Johnson, Leah: Credentialing

Could you imagine life without knowledge? Without curiosity or wonder? For centuries there has been the need for learning. For people to obtain an education, it meant the need for “tests” to determine one’s worth or abilities.

            In ancient China, an emperor devised a way to allow the peasants in his domain to gain higher positions by taking an exam to test their knowledge. More and more people would take the test and gain those positions which eventually led to more “degree-holders than there were positions.” After the Ming Dynasty fell, the Qing, their successors, decided to make the exam more difficult to resolve this problem. However, the exam failure of one man, Hong Xiuquan, led to the “bloodiest conflict of the 19^th century,” which killed 20 million people, after he became discouraged to the point of being sick and delirious. After he converted to Christianity and failed the exam two more times. Later, he “convinced himself and a band of other young men defeated by the test that he was Christ’s younger brother,” and believed it was his “destiny to build a heavenly kingdom purged of sexual depravity”. Therefore, he gathered an army and began to conquer China.

                        I would not go as far as Hong if I failed at an important test. Even if it was, for example, the test to determine whether or not I should get my degree. I believe that if I wasn’t meant to have a degree then I wouldn’t fail in my attempt to obtain it. If I didn’t attempt to go to college then I would probably end up in a dead end job with little income to support myself or a future family. Having a degree allows me to be able to get the better jobs that are out there so I will be able to support myself and a future family. Which I think was Hong’s true purpose as well others who wanted to pass that exam.

            Knowledge is power, but the ability to wield that power in a positive way is, for lack of a better euphemism, the difference between good and evil. Hong wanted to gain a higher standing, but lacked the knowledge required to pass the difficult examination. This allowed him to lose sight of his goal and instead of pursuing it went on to try and conquer China.

Harwood, Kala: Credentialing

            I thought the article was different yet spoke to colleges in America. In China, in the 19^th century, it was very expensive to get an education, but people found a way to prevail anyway. In America getting a degree is also very expensive, but help from the government is readily available. When too many people were succeeding in China the government decided to make the test harder. Today, in the United States if too many people are applying for a position, or a college, the people in charge will make the requirements tougher. This is not to say that the United States is discouraging people from getting degrees they just want people to work for it.

            If I did not graduate from college I would probably be doomed to a fast food job for the rest of my life. I would make minimum wage and always struggle to have things. I would not be able to have the life I have always imagined for myself. Without a college degree I would probably be forced to move to a bigger town in order to be able to find a job.  I am not saying that people can’t get good jobs without a college degree. It is just getting harder to achieve a high paying job without a college degree. Also, I come from a very small town where jobs are hard to come by so it is almost necessary to go straight to college after high school, for women at least. I believe that it is easier for men to get high paying jobs without a college degree. Where I’m from instead of going to college, men usually go off to work on the pipeline or on an oil rig. Those are usually hard labor jobs, therefore, not ideal for women.

            I don’t feel like I am being forced to be credentialed. I have chosen to come to college so I can get a degree. With a degree I can make good money, even in my small town. I will be able to make a good life for myself and not have to live paycheck to paycheck. In American society today people are not forced to be credentialed, but most would be better off with a college degree. There are some good jobs that can be had without college degrees, but good jobs are much easier to come by with a degree.

                 

Eubanks, Kelsea: Credentialing

         Hong Xiuquan suffered a nervous breakdown when at the age of 15 he failed a life changing test. He couldn't afford a tutor or to bribe examiners; in a sense he felt his fate was sealed. Like Hong, many students today who fall short on important exams like the ACT can fall into a pit of despair. Unable to get scholarships many are forced to take out so many loans and end up deep in debt. Or, they just give up completely and never go to college. I would hate to think about the idea of my never attending college much less not ever graduating. I can only imagine the place I could end up. Most people who don't finish college end up with a blue collar job or no job at all. They have to rely on help from the government and then a vicious cycle begins and affects generations to come. 

