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Universities aren't in business of educating, they are in business of: 1. Pre-selecting the best, so that employers don't have to spend money on the se
by DenisM 17y ago
Universities aren't in business of educating, they are in business of:
1. Pre-selecting the best, so that employers don't
have to spend money on the selection process.
2. Getting similarly-minded people to know each other.
The education is just a ruse, really.
- roc 17y agoTo be fair: most students aren't going to college strictly for education either.
- Locke1689 17y agoNeither are most of the professors. In fact, I'd assume that most of the professors aren't even there primarily for the teaching. People keep assuming that universities are an education business. They aren't. They're a research business, with education as a side job. The only reason they do that is to provide grad students (indentured servants) to the professors, who themselves are only as good as their last grant. For one, just look at the operating cost of the top research universities. I pay $50,000 a year at my university. That's a drop in the bucket of the actual operating cost. What really pays the bills? Grant money, patents, etc.
- RyanMcGreal 17y ago> I'd assume that most of the professors aren't even there primarily for the teaching. Professors are at universities to do research. Teaching is a necessary evil.
- sketerpot 17y agoSome of them really do care about teaching. Hint for college students: find these professors.
- RyanMcGreal 17y agoIn fairness I was overgeneralizing; but the main point of being a professor is to do research, and plenty of professors have no problem reminding their undergraduate students of this fact.
- andreyf 17y agoAlso, to serve as a stepping-stone from childhood (living with your parents) to semi-adulthood (doing your own laundry) without having to worry about the "making money, paying rent, and not getting fired" just yet.
- GrandMasterBirt 17y agoI never had it that way. Lived with my parents through college then went with make money or no rent. 1) Colleges DO NOT filter out bad students. I know good and bad programmers who graduated out of my college. 2) The student community formed is also very important. Student communities really foster creativity and help students encourage each other. Online you are alone, isolated. This is a general problem of online human interaction, you are more alone and isolated than usual.
- andreyf 17y agoYou're right, (1) is useful for the parents that don't want their children living with them anymore, but still feel responsible for sustaining them. (2) has more use from the student's perspective - one of the best things about college is being inundated with smart people.
- RobertJ 17y agoI disagree, if they are pre-selecting the best I would venture its because this gives them the numbers that will increase their perceived value- they're in the business of making money and advancing their brand, or rather simply, like any institution, they're in the business of being in business.
- DenisM 17y agoIn other words, you agree. :-)