Are Too Many People Going to College?

Great discussion over at Chronicle of Higher Education about who should and should not go to college, and whether the model at most universities is serving students and, well, worth the money.

They asked the same couple of questions to nine higher education experts and the responses fell into two predictable camps.

Camp one: Postsecondary education is a practical necessity that everyone should pursue and have access to. Sample quote from Daniel Yankelovich, a public-policy expert: "In today's society and economy, virtually everyone who has the motivation and stamina should acquire some form of postsecondary education."

Camp two: Traditional bachelors degrees are not actually the best move for most students; they can be a waste of money; and statistics (and anecdotal evidence, surely) show this, over and over and over again. Sample quote from Charles Murray, a political scientist at the American Enterprise Institute: "We have a moral obligation to destroy the current role of the B.A. in American life. It has become an emblem of first-class citizenship for no good reason."

Where do you stand?

(via Andrew Sullivan). Thanks, Patrick.