         Our society makes it extremely hard to make college affordable, especially for the middle class families. The rich can afford to pay for their children's college educations and the poor are eligible to apply for need based financial aid. In contrast, the middle class is between them. Those families are the ones that are hit the hardest by the rising costs of education. They are wealthy enough not to qualify financial aid but do not have enough income to pay for college. This is normally a result of both parents working and therefore making "too much money." The members of this group are the ones who end up the most in debt after finally graduating from a college or professional school. They can't ever seem to get ahead, and just like Hong and the other students long ago striving for an education, they are faced with ever-rising higher tuition costs.

         In this day and time, as well as years ago, students are being forced to become credentialed. To receive jobs and even scholarships, they are required to have certain credentials to even qualify. Economic success is based on accomplishments and experience. For example, when students apply to college, schools want to know what activities they were involved in, what honors they received, and what community service they completed during their high school years. Today, education and credentials are necessary and expected everywhere.

Cooper, James: Credentialing

A college education is a critical part in our world’s economy and daily lives. College education could be short-term such as obtaining an Associate’s Degree or long-term such as obtaining PhD. In Death by Degree, a college education is obtained through faith in education and avoiding student debts.

One point in obtaining a college education is through faith. In ancient China, students were expected to pass three exams. A small percentage of students passed all three exams. Many students did not pass the first exams. Some students did not pass the second exams such as Hong Xiuquan. Hong Xiuquan was 23 year old man from the village of Guangzhou. Hong placed first in the county-level test, but his family could not afford a tutor for him. Hong also lived in poverty so bribing the examiners was impossible. After failing the second exam twice, Hong suffered a nervous breakdown. During his nervous breakdown, Hong began to see American Christian missionaries. During his first dream, he saw God and was questioned on his faithfulness. During his second dream, he was carried to heaven and instructed to exterminate demons in China. After failing the second exam a third time, Hong convinced himself and others that he was Christ’s younger brother. He fomented a rebellion against China and was defeated in 1864 with severe casualties. My analysis of faith is that it plays a critical part in a student’s education. Hong used his faith to fight against China. I believe that I would not succeed in my college/graduate studies through lack of faith. In the Bible, it states that “I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.”(Philippians 4:13)

Another point in obtaining a college education is avoiding student debts. The now exceed $1 trillion in the US today. Although college graduates obtained their college education, they do not have the obligation to retreat from these student debts and doing so could have a negative impact on their careers. It is now expensive and stressful to obtain a bachelor’s degree. My analysis of student debts is that they should be reasonable instead of hindering the national economy. A checks and balances system would be a logical solution for this economic problem. It is a concept created to balance a student’s financial problems and help the national economy as well. I think of it as killing two birds with one stone.

Collins, Auttumn: Credentialing

         In China during 605 CE, in order to get a decent salary, students had to pass a series of tests. Exam performance corresponded exactly to salary, denominated in piculs of rice; the top scorers received more than 17 times as much rice as those in the lowest tier. But the true rewards of exam success were considerably higher: besides the steady salary, bribe collection made it very good to be a bureaucrat. However, these tests were made more difficult as the number of people who were able to pass them increased.

         Failure could be discouraging. Even though Hong Xiuquan was able to pass the first test, he was unable to afford a tutor or to bribe the examiners, and suffered a nervous breakdown. He attempted the test twice but, sadly, failed each time. Eventually he convinced himself and a band of other young men who had been defeated by the test that he was Christ’s younger brother. He assembled an army and began the work of conquering China. He was unsuccessful and millions died in the process.

         Even today, young people are pushed into getting degrees. In this economy you need a degree to have a decent paying job. However, college is really expensive and hard to get into. Also, it is even harder to stay in. Sometimes the lucky can get a good scholarship, but that does not happen very often. Most people do not realize the stress that college students suffer while they are in school. It is not some easy walk around the park. They have tons of work and what seems like not enough hours in the day to get it all completed. Plus they have to make good grades in order to maintain their scholarships. If not they will be paying off those student loans for the next 10 years. This is very difficult and if one little thing goes wrong than they can sometimes have nervous breakdowns like Hong. Hopefully you will not try to convince anyone that you are the chosen one, start a war, and end up killing millions of people in the process. No wonder why so many people cannot survive through college.

