Colleges and Universities in Crisis: High Cost, Worthless Degrees

There is a crisis in the academic world today. The cost of a college education has risen into the stratosphere at the same time that critics are pointing out that many of the degrees students spend thousands of dollars on are worthless. As a retired college educator, I'm not surprised by this crisis, but I am saddened, especially about what's happened in the once respected field of Humanities and in the social "sciences."

I've just been reading a short piece over at PJ Media's Dr. Helen. She links to Charlotte Allen's review of a self published book called Worthless: The Indispensable Guide to Choosing the Right Major. The book is by Aaron Clarey. Here's a quotation from Allen's review.


Boiled down to a few words, Clarey's message is this: Do not under any circumstance waste your or your parents' time, money, and credit rating to acquire a degree titled "Bachelor of Arts." Those degrees are the "worthless" sheepskins of Clarey's book title. Instead, focus on degrees that will promise you a decent living when you graduate. Those degrees are titled "Bachelor of Science," they almost invariably lie in the "STEM" fields (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), as well as statistics and accounting, and they involve the mastery of math.     

Allen says that Clarey expresses great scorn for


majors in "Hyphenated-American" studies. That means "African-American Studies," "Gay/Bi/Lesbian/Transgender-American Studies," and so forth. "Frankly, these are particularly dirty and low degrees, in that they are not only worthless, but they target minority groups as their victims," Clarey writes, pointing out that blacks aren't helped economically by paying tuition to explore their black identity--nor gays helped by paying to explore their gay identity. 


That last sentence identifies a particularly odious and disgusting practice. It's really a scam, a con, a hustle. The college or university has built in authority in spades (pun intended, especially if minority shills are used). They say to the gullible student, trust us, we are experts in these matters. American culture is prejudiced against you, but we're on your side. Get your student loan. Study with us and learn how deep the prejudice is in our society. You can then use your valuable degree to help eliminate the prejudice and make society better.

But what kind of real job is available to the student after graduation with a major in one of these hyphenated-American Studies degrees? Maybe she could get a high paying job at the giant Anti-Prejudice Corporation, Inc. Good luck with that.

I suppose the poor student could at least join one of the "occupy" movements. Maybe get on TV. Build a resume that way. Again, good luck with that.

The student today should be a wary consumer. Check graduation rates in a particular major. And even more important, check job placement rates in that major.

If you're a prospective college student, or if someone in your family is, you can easily become an informed consumer. Start by reading Charlotte Allen's review of the book by Clarey, Worthless. Then, buy Clarey's book; it's only $5 on Kindle ($12.95 paper). Do more research. Read more articles and books. Continue looking here and here. But don't stop with a couple of websites. Wear out your Google search engine. You're about to spend a truckload of money. Spend it wisely.

Or, you could take this novel approach from the late '70s, early '80s. Instead of spending those thousands of dollars on a regular (possibly worthless) college education, you could attend Father Guido's famous Five Minute University. Is there nothing new under the sun? This old clip shows you that people have been questioning the value of a college education for a long time. A tip of my shabby old mortarboard to Montana buddy George for reminding me of this.