Article Response

      In this post I will be responding to an article written by Peter Wood. This article, entitled, The Bubble: Higher Education’s Precarious Hold on Consumer Confidence, can be found on the National Association of Scholars' website, www.nas.org. It's specific link is http://www.nas.org/articles/The_Bubble_Higher_Educations_Precarious_Hold_on_Consumer_Confidence
This article was published on September 13'th, 2010, which means that the information is current. Another sign of credibility is the website on which it appears. According to NAS's website they present daily opinion and commentary on developments and trends in higher education. Also, according to their website, they are linked on several major publications. While all this does need to be taken with a grain of salt, because they are talking about themselves, there are enough positives and evidences of positives, to make this a good sign of credibility. A final sign of credibility is the author's credentials. Peter Wood is the executive director of the National Association of Scholars. He won the Caldwell award for leadership in higher education from the John Locke Foundation and his articles have appeared in several other scholarly journals. I will only be responding to the first three sections of his article, the introduction, section 1, and section 2. I am doing this because these three sections most pertain to my focus on this topic.
        I need to start by defining what the college bubble is. Any kind of economic bubble happens when the price of some asset is driven up past its value. The bubble will burst when people realize that the asset is way overvalued, and seek cheaper options. The college bubble has occurred because the price of college has consistently climbed over the past few years, while the resulting education  has not significantly improved. Eventually people will realize that they are paying too much for too little and will seek other options. It is when this happens, that the bubble will burst, and, the price of college will drop. In short, I completely agree with Peter Wood's definition of the college bubble. While he does not address the reason for the price of college rising, he does give a sufficient definition of the bubble, which is all that is necessary for my current purposes. In the first section of his article, Peter Wood addresses the statement that, the high price of college is warranted. One of the most important ideas that I can take away from this section is that, a large reason for the rising cost of college is that many colleges are focusing on the amenities. They are selling themselves as the best because, they have the best gym, the best dormitories, the best campus activities, instead of, the best education. As we consider a college, we must consider what it is that college is selling. Are we buying the best campus climbing wall in the midwest, or are we buying the best education in the midwest. These are crucial factors to consider when you are deciding whether or not college is for you. If you are more concerned with the amenities than the education, you may want to rethink whether or not it is wise for you to go to college. In the second section of his article Peter Wood responds to the statement that, A college degree is still the best investment. What really stood out to me from this section was what he said about career earnings. While it is true that a college student, on average, will make more than over the course of his lifetime, this does need to be weighed against some important factors. One of those factors is the debt that many students amass while in college. Those higher career earnings do not mean much if most or all of them go towards paying off your college debt. Another factor to consider is opportunity loss. If you go to school for a major that has nothing to do with your career, you probably would have been better of gaining experience on the job for the four years you were in college. The result is that you are probably in debt and probably making less than you would be if it was your fifth year on the job. However, this is certainly not the case for everybody. There are people who get benefits out of college that they could not have received any other way. My point is simply that a four year spree at a high priced college, is not the best route for everybody. Finally, I want to point out that there are viable options other than college. A community college is one of those. Another option would be a trade school. If you are going to be an electrician, spending four years getting an ancient history major will not do you much good. Spending two years at a trade school, on the other hand, may be one of the best investments you could ever make. Not only is it cheaper, it also increases your value on the job market. What I can take away from this article, as a whole, is that, a college degree is often not the best investment. As it becomes increasingly overpriced, it becomes less and less worth it to spend the money on a degree that often has very little to do with your career.