1. Get rid of any classes that need to have either "Science" or "Studies" added to the course title. It's not "Political Science" - it's "Politics." You don't say "History Science." And any course that adds "Studies" is not really giving you an education for the most part it's giving you an indoctrination instead.
2. If a person goes to a college or university for a minimum of three-years and four years after leaving college that person is not making at least triple the poverty line ($12,760 - so $38,280 total) then that person gets to declare Education Bankruptcy and wipe out any student debt. The college or university would have to then cover that debt out of their endowment fund. Only colleges or universities with a big enough endowment would be eligible for federal student aid. The goal is for the university to want to give the students something tangibly valuable for society not just a degree that's not worth the paper its printed on in the real world.
3. Any revenue associated with college sports would be taxable. No reason why those big TV contracts aren't taxable. If that opens up the athletes getting paid as employees - fantastic!
4. I would make four-years served in the US military with an honorable discharge equal to a liberal arts degree for all Federal employment opportunities with the edge given to those who served for any job where the candidates are otherwise equal. The person coming out of the military probably has more practical skills and a better ability to follow instruction - why not reward them?
5. With the idea of Education Bankruptcy from above in mind - there's a whole group of people where many if not most have at least triple the poverty level in guaranteed income. These are retirees. Why not craft programs for these folks. Many retirees have free time and interests they would have loved to pursue - perhaps archaeology, geology, history of the American Revolution, etc. Why not come up and market Associate Degrees that would be of interest to retirees?
I think the idea of holding the colleges financially responsible is a brilliant one. Fifty years ago, any college degree was worth something, now it is different. I think it will be interesting to see how many liberal arts colleges survive.
ReplyDeleteThanks - to me there's absolutely zero reason why student loans are the only thing not subject to bankruptcy protection. Zero reason.
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