Cecil, Allie: Credentialing

When looking into life after college, students must think of the pros and or cons of their professions. In my case, early childhood development, there will always be a need for practitioners. According to the latest statistics there are 67,140 elementary schools in the United States, which would seem to grant me multiple possibilities for being hired. If I don’t graduate, I will be forced to live a life with fewer opportunities and with a much lower salary than that of a college graduate.

            In the essay “Death by Degrees” it states how China set up a three level exam for the whole country. This exam, as a whole, was the most challenging thing that Chinese students faced. With this exam in place the main people who take it are those of wealth and high status, but when a young man from a small and poor village goes to take the test and turns fails it. This makes that boy, Hong Xiuquan, start to think about his future but he soon realizes that he has no way of going anywhere, yet he is still persistent and tries the test more times. When he fails in his attempts he soon gives up on it all and converts from the ways of Confucius to the views of Christianity. With this new lease on life he takes it to a completely different level and starts the biggest revolt in the 19^th century, the Taiping Revolt.

            Today, it is becoming a must to have your masters before applying for a teaching job. With the way teaching jobs are now, it is a necessity that get to achieve a higher education to become more successful and to have the opportunity to obtain a job. Most school systems wouldn’t hire a person with a bachelor’s degree only. This relates to Death by Degrees and the fact that we control our future and the hard work we put into our studies determines how successful we will be for the rest of our lives.

Burton, Talia: Credentialing

            In the thought-provoking essay “Death by Degrees,” the writers explain their views on the current system of higher education in America and its negative effects on society. The system ensures that the average high school graduate must pay exorbitant sums of money in order to obtain a bachelor's degree. If one wants to get a decent career, one also must get a master's degree, or even a doctorate. In their view, the whole system is undemocratic and ensures that the country is being controlled by a few rich elite.

            Many points of this article are valid. I came to college planning to get a bachelor's degree, only to find that in order to teach, I most likely will need a master's degree as well. Bachelor's degrees are simultaneously getting more common and more expensive. They are worth now what a high school degree was worth years ago. And, as with the example from Obama's cabinet, the writers pointed out that if you want a prestigious position in government, you must be educated at an Ivy League College (not at SAU).

            If college is too expensive, too much of a requirement for decent employment, then what should the solution be? The writers believe the answer is for the educated elite to shed their degrees and slowly work on bringing down the whole system of college, in a romantic, revolutionary notion of “standing with the 99%.” It is on this point, however, that I disagree.

            If master's degrees and doctorates (and perhaps even bachelor's degrees) were abolished altogether, I cannot see a bright future. Though some students are ready to go into their professional field of choice right after high school, the majority are not. I would not want an undereducated doctor operating on me or prescribing medication. However I also understand that many cannot become doctors, not because they are unqualified, but because medical school is too expensive.

            I believe that in order to improve our current system of college, education should be reformed from the bottom up. Then the system must ensure that the right people are handling the right jobs—not only the rich people who could afford the education. Scholarships are an example of trying to ensure that those from poor backgrounds have equal opportunity to become as credentialed as those that don't. But there will never be a perfect answer, or a society that does not give power to the rich, educated, or privileged. To think otherwise is overly-optimistic—but something we should strive for.

Buchanan, Katie: Credentialing

According to the essay "Death by Degrees" credentialing has become a major factor in the lives of most Americans. It has come to the point where most jobs require prospective employees to have a minimum of a bachelor's degree, many of these jobs prefer a master's degree or beyond. Thinking of this, I have to stop and assess how my future career will play out if I continue my education past an undergraduate degree. I also must consider how society perceives people who possess credentials.

 With the field of study I intend to pursue, obtaining a degree higher than a bachelor's degree isn't necessary. I am pursuing a major in mathematics with a minor in education. But, I do not intend to stop my education there. I want to earn my master's degree in teaching as well.  My desire to obtain a master's degree in based on two facts. One is that having a master's degree will make me more employable, as suggested by this essay. The other reason is because with a master's degree I can teach courses for concurrent credit at a high school. That would help my students by reducing their number of hours they must take in college. Being able to provide such a service to students would give them an incentive to take my class.

