In any other context, college would be considered fraudulent

You know who said that?

Me.

Think about it.

If any other industry charged people $100,000, commandeered 4 years of their lives, and then almost universally failed to deliver what was promised, we would call it fraud. Without hesitation.

universities have promised an “education”

But very few students leave with the technical skills employers want, and just as few acquire the soft skills needed for the workplace. They don’t receive anything approaching an acceptable level of career orientation, they don’t know how to navigate the world as a fully functioning adult, and most don’t emerge as the “Renaissance Men” that colleges purport to create.

However, despite their inability to deliver an “education,” in any reasonable sense of the word, universities have largely escaped unscathed.

Why?

Because in the end . . . most students get well-paying jobs when they graduate.

so, all is forgiven

But . . .

Employers haven’t been hiring these kids because of the “education” they just received.

They haven’t been interviewing graduates and saying, “Wow! This kid really knows how to do this job, can use all of the relevant tools, and has professional-grade communication and problem-solving skills.”

No. What has actually been going on is that employers, almost on a subconscious level, have been saying, “Colleges are decent at screening for potential. So, the fact that Timothy got accepted by and graduated from College X means that he’s got enough potential to consider hiring.”

employers have been hiring because of the signaling of a graduate’s potential

That signal is based on universities’ competencies as screening mechanisms, not educational institutions.

And then, what’s been happening is that everyone confuses the value of the signal with the value of the “education.”

Ultimately, it’s this confusion that has protected universities.

“You get me a great job, and I’ll go along with your fiction that it was because of the great education that I received.”

It reminds me of a common sports saying,

“winning covers a multitude of sins”

However, employers have become increasingly dissatisfied with being responsible for having to train “skill-less” college grads for the job they just hired the person for.

As a result, employers are increasingly moving toward skills-based hiring, and removing degree requirements from their job postings.

Also, many employers have simply stopped hiring college grads altogether.

As a result, this entry-level hiring dearth has woken up parents and students to the fact that college students aren’t getting an “education” that’s worth anything.

And as this illusion disappears, people are going to finally realize what an absurdity this whole university system has become.

And that there isn’t much of a difference between a college recruiter and a used car salesman.