rpbobcat, did you really say "they all said they were sold a bill of goods" regarding their college degree? That seems pretty outrageous and sounds like they don't like to take responsibility for their actions.

From page 5 of the current OU Parent's Guide to Earning an A&S Degree that is passed out during pre-college:

4. While academic advisors are a valuable source of knowledge, they cannot be expected to select courses, plan schedules, or make academic decisions for students. IMPORTANT: The University's policy states that it is the student's responsibility to know and meet all requirements for graduation.

No question the parents have a similar responsibility.
Its amazing how some parents have to go every one of their kids activities,but take a "pass" when it comes to one of the most important decisions their child will make.

You know... I used to come to this site and see thoughtful, intelligent discussion on any number of topics related to OU (and some topics completely unrelated). However, recently it seems that there is a proliferation of users that think they have all the answers and love to use anecdotal experiences to prove it.

What I know about this topic:

It's very complex. There are many reasons that the price of education continues to balloon. There is also a lot of misinformation out there and assumptions being made. I would be naive to think that my personal experience, or my limited knowledge of the issue, provided enough context assert that I know the truth.

In fact, that is the great thing that I took away from my Ohio University education. That I actually know very little about most things--and the more I learn the more I realize that I know very little. With that being said, I think these links provide some meaningful perspectives on the issue from people that know far more than I do:

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/13/magazine/is-college-tui...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/04/07/co... /

http://www.wsj.com/articles/college-too-expensive-thats-a...

Also, my opinion on the value of a liberal arts education is that it is extremely valuable. Reasonable people can disagree, but I find it hard to believe that any Bobcat can disagree with that statement. The fact that I learned so much outside of my narrowly focused major is what made Ohio University truly special. It's an experience that is not replicated at OSU or other state schools in Ohio that I'm aware of and it is one that has proved rewarding over and over again, in both my professional and personal life.

Alan, I prefer to look at it that 1/3 of the students failed to graduate in six years.