At one point, it was very rare for a person to even have an undergraduate degree. People who stuck it through college and earned a bachelor's were considered credentialed. People who went even farther in schooling were rare because that route was only required for doctors and lawyers. Nowadays, obtaining a bachelor's degree is almost expected of all students. Anything beyond that is considered credentials. I know in my case going to graduate school seemed guaranteed. There was no "if I go" it was "when I go" to graduate school. My parents told me to save my extra scholarship money for graduate school before I ever really understood the meaning of it and decided that I wanted to go. Continuing one's education is almost expected in today's society. 

For me, becoming credentialed is a given. It will help me gain respect from my peers in today's society. It will also help me have an advantage in one day obtaining a job.

Boyter, Lauren: Credentialing

            Education is viewed as a key part of the lives of Americans.  Children are placed in school early on and are usually expected to stay enrolled until they have earned a college degree.  Without a college degree in this day and time adequate jobs are few and far between.  Personally, if I were unable to attend college, I would be faced with a grim outlook as far as occupations go.

            Receiving a college education has become more crucial than ever.  Today, it is hard to find a decent job without some kind of degree.  As stated in “Death by Degrees,” even the presidential cabinet is composed of a majority of people who have obtained an education from an Ivy League school.  Unless a person wants to work in the restaurant or cleaning business, most other fields of work require a college degree.  Because of this accreditation requirement, many people are unable to obtain a decent job.  It has become increasingly harder for certain groups of people to continue their education because of their circumstances.  Single parents and older people often have a harder time getting a degree because the odds are against them.  It is hard for a single parent to concentrate on school work while raising a child.  Older people have generally been out of school for such a long period of time that it hard for them to get back “into the swing of things.” 

            Relating to me, college is definitely an important part of my life.  Without going to college, I would be unable to fulfill my dreams of becoming a nurse.  Because my ambition requires a higher-level education, I am being forced to go to college (not that it’s a bad experience).  Had I been unable to attend college, my future would be grim.  I feel as though I would not live as happy of a life as I plan to because I would not be doing what I believe I will enjoy.

            After reading “Death by Degrees,” I am more able to comprehend the importance of a college education.  A lack of college education can lead to inferior jobs.  Even a bachelor’s degree may eventually become a bare necessity.  Although college may be trying, it is important to the future because one day, a degree may be a requirement for every job.  Credential requirements for all jobs are not good because the value of college degrees will quickly diminish upon implementation of this prerequisite.

Akkari, Hamed: Credentialing

Today, no one denies that credentials became a must to prove credibility. The article, Death by Degrees, emphasizes the impacts of credentials on society nowadays as well as on individuals. On the other hand, it points out how important it became to confirm “acquired” knowledge through the obtainment of a degree along with the consequences of such a process.

            In the article, the editors discussed how credentials became an obligation to get access to workforce. Using the example of the Chinese imperial assessment that gradually became harder in response to the increasing number of the exam takers, the editors mentioned that a corrupt environment surfaced as a result. The large turnout for such assessment was justified by the expected steady salary for successful candidates. However, the large turnout for college education nowadays is justified not only by the expected steady salary for credentialed degree holders compared to the expected salary for positions that do not require credentials, but also by the prospective role and position in society. The non credentialed are those who work on a full-time basis in positions such as cashiers, cooks, bartenders, dishwashers, desk clerks, taxi drivers, or real estate agents. It is an undeniable implicit truth that these non-credentialed workers are the servants of individuals, whereas credentialed workers affect individuals by teaching them (professors), curing them (doctors), and building bridges or developing technological gadgets (engineers, scientists); therefore, they are the servants of society. Furthermore, the credentialed became the ones mostly responsible for prosperity by inventing and contributing to society. They are the ones whose opinions matter most. As a result, credentialing lead to elitism. The editors identify elitists as bogeymen that support social hierarchy by believing that credentialism is totally inevitable, which forces individuals to become credentialed in order to live an ideal life. According to the editors, as long as access to work force is controlled by a bachelor degree, students will pay more and the more the bachelor degree become democratized, the master degree becomes indispensable for advancement.

