I have previously written about my misgivings about academic advertising. Far too many decisions in education seem garbed in language that makes it sound like it's about the students when that is not necessarily the case. Last night for example I heard about a new initiative in higher education to promote people finishing their degrees. That's less about the students and more about the institutions themselves.
One of the college ranking system's criteria factors in how many students an institution graduates. This is supposed to measure how well an institution supports the students that attend. However, it is mostly used as a way to rank schools, not by the quality of their teaching or the quality of their graduates or by the concern of faculty for students. Instead, this statistic targets parents, who are concerned they will pay for students to attend classes but never finish.
Truth be told, we have a lot of students who take a long time in college. Some of these have extenuating circumstances: jobs, diseases, children, etc., that keep them from attending full time. In Las Vegas, our transient population also contributes, as people move away often before they finish, preferring to attend a cheaper in-state institution for their basic core before attending the prestigious institution of their choice for an actual degree. Many of them change majors. Many of them actually take classes, not to get a degree, but to learn things. Shoot, even I do that. There is no way I'm going to get away getting a degree from the school where I teach while I teach there.
Perhaps the most troubling trend in retention is indemic to the institution partnership. Students will bounce around from institution to institution since they are all part of the same system, taking particular teachers or vying for a better grade or hoping to pay cheaper tuition at the community college, and as such we have students who attend all of our institutions. Yet, they are not given credit as being a graduate because they attend NSC and graduate from UNLV or attend CSN and graduate from NSC, or even UNR. It's all part of the same system, and that's the problem.
In my opinion, too many of the measurements used in education do not accurately reflect the quality of the educational experience. Grades are not equivalent with knowledge; graduation rate is not equivalent with care for students; GPA is no predictor of success or dedication or committment; prestige is not synonymous with quality. The best way to get better education is to get better educators. Far too many professors are there for the wrong reasons. They are there to advance themselves or because they couldn't advance themselves in other places. Most successful people can either earn more money elsewhere or do not consider themselves good teachers. Most tenured teachers care a lot less about the students than they would like you to think. Shoot, how many people are actually taught by their professors? At least I was.
Educational institutions are there to make money. Although they rarely if ever actually turn a profit, they exist to rake in money against the cost. They do not care as much about the education of students, otherwise they would have tighter admission requirements to make sure the students who arrive are equipped and motivated for success. We allow high school students, who generally speaking lack the focus and maturity to actually succeed in college, to take classes while they are minors (Why do we allow minors to attend college? It's good neither for them nor for the institution). We allow people to take classes so long as they have a pulse and a credit card. We allow people into programs based on overall GPA after they fluff out their GPA with Underwater Basketweaving, History of Dance, and Backseat Driving classes boosting their GPA. Then we ask why they aren't successful. They are not ready.
Not all professors are created equal. Truth be told, a decade ago, if you told me I'd be teaching Organic Chemistry, I would have laughed at you. Even my ex-wife might be surprised to discover that, because she thought I would never amount to anything, let alone become a professor. My exams are difficult, but they force students to learn, not just barf back up a bunch of details for the exam. There is even one teacher, hopefully former, at my institution who gave exams completely unrelated to the course. I expect great things, and the students who are motivated and equipped for success have risen to the occassion.
I told one of my classes this week that although I wouldn't do this if I wasn't paid, I am not here for the money. The money is insanely good for a single male who bought a house far below his means, and so I am willing to do work off the clock to help them succeed. As I have previously mentioned, I give them other lessons, personal examples, and relevancies that some cannot or will not match, because I actually enjoy the work I do. It's hard work to be a good teacher, even more work perhaps than I am willing and able to give. Fortunately for me, I also happen to get paid, and I am paid sufficient for my needs, and so I will do things other people will not to help my students do things other people cannot.
What I learned about teaching, I learned from my mentors. Doctor Ron R, Doctor Dave Q, Doctor Carol C, Doctor David S, Doctor Bill W., and a handful of others made a personal investment in me. When they saw that I was willing to learn, they were willing to teach, and they went above and beyond to help me become successful. Of course, it also helped that I wasn't headed to medical school like most of my classmates. I watched what they did, why they did it, and how they did it, and I adopted techniques, mannerisms, and philosophies from them all that I recognized helped me learn to be a teacher. Hopefully, dedicated but untenured professors are like fine cheese- they get better with age.
Institutions of higher learning exist to teach people. Sometimes the students will advance without advancing the reputation of the faculty or institution. It's not so much what we do as it is what they do with the tools with which we equip them. Graduation rates that do not lead to job placement are a misnomer, and while my students will not directly as a consequence of my classes get jobs, I do teach them things I believe will help them after they finish college. At least, that's my goal. My students will testify by their accomplishments if I reached that goal.
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