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Part of the issue is that BA programs are supposed to transition students from high school to the “adult world.” The is very, very hard to do. Look at how man

Part of the issue is that BA programs are supposed to transition students from high school to the “adult world.” The is very, very hard to do. Look at how many BA students wash out at respectable institutions. At least 50%. It required more than classes. It requires mentoring, encouraging, and shaping students to a degree that’s hard to do online. Graduate degrees are different. They take in people who have already graduated, and who are more adapted. Not many Ph. D students throw keggers five times a week.

ChuckMcM 7y ago
Of all the answers here, this is the one I resonate with the most. There is a tremendous diversity in skill levels of students entering a Bachelor's program, from borderline illiterate to exceptionally equipped. And say what you will about whether or not a college degree is "important", everyone I've ever met[1] who has one has some key skills that not everyone has; the ability to work on a project over time, some ability to research a question, and the ability to work on "uninteresting" things to get to the "interesting" things. Getting a masters degree is about processing information, organizing it into something you can use, and then demonstrating your skill at that by applying to to a problem of your choosing. These programs can "assume" you've got the basic skills already and work from there. [1] And being a nerd is biased toward BS degrees rather than BA degrees but the trend seems consistent to me.
- kittiepryde 7y ago
  I haven't seen much correlation between degree-ed-ness and capability. But, I have seen the belief you are talking about. It's very wide spread, especially in HR departments.
  - runawaybottle 7y ago
    There is also a dark truth about degrees and online courses. A lot of people know how to make it through these things by learning things on a shallow level. That’s why the credibility gets shoddier and shoddier over time.
- frozenport 7y ago
  You're going to be sad when you here about the non-thesis yielding master's programs which make up a majority of the remote degrees.
mrosett 7y ago
How much mentoring do you think goes on at your average school? My assumption is the motivated students seek it out, but the 5x/week kegger types probably get very little.
- Retric 7y ago
  My experience is it’s struggling students who seek out mentoring. That may be because their holding down a job while in school, have kids, or dug them selves a hole by spending to much time playing video games / at parties etc. Around 70% of students who graduate high school are going to collage. That’s a huge swath of people who are dealing with a huge range of issues.
  - mrosett 7y ago
    > That may be because their holding down a job while in school, have kids, or dug them selves a hole by spending to much time playing video games / at parties etc. Interesting. I saw the opposite; people who are struggling don't always have the time, energy, or skills to build relationships with potential mentors.
- chongli 7y ago
  The people who are struggling and don't seek help, preferring to go to the kegger, are the ones who drop out. Sure, there are probably some who do really well and still find time to party, but they are a brilliant minority. University is a filtering mechanism as much anything. Our culture no longer has any formalized rite of passage the way indigenous cultures have. Getting through university, especially in tough programs such as math, hard sciences, or engineering, is the only rite of passage we have left. Even the days when someone could graduate high school and immediately get a factory job that pays well enough to support a family are gone.
  - goatinaboat 7y ago
    Getting through university, especially in tough programs such as math, hard sciences, or engineering, is the only rite of passage we have left. Not really true. Anyone who wants a more traditional “rite of passage” to adulthood can join the military at 18 and go to boot camp.
sirsuki 7y ago
What the an Associate’s Degree for then?

ChuckMcM 7y ago

Of all the answers here, this is the one I resonate with the most. There is a tremendous diversity in skill levels of students entering a Bachelor's program, from borderline illiterate to exceptionally equipped. And say what you will about whether or not a college degree is "important", everyone I've ever met[1] who has one has some key skills that not everyone has; the ability to work on a project over time, some ability to research a question, and the ability to work on "uninteresting" things to get to the "interesting" things. Getting a masters degree is about processing information, organizing it into something you can use, and then demonstrating your skill at that by applying to to a problem of your choosing. These programs can "assume" you've got the basic skills already and work from there. [1] And being a nerd is biased toward BS degrees rather than BA degrees but the trend seems consistent to me.

kittiepryde 7y ago
I haven't seen much correlation between degree-ed-ness and capability. But, I have seen the belief you are talking about. It's very wide spread, especially in HR departments.
- runawaybottle 7y ago
  There is also a dark truth about degrees and online courses. A lot of people know how to make it through these things by learning things on a shallow level. That’s why the credibility gets shoddier and shoddier over time.
frozenport 7y ago
You're going to be sad when you here about the non-thesis yielding master's programs which make up a majority of the remote degrees.

mrosett 7y ago

How much mentoring do you think goes on at your average school? My assumption is the motivated students seek it out, but the 5x/week kegger types probably get very little.

Retric 7y ago
My experience is it’s struggling students who seek out mentoring. That may be because their holding down a job while in school, have kids, or dug them selves a hole by spending to much time playing video games / at parties etc. Around 70% of students who graduate high school are going to collage. That’s a huge swath of people who are dealing with a huge range of issues.
- mrosett 7y ago
  > That may be because their holding down a job while in school, have kids, or dug them selves a hole by spending to much time playing video games / at parties etc. Interesting. I saw the opposite; people who are struggling don't always have the time, energy, or skills to build relationships with potential mentors.
chongli 7y ago
The people who are struggling and don't seek help, preferring to go to the kegger, are the ones who drop out. Sure, there are probably some who do really well and still find time to party, but they are a brilliant minority. University is a filtering mechanism as much anything. Our culture no longer has any formalized rite of passage the way indigenous cultures have. Getting through university, especially in tough programs such as math, hard sciences, or engineering, is the only rite of passage we have left. Even the days when someone could graduate high school and immediately get a factory job that pays well enough to support a family are gone.
- goatinaboat 7y ago
  Getting through university, especially in tough programs such as math, hard sciences, or engineering, is the only rite of passage we have left. Not really true. Anyone who wants a more traditional “rite of passage” to adulthood can join the military at 18 and go to boot camp.

sirsuki 7y ago

What the an Associate’s Degree for then?