In my opinion, this results in lowering the chances of having an alternative for credentialing in the near future. Although, there are alternatives of credentialing these days that are becoming popular such as the website www.coursera.org that exhibits free online courses in different subjects offered by major universities such as Yale, Princeton, and Stanford.

Honors College Report (11/28/2012)

Activities and News:

• Trip to Stennis Space Center: Kardas and three students, Michelle Beavers, Zachary Pinson, and Hali Pinson visited the NASA center as part of their research grant.
• Lawrence of Arabia trip: 12 honors students attended the 50th anniversary screening in Texarkana of David Lean's epic tale of T. E. Lawrence during World War I.
• NCHC Boston: Kardas, Deborah Wilson, Suraj Manandhar, Jessica Zigler, Kara O'Neal, and Darrell Gray attended the annual meeting and presented at four sessions: Honors College as App Author: Campus Map for iPad and iPhone (Manandhar & Kardas), Utility of the Non-Cognitive Questionnaire in Honors College Admission and Retention: A Three-year Study (Wilson & Kardas), iPads for Honors Seminar: Evaluation of First-Year Program (Kardas & Wilson), Everything You Always Wanted to Know about SPSS but Were Afraid to Ask: Maximizing the Honors Experience in a Contract Statistics Course (Wilson, Zigler, O'Neal, & Gray).
• SAU Tech and College of the Ouachitas: Both two-year colleges have agreed in principle to work with the SAU to set up articulated honors programs at their schools so that their students may join the Honors College as juniors.
• iPads: are again being provided to students in lieu of their first year honors stipends.
• Wireless printer: to facilitate use of the iPads, a fast black and white wireless printer has been installed in the Honors Lounge for student use.
• Honors Lounge Open House and Committee meeting
• The Honors Seminar has hosted the following visitors: David Rankin, Trey Berry, Lisa Toms, Allen Lachut.
• Student News: Deana Hughes wrapping up Honors Semester at NAU. Samson King accepted to Primatology/Neuroscience internship over Winter Break at Wake Forest University. We are still working on a trip to Cuba.

Witham, Lindsey: Credentialing

            “Our elaborate, expensive system of higher education is first and foremost a system of stratification, only secondly—and very dimly—a system for imparting knowledge.” This statement is from the article “Death by Degrees” and it is a very true one. College has turned into more of a “have to do” thing in life than a just “want to do” thing for higher education. Yes, college is still for education, but nowadays it is more for getting a better paying job to support your future life and family. People do not see it as higher education anymore. They see it as a way to make more money and be able to live life at an easier pace without the stresses of not having enough money to pay bills.

            College is an expensive system of higher education and it is mainly a system for building layers upon layers of jobs in our economy. People believe that college is there to help them get a better paying job in our dying economy. In my generation, there are many parents that did not go to college. They did not foresee the economy becoming like it is today. They graduated high school and got full time jobs and started families. Most parents today regret not going to college because they are now having hard times paying for the bills required to have a normal life and support their children. This is how my parents are. Neither of my parents went to college. My college education right now is being paid for by scholarships. Without these scholarships there is no possible way my parents would be able to pay for me to attend college.

            I wanted a higher education, but I also wanted to be able to get a well paying job to support my future family in ways my parents never could. I would love to share with my parents my success and help them out with bills and things in the future. College was never actually a yes or no question for me. I had to go. I have to get a well paying job to support my future family. This is what our life and economy has come to. The next step is college, and then what? Will my education be enough to get that well paying job I tried so hard to get and paid so much for throughout my education? I will not know until I graduate and get that great job. The price of college increases and it causes us to be in more debt throughout life. Will the jobs we get help us to afford these expenses, or by the time we get those jobs, will it just hurt us more? College can definitely be the death of us.

Terry, Colin: Credentialing

     As the sociological and economic times change, the existing rules and regulations must also change. This is not only in relation to the judicial laws, but includes every area of society. Since the beginnings of civilization education has taken hold of people leading to a central belief that the longer or more advanced the education, the smarter or more intelligent a person must be. Recently, upon analysis of the current undergraduate education, people have begun to discover that education is not where it needs to be. Many people are now questioning the value of their degree, but are these questioning thoughts grounds for an education revolution?

