While I am in alignment with many of Dr. Vedder's economic views, I do believe he is missing the boat on some aspects of student fees and college athletics. The big time programs are out of control with money, though a shadow of the power and debauchery that once marked their daily existence. Mid majors like Ohio need the fees and the small limelight of the small Mid- Major spotlight to open their educational product to a larger national view.

Think about the increase in applications Mid Majors like Valpo, Butler and even tiny Mt. St. Mary's saw in the last 5-10 years when they made tournament runs. We may think everyone knows about Ohio and her stronger programs, but not everyone does.

The elephant in the room is the structure of college and universities. The number of higher education institutions on some sort of financial watch list is more than a little sobering. Skyrocketing tuition and debt caused by student's majoring in ridiculous non job prospect majors is a racket that keeps on suckering students and their parents. Student fees and athletic spending are small potatoes compared to the sheer chicanery that is the structure of higher education.

Some think college should be for the chosen few a la Europe, while others think everyone should go and free at that. I suspect in 20 years the dust will start to settle from all of this--and maybe back to a 1980s tuition rate and room and board fees! It seemed to make more economic sense compared to what we are dealing with now.

Yes and no. There is also the issue of skyrocketing administrative costs and the proliferation of student service programs to protect every thing under the sun.

People harp on this all the time, but I think it's BS. The ugly truth is that today's college degree is the high school diploma of 30 years ago. Employers just want to know a) that you have some basic skills and b) that you can follow direction reasonably well. As such, no degree is "useless" and no degree will lead do life as a barista UNLESS the holder of that degree is determined to use it as they imagined they would when they were 17 and didn't know a damn thing about the world.

Most liberal arts degrees teach critical thinking, research skills, writing skills, reading comprehension... stuff that most any job requires. One of my clients is a private equity firm. Here are the undergrad degrees of many of the top executives: music, government, French lit, psychology, history.

Also anecdotal, but more food for thought here: http://www.forbes.com/sites/georgeanders/2015/07/29/liber...

Where are you "an Education administrator?"

Very true Recovering Journalist, lots of law school grads doing jobs they never imagined because they didn't specialize and no one had a heart to heart to tell them what law specialties were in high demand and which ones were not.

Alan, I have been a teacher, coach, principal and central office administrator who has been fortunate enough to travel to different Ohio colleges and universities and some beyond our borders to interview students at recruiting fairs. This also gives me the privilege to meet higher education administrators where we pick each others brains on various developments in our fields.

With all this talk about student fees, I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to state the problems as I see it, which is to say there are much bigger fish to fry. Reading higher education journals and seeing how many institutions are on some sort of financial watch list is more than a little disconcerting. Urbana had to be taken over and bailed out by Franklin. There are lots of other problems lurking below the surface at Ashland, Wittenburg and Ohio Dominican. Akron's problems have been well documented Again, I have had a unique window on the situation in hearing it from students, parents and administrators both at the high school and college level. The current structure of many colleges and universities cannot be sustained when the next economic downturn hits us.

I have 2 nephews with Psych degrees. My sis counseled them and fronted money their parents (my other sis) claimed they did not have. Older sis counseled them about degrees, marketability and investing into their future with an education and discussed the viability of the undergrad Psych degree. One finished and went on to an Ohio Masters degree and is now employed by a county drug addiction program as the man who is charged with getting them into exercise and wellness programs. The other has no intention in advancing his Psych degree and is working at Menard's. Both are complaining about their debt and my generation "taking their jobs because they are not retiring when they should" . My older sis is telling them that she tried to tell them to select majors and career tracks that were marketable while their mom is taking to FB lamenting their plight and how unfair the world is to the next gen.

This discussion is one that has been taking place in the fam for a decade. My 4 boys have listened to their aunt regarding future and have degrees in Business, Art and Furniture Design, Theatre and hopefully the last one in Engineering. Their 4 male cousins are home schooled kids blaming society for their problems. Parents have as much role as the school in guiding their kids to futures. Lots of opines from folks with specialized knowledge of the degrees and the markets but you got to help the kid with analysis, ideas and scenarios they are ill equipped to see.

Really relevant thoughts in this thread.

Well said. Facing that issue now with two of mine, and it's as much a challenge for the parents as it is the students. The direction from parents (or someone in authority) is critical. So many students starting school have NO idea what they're in for with regard to majors, business direction, etc.

That could be something I'd support as well, Alan. Some kids are gifted with knowing their direction early, pursue that direction, and do very well. Many others, I would guess the majority, don't really know and they flounder a bit until that direction becomes clearer. That floundering can be very costly. Perhaps part of the challenge is, the perception at least, that 18 years old is not what it used to be. Relative maturity has ebbed and flowed over the generations.

That's probably true. one challenge is the routine we've come to accept:
1. Graduate high school
2. Go to college
3. Get a job

So many students aren't ready for the transition from #1 to #2, but society EXPECTS students, generally, to follow that path. If you meet a student who's graduating with a BS at age 24 or 25, you tend to question that, as in What the hell's wrong with this guy? What was he doing? Partying?

I agree with this too. I'm looking at this suggestion only as a preference, not a mandate.

My daughter also had physical education classes at Walter Fieldhouse during fall and spring semesters last year.

A couple of flaws with that argument as to who are we to tell anyone what can be their major. I certainly don't believe in telling anyone they can't major in something. However, in the interest of decency and fairness students (and their parents) need to be told what their chances are of being employed in their field.

A few years ago, while interviewing prospective candidates at another state institution in Ohio, I never forget showing one young lady who was getting her certificate in Primary Education how many openings there were in Central Ohio and how many people were applying. A look of horror came over her face. I tried to soften the blow by telling her about parts of the country where her chances were significantly better. She didn't want to move there. I asked her if anyone had ever made this clear to her. She said this was covered on a cursory basis, but this was the first time anyone had ever been this specific using data. Students deserve better than this sort of treatment.

I don't know how many times I have told students about getting another certification in a foreign language or perhaps becoming a school psychologist. One young man (thankfully like this previous case this didn't occur at our beloved Ohio) with his P.E certification came back to interview the very next year. He saw me and lamented that he was at crossroads since he never got a call back from any district after his campus interviews. He claimed that someone had just told him that less than 10% of PE majors had a job in Education. He wasn't very happy.

Although there are plenty of law school grades not employed in their field, at least that field along with medical profession puts limits on the amount of students they let into their programs.

Since my first post on this subject a few days ago, I spoke with a neighbor who is a big pooh bah at a very large near by higher education institution. He reiterated the view that many, many smaller institutions in the state and even some public institutions couldn't survive another downturn like 2008 with their present economic status. I mentioned this in a previous post, but according to him Urbana, Wittenburg, Ashland, Ohio Dominican and Akron are only the tip of the iceberg. Higher Education has plenty of problems to address. Thankfully, our university seems to be on a better moral and financial footing than most, but I am only familiar with the field of Education so maybe others can chime in on their particular area.