“College is increasingly being defined narrowly as job preparation, not as something designed to educate the whole person,” The author keeps making this point

“College is increasingly being defined narrowly as job preparation, not as something designed to educate the whole person,” The author keeps making this point over and over again, so sure, I'll bite. First, I'm a huge fan of a classic liberal education. It truly enriches life, and so much of that kind of an education is literally priceless. Having said that, colleges are only ending up exactly where they wanted to go: at the bank. If colleges keep charging more and more money, it's perfectly reasonable for the people paying for and loaning the money (not to mention the poor saps going into debt for most of their life) to ask themselves "Am I getting something for this money where I know the money will be replaced one day?" Because money, you know, doesn't grow on trees. It's one thing to be independently wealthy or a trust fund kid and take ten years of ancient Greek pottery. It's another to have mom and dad mortgage the house for it. And while a classic liberal education can't be replaced and is priceless to have, lots of things in life can't be replaced and are priceless to have. Life is full of things that we don't put price tags on. But that doesn't mean they don't cost anything. Colleges are pricing themselves out of the market. Humanities are the first to go. Our system of higher education needs rethinking and refactoring. There's a huge pivot coming, whether these institutions are ready for it or not. And while that might not be such a good thing for overstaffed humanities departments, that's a great thing for people wanting to make their lives better.