What If College Took Two Years Instead Of Four?

Many people no longer believe that a college degree holds value — and justifiably so — but university officials could restructure college to make it better and more pragmatic…if they would only listen to reason. 

More and more employers don’t care about college degrees as much as they care about experience. Just last year, one in four employers said they’re ending college degree requirements. “Among employers that eliminated degree requirements, two-thirds did so for entry-level roles, 54% for mid-level roles and 23% for senior-level roles,” according to Higher Ed Dive. 

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Forbes reported this year that “only 37% of employers say higher education institutions are preparing students with the skills needed to succeed in the workforce.”

College professors — many of whom could never succeed in the private sector if they tried — insist that a college student needs a well-rounded education to make it in the workforce. And by well-rounded education, I mean taking courses not relevant to a student’s major, which is what keeps him or her in college for four years instead of two. The longer the student stays in college, the more revenue the college takes in.

Let’s face it, your real education doesn’t start until you enter the workforce. Employers care more about an employee’s experience and less about whether their employees know Socrates or took Shakespeare or Theater Appreciation 101.

Here’s a thought: have a two-year college program focused only on your major followed by two years of apprenticeships. It’s a more pragmatic approach to job training. More value comes from it. Apprenticeships — unlike college — actually train students for a career. 

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K-12 public schools suffer from a similar problem. They believe in a one-size-fits all approach to every child when they should instead tailor their curriculums to meet a child’s individual needs and skill sets.

But K-12 and higher education hire powerful lobbyists to sweet talk every state and federal legislator in the U.S. Reforming this broken system is difficult. Lobbyists fight any and all meaningful reforms. Regular folks like you and I are too busy making a living so we can’t schmooze at the state capitol, but maybe it’s time we form our own lobby and find a way?

College loans are far too easy to get. Employers who require employees to have college degrees as a condition of hire pay too little to justify the money a student invests to get one. 

College could operate a lot more efficiently. And if college administrators still say no to meaningful reforms then it is they — and not us — who are narrow-minded.  

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