As I
write this, it is snowing again in Rhode Island, to absolutely no one’s
surprise, and to Rhody’s continuing delight.
In short, a good time to read and write, something University of Rhode
Island students do a lot. Two articles
appeared within a few days of each other in February that caught my attention:
“The Rich Man’s Dropout Club”, by Beth McMurtrie in the Chronicle of Higher Education, and “Bachelor’s degrees lead to
employment and more training”, by Paul Fain, in Inside Higher Education. Both
articles are worth reading, if you have not already read them. And both
contribute to the ongoing conversation about the value of higher education in
America today.
The
article by Fain begins with the assertion: “Doubts about the labor-market
returns of bachelor’s degrees, while never serious, can be put to rest.” That is probably comforting to the students
who have recently received, or are working towards, a bachelor’s degree, as
well as to their families. The data and
analyses described in the article are consistent with numerous previous studies
and the experiences shared with me by innumerable graduates of the institutions
I have served – Amherst College, Montana State University, and the University
of Rhode Island. Personally, it is
certainly true that I graduated from UCSD with far more knowledge, with new and
essential skills, and with greater wisdom than when I entered. It would have been simply impossible for me
to succeed without what I learned and experienced in those four years.
However,
I certainly agree with the statement that: “college is not for everyone”. That is self-evident. The article by McMurtrie chronicles the
experiences of several members of the inaugural class of Thiel Fellows. You may recall that these fellowships were
established by billionaire Peter Thiel to provide $100,000 to talented young
people so they could forgo higher education and pursue their ambitions
immediately. It generated a lot of
attention at the time. One
interpretation of the results (based on the CHE article): generously funded
fellowships with the freedom to pursue your own ideas are not for everyone
either (even those chosen in a highly selective process).
Here
is what resonated with me from the accounts in the McMurtrie story: “The most
valuable part of the fellowship for many wasn’t the freedom or the money but
the network they were plugged into. Although less structured in its early days,
the fellowship now offers retreats, internships, summer housing, and teams of
advisors who work in and around the industries to which the fellows
aspire.” Hmmm, at the University of
Rhode Island, and many, many other institutions of higher education, we would
call that experiential learning. And it
has been around for a while.
We
know that experiential learning, whether via internships or in laboratories, or
the field, or in many other contexts, is a powerful educational strategy. Research, creative work, and experiential
learning provide unique opportunities for learning that cannot be replicated in
standard classrooms. That is why these activities are a key part of our
Academic Strategic Plan, and why we created the Center for Career and
Experiential Education and the Business Engagement Center. This is one reason
why we brought the Small Business Development Center and the Manufacturing
Extension Partnership under the URI umbrella. It is why we are connecting our
private-sector partners and alumni with our students. One of the most
impressive and exciting outcomes of URI’s new January term is the additional opportunity
it provides for rich and rewarding experiential learning (more on this in the
next post).
The
final point I would like to make after reflecting on these articles is this. It
is true that college is not for everyone. Very few things are good for
everyone. But the opportunity to go to college should be provided to everyone. The challenges of the 21st century
are difficult, vast, and complicated. The more we know, the more we can learn,
the better equipped we collectively will be to meet them.
