm just not convinced it's right in the long run. There's a real opportunity to create programs that aren't degrees, but of equal high repute and quality, and are proud of that. Although there are problems I can see with that. One being that college lifestyle is attractive to students, and therefore lucrative. Edit: Or maybe not, what do I know. Maybe the ones we have are good enough, and it is just an image problem? I find that hard to believe, as that would be a costly misconception for businesses. There's also the possibility that college degrees are too ubiquitous, and the labour market will provide enough people fitting that criteria. If we've made it too easy and too common to obtain a degree, then the education system needs rethinking. At the end of the day, I think we agree that improving education is a good thing, and the earlier the better (in both senses).