     Being a current college student this is an issue that is very close to home. While reading this article, many thoughts rushed through my head. If I am spending my family's money and sitting numerous hours in class a week, my degree should definitely be worth something in the long run. The authors bring up a good point when they say that revolutionizing the current education beliefs and methods would take a drastic attempt from the current students. The students, ultimately, control what happens in the education system. Without students, what system is there? I believe the problem lies within the close-mindedness of the corporate world (A.K.A. the ones controlling who they employ and from what college they come from.) If these employers would attempt to define their potential job candidates in ways unrelated to the type and school of their degrees, I believe that would make a drastic turn for the better.

     The authors also make another great point when they bring up that the process to devaluing credentialism must begin at the higher job positions. If this process starts with the newly graduated getting a first time job, it would be pointless. As these "newbies" try to progress in their careers, none would be able to fulfill the standards required of the current higher end positions.

     The phrase money is the root of all evil pertains to this whole credentials and degree situation. The amount of money made from students giving an arm and a leg to pay for undergraduate and graduate school is almost indescribable. I agree that everyone should be properly trained for his or her job, but that comes more from hands-on learning.

     Overall, this ongoing war as to whether or not the credentials should be lessened relates immensely to college students everywhere. If employers look less into a person having an Ivy League degree and more into the overall experience and success of the person, positions will be filled with individuals more suited for the job. Sure, a person with an Ivy League degree is obviously smart, but is not necessarily a person better suited for any position.

Romo, Ricardo: Credentialing

            The article “Death by Degrees” has given me a different perspective towards the new generation that wants to earn a higher education and differentiate themselves from the rest of the competition.

               What would happen to me if I didn’t graduate or attend graduate school? It's a simple question that has frozen my thoughts on how to react.  The article stated “As bachelor’s degrees become democratized, the master’s degree becomes more mandatory for advancement,” which is a given fact about how society’s youth is under pressure to go further than an undergraduate education. My opportunities would dramatically diminish in the future if I quit college or decide not to move onto graduate school, and I know that my future would be working in a dysfunctional company that would not last in this recessive economy.            

               The fact that our society is cracking down on youth’s higher education by going to college has interfered with my parent’s opinion towards college. The article emphasized “as the credentials comparison seeps down the academic ladder, universities jack up fees which would cause parents to pay whatever for an excellent test score on the entry exams." This single sentence frightens my parents's thoughts of me not accomplishing my goal of graduating college. Surely they're proud of me for graduating high school and I don’t believe they would want me to quit school and begin working, but I am so determined to finish college that it has impacted them to believe that I would keep going to school with or without their consent.

                If I do decide to quit college and take an alternative look at life without credentials I would most likely become an innovator. In the article I noticed a sentence that noted that those near the bottom of education will be fleeced while those near top will be getting a leg up. I don’t believe the editors took into account the successful billionaires without a bachelor’s degree such as Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg. If they were successful without a degree I believe that I'll be able to do so as well, even though our society gives the innovators a miniscule opportunity to become an instant success. If I choose to be an innovator it would be caused by the fact that I dropped out of college.

               Sincerely, "Death by Degrees" is one of many articles that have attacked our political perspective towards our youth's future work force.

Osborne, Ashley: Credentialing

There was once a time when education was a rare and highly valued attainment. Over the years, as more people sought out knowledge, it became easier for people to realize their dream and obtain a degree. “Dignity must be drained from the credential,” or else degrees will inflate and the more people that have them, the less they will be worth. This means that we have to stop overrating the importance of credentials.  More emphasis needs to be put on the work that doesn’t require a degree, such as manual labor. Yes, garbage collectors are paid less than lawyers, but are essential to keeping our society running. If everyone wants a degree, then there will be less stability in society.

