The future of college prompts debate

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By: Angela Scipione

News Editor

College costs rise about 5% yearly. In 20 years, the total cost for four-year colleges could be $245,000, according to collegeboard.org.

“At what point is college education gonna be completely unaffordable? We’re gonna sort of step back into the 1800s where that was the case. Only the higher social class or socioeconomic class got an education because they could afford it,” said psychology professor Michelle Bannoura, Ph.D.

Where is the future of college headed?

Students and faculty have opposing ideas about what to expect.

Sarah Rosenberger, a liberal arts major, said, “I could definitely see college becoming more expensive, but I could also see people pushing for more government programs like the Excelsior Scholarship.”

As the trend of online classes continues to grow, Bannoura sees a future where online classes may be normal.

“It’s second nature [for the younger generations to learn with technology]. I think as [they] enter into higher education, we will see more [online learning] because it’s comfortable and easy,” Bannoura says.

A college degree is necessary to get a job, unlike in the past. There might be a change in the standard of degree level in the future.

“A master’s is probably going to become standard. My guess [is this might occur] in the next 10 years, because everyone’s getting a bachelor’s,” Bannoura said.

Dr. Peter R. Sawyer, department chairperson for history, philosophy and social sciences, disagreed. He believed degrees may become unnecessary, especially pertaining to the machine intelligence field. He said they won’t care if you have a degree. All that matters is the person can prove they know what they’re doing.

Besides degrees, the humanities may disappear as well, according to Bannoura. More colleges are geared towards technology, which may decrease funding for the arts programs.

“That is my fear because we’ve got this whole STEM thing. I’m afraid now we’re demonizing people [who like art.] There is absolutely a push into technology. Computers are part of our daily life, and to have a basic understanding is important, but not at the cost of the humanities,” Bannoura said.

There are many college aspects people think may remain the same in future years.

Liberal arts psychology major Emily Goergen said that although technology in college might advance, classes will generally stay the same. “I’m taking some of the same classes that my parents took,” Goergen said.

There are specific changes students hope to see occur as well.

“I feel like we shouldn’t have to take all of those general education classes. I feel like we should take certain things within reason of our major,” individual studies student Bobby McBride said.

It’s hard to know what the full picture of college will look like in the years to come, but an assumption can be made that education will always be a necessity.