The Dumbing of America: Effects of the Economy on American Post Secondary Education Practices
By now, most of you have heard that tough economic times are forcing more students to enroll at community colleges because they can no longer afford the staggeringly-high tuition costs at most American four year public and private colleges and universities. While this may be a financial boon for community colleges, technical schools and for-profit educational institutions, flagging enrollment numbers at second and third-tier public and private colleges has induced some admissions officers at these four year institutions to lower academic standards to admit students who can pay full tuition to attend them. In other words, rather than admit deserving academically-qualified and competitive students who may need financial aid to attend their institutions, admission officers will sometimes admit less academically qualified students to offset rising financial costs.
As the father of a college freshman, I had inkling that this practice was real but I had no formal proof or data to verify my suspicions. That all changed today after reading a troubling article in the NY Times entitled “Universities Seeking Out Students of Means.”
Based on a survey of 462 admissions officers conducted in August and early September, the article states
“More than half of the admissions officers at public research universities, and more than a third at four-year colleges said that they had been working harder in the past year to recruit students who need no financial aid and can pay full price.”
Moreover,
“22 percent of the admissions officials at four-year institutions said the financial downturn had led them to pay more attention in their decision to applicants’ ability to pay.” Finally, “10 percent of the admissions directors at four-year colleges — and almost 20 percent at private liberal-arts schools — said that the full-pay students they were admitting, on average, had lower grades and test scores than other admitted applicants.”
So, why is this trend so troubling? And, what does it portend for future US competitiveness in the global economy? For one thing, admitting less qualified “wealthy” students will help to continue to “dumb down” the quality of the education currently offered at these institutions. To wit, over 50 percent of incoming freshman at most US colleges and universities already require remedial help in language arts and math. Second, this practice clearly hinders diversity because many minorities (and many middle class students) are either financially disadvantaged or struggling because of the economic downturn and cannot attend these institutions because they are simply out of their financial reach. Third, and perhaps most troubling, is that this practice clearly demonstrates that educational institutions are operating not on educational or academic principles but on business and financial ones. Put simply, generating revenue has replaced the educational and academic mission that all of these institution were founded upon.
Knowing this, is it any wonder why the US is losing it educational edge to lesser nations; many of whom are considered to be emerging countries? Unless the “pay-to-play” practices exhibited by many college admissions offices are eliminated, it is likely that US global dominance and world competitive will continue to wane. Money may “make the world go round” but it requires intelligent, motivated and competitive individuals to generate it!
Until next time...
Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!!!
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By now, most BioJobBlog readers are aware that internships (paid or otherwise) have become a prerequisite at many companies to secure a full time employment. While I think internships are a great idea to jumpstart a career, not all internships are created equal or worth it. Put simply, it is up to the prospective intern to determine whether or not the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Nevertheless, according to a report by the College Employment Research Institute three-quarters of the 10 million American students enrolled at four year colleges and universities will work as an intern before graduating. 
The economic downturn has taken its toll on a number of industries including retail, manufacturing, real estate and others. Many veteran workers from these industries are unemployed and face the prospect of long term unemployment unless they develop or acquire new skills that qualify them for jobs in other areas.
While I believe that tenure ought to be abolished and the cost of a college education is way too high these days, I cannot fault non-profit post secondary educational institutions for the job that they do educating students and preparing them for life. Most do a pretty good job despite the outrageous price tag.
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Amber Johnson of 
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The compensation packages for CEOs of many publicly held companies have recently, (for obvious reasons), come under intense scrutiny. This has spilled over to the chief executive offices of many not-for-profit organizations including private colleges and universities. While the compensation packages for most university presidents and administrators are substantial in many instances, there are a few university employees who sometimes earn substantially more. 