“The accreditation arms race will become more fearsome,” meaning increased competition for higher paying, better jobs. It will become about who has the most education, that piece of paper signifying their qualifications. There will be more people out of work, because they can’t get a job with their hard earned, expensive degree. Of course, there will be plenty of lower level jobs open, but I bet that someone who just spent 4 years of their life trying to get somewhere in life won’t want to resort to a job that only requires on-the-job training.

“Yesterday’s medals will become tomorrow’s baubles,” restates how things that were so precious and rare a few years ago, are only going to be commonplace in the future. A bachelor’s degree in teaching won’t matter if everyone has a master’s degree. The former becomes irrelevant and people are forced into gaining higher credentials if they ever want to amount to anything.

“Quadrupling the supply of gold stickers is one way to devalue the credential; getting rid of the sticker system altogether is another,” because when everyone has credentials it is the same as no one having any. Inflation of credentials is obviously a problem that we need to face. But if we get rid of credentials altogether, how will we know who is qualified for a job and who isn’t? The answer is not dismissing the credentials, but emphasizing the importance of jobs that don’t require degrees, and taking off much of the pressure of getting a college education. I’m not saying that following one’s dreams of becoming a doctor or a lawyer is bad, but there are less prestigious jobs that are equally important to society.

Lillard, Kelsey: Credentialing

                  "Death By Degrees" is an article that breaks down America's credentialing system and shows the reader where it's hurting more than helping our country. It's true, without a degree you won't get far in our society. But what if the value of the degree was taken away?  What would happen?

                  As the article states "Over the centuries, as China’s scholar–bureaucrats grew more powerful, their metrics of assessment became increasingly intricate. Those who passed were stratified into nine grades, and each grade was further divided into two degrees" (2nd paragraph). This division helped to form a diverse workforce, much like my college experience today, a degree will allow me to move up the ladder to a bigger and better job. This may not mean I'm that much more educated, "Our elaborate, expensive system of higher education is first and foremost a system of stratification, and only secondly — and very dimly — a system for imparting knowledge."  Exam performance corresponded exactly to salary even in 605 CE. It seems as if the credentialing system is a dangerous one to play with, if you discourage society with failure for long enough, someone might just rebel (Hong Xiuquan). 

                  This article also points out the crippling debt that college students must face to become credentialed. "Although America’s college graduates are already late on paying nearly $300 billion in loans, they don’t have the option of walking away from these debts," so even if post-graduation plans fall through, students must still come up with the money. Luckily, I chose a college that would not leave me in a financial hole, but I may not be as employable as someone with a degree from an Ivy League school, with the credentialing system it seems one must pick the lesser of two evils. 

                  If I were to not graduate from college, I would probably not be able to pursue the career I wish. I would be able to find work, but it wouldn't be my dream job, and it probably would be hard to make ends meet. I do believe I am being forced to become credentialed if I want to live a comfortable life. An alternative to credentialing could be something like the article said, if all high school valedictorians refused to go to college this would cause an uproar and things would change. A new system would have to be formed, but perhaps it could be less broad of a system. I think it would be better for people to learn extensive knowledge in the field they wished to pursue over getting so much surface level knowledge of everything.       

Kennedy, Krystin: Credentialing

            Education has become a nearly universal requirement in today’s world in order to make a decent income. However, certain levels of education have become almost too easily achievable to the extent that too many people have a certain degree without enough jobs for them to fill. History shows a similar situation in the story of the Taiping Rebellion.

            Over the years, the bachelor’s degree has become democratized- too easy to receive. This makes the master’s degree almost mandatory for a well-paying job, because so many people have bachelor’s degrees that employees holding the few jobs available have the ability to pick higher-educated applicants over less qualified ones. Our system of education has become less a system of imparting knowledge and more a system of promoting stratification because how the original universities of the Western World viewed education. Their chief mission was not to produce learning but graduates instead, teaching always being subordinate to the process of certification. Artisans made apprenticeships last long in order to keep their numbers small and their services high in cost. For those looking for a job income and social position were required through affiliation with a cartel. People who wanted the jobs had to pay before they made any money and many could not afford the process.

