“Like the market for skin care products, the market for credentials is inexhaustible: as the bachelor’s degree becomes democratized, the master’s degree becomes mandatory for advancement. Our elaborate, expensive system of higher education is first and foremost a system of stratification, and only secondly – and very dimly – a system of imparting knowledge.”
With a new wave of college graduates headed into the world with limited job prospects in a tough economy, and as college tuition continues to rise in price, there has been an upsurge in conversations about the value of a college education. According to this Fresh Air interview with policy director Kevin Carey, the average college senior leaves graduation with 25,000 dollars in student loans. n+1 recently published an editorial on the meaning of a college degree, questioning whether it is a signifier of acquired knowledge, or simply an entryway into the elite factions of society.