            That old system is much the same as with student loans in America. In the U.S., student debt is now over one trillion dollars today because of the amount of money required to receive a decent education in order to get a decent job with a decent salary. Even then, many adults cannot crawl out from under the over-bearing weight of their student debt. For instance, if a student must pay $20,000 a year for tuition and takes it all out in student loans that makes a total of $80,000 over a four-year time span, and that is just for their bachelor’s degrees. To receive their master’s degree, which many must possess in today’s world for a high-end job, students will probably need approximately four more years of education at a more expensive institution. That leaves the student with about $200,000 in student loans to pay off, while starting a job search.

            Overall, the system of education has turned into a system of stratification not one that imparts knowledge, leading many far into debt. If this doesn’t change many will be left out of jobs and possibly houses and food as a consequence.

Jett, Rachel: Credentialing

            Job security wise, America is being controlled by an oligarchy; one percent of the population is forcing the rest to become highly educated. That one percent contains the college graduates with the highest honors, the ones that earn the terminal degrees. The number of people becoming educated is higher than ever before in the United States. Sooner or later, high school graduates are going to be forced to obtain a master’s degree, or maybe even a doctorate to secure their careers. Is this fair? The degree(s) one has now has a great effect on one’s job security in America. Is this a good thing? 

            College is expensive. And if college is vital in order to survive, students must come up with the money to pay for it. Parents are then forced to pay for costly ACT and SAT tutors to aid their children in securing scholarships. If financial aid fails, students are forced to turn to student loans, which turn into long-term student debt. Just think: one can’t just stop at a bachelor’s degree anymore. Students have to earn a second or third degree to survive, adding to their debt and guaranteeing that they will be unable to pay it off before they die. 

            So what should we do? Should we convince students to ignore college altogether? Yes, that might lower the bachelor’s degree prices by a good amount, but that would leave the college un-bound high school graduates with associate’s degrees or less, which tend not to lead to well-paying jobs; or worse yet, leading to terrible, annoying, time consuming, minimum wage jobs. This also wouldn’t alter the one percent oligarchy immediately. If anything, it would make it worse. It just might lower the one percent to a terrifyingly low decimal rather than raising the percentage. 

            Maybe there isn’t really a good answer. As a college student who received tons of federal aid and was already planning on earning a master’s degree, I can’t say that the system is all that terrible yet. It’s not as bad as China’s Confucian system where only 0.16 percent made the required terminal degree. Perhaps when the system does become that bad it will be the least of America’s worries. We’ll have an even higher national debt, no social security, no job security, and much else to stress about.

Ibinola, Daniel: Credentialing

   

                  The unending battle between bureaucracy and meritocracy is still on today. This battle has not only moved into the political sector it has also eaten deep into the educational system. It has gotten to a point in society where an individual must have a college degree in order to make a substantially high income. Other ways this battle has affected the educational sector include the widening gap between the rich and the poor and the steady decline in morals and credibility.

                  College is beneficial in providing better career options, monetary benefits, standard of living, better social networking, and insurance against unemployment. But these benefits have been narrowing among the children of the rich and the upper-middle-class. Their grades may not meet the requirements of the top class schools of their choice but they are still likely to be admitted. For people who are further down the income ladder it is more difficult for them to be admitted into these so called prestigious schools, resulting in the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer.

                  Being credentialed should not interfere with credibility. Merit should be the foundation of every society. If the admission of students is not based on merit and jobs opportunities are only given to “elites” who graduated from prestigious schools such as Harvard and Yale, there is no way to avoid corruption. No matter how prosperous a society seems when there is corruption it is a weak or failing one.

                  Like every student, I conform to the idea that I must be credentialed because of the societal state I find myself in today. The article Death by degrees noted that “no administration has embodied credentialism as thoroughly as the current one. Of Obama’s twenty-five cabinet appointments, twenty-two had a degree from Ivy League University, MIT, Stanford, the University of Chicago, Oxford, or Cambridge. Which leads us assume that public policy is so complicated that you need a stack of degrees to figure it out.” Nevertheless, in the absence of a college degree, I will definitely go into sprinting. I am a very good athlete and have the ability to learn any new sport there is. When I am no longer athletic because of age, I will consider coaching. That will be my insurance from being credentialed.