While people are scrambling and plotting about how to pay for their children’s education, PayPal cofounder Peter Thiel has offered up a different idea: He is offering 24 people $100,000 [1] not to go to college.
Before I get started, it’s important that I disclose and explain: I am a professor at Drexel University. In other words, I work in higher ed. I also should say that I am highly invested in that work, and I do the work I do at my particular school because I believe in it all. In fact, as I see another group of students getting ready to graduate from Drexel, I can tell all of you fellow Gen Xers (that’s what us 40-somethings are, right?) this: We’re going to be in good hands.
But I do know that college is expensive [2]. To be fair, college “sticker price” is not what many, if not most, students actually pay, as a recent U.S. News & World Report blog described [3]. Many of the students I personally work with do seem to have financial support from a variety of sources like grants, loans, and scholarships.
Some experts are now talking about college going through a kind of bubble burst like housing did. And people from all over, including those involved with higher ed, are asking tough questions about the worth of a college education.
I have liked the spirit of inquiry behind these questions, but I’ve always felt it would be difficult to find out the real comparative value of college for someone because the grand experiment, one that compares similar students who did and didn’t go to college, couldn’t be done.
But Thiel is trying something like that. He is giving these 24 students money to develop entrepreneurial ideas instead of attending college [4].
Thiel’s plan as a challenge to college has well-publicized flaws, including the obvious: He has offered the money to high-achievers, many of whom, based on their bios, seem to have the money, means, and other inherent advantages that have always led to success in our culture. But, to me, the idea driving Thiel’s plan is great.
It’s great because it will be a step toward helping us do something important: Show, demonstrate, dare I say prove the value we are offering. It’s great because it helps us ask hard questions about education. It’s great because it may help us think critically about a generally accepted idea.
In fact, the higher ed endeavor is in some ways driven by this “engine”: “While most people believe ___, a closer look reveals ___.” (Thanks to Joseph Williams, who articulated this idea well.) Thiel’s plan follows that structure.
It is certainly the right time to ask these kinds of questions. A recent Pew study [5] found a growing skepticism to college degrees. Anti-intellectualism? Maybe. But perhaps people, conversely, are trying to think through the necessity of this incredibly expensive commodity. It is also worth keeping in mind that according to U.S. Census data, less than a third of Americans hold a bachelor’s degree anyway [6]. (If you think that’s shockingly low, that says a lot about where you live and who you hang out with.)
As someone in higher ed, I like the challenges before us, because I do think what we are doing works. When I see the students I have been lucky enough to be around at Drexel, I feel optimistic about their ability to take on the problems of the world. It’s important that we show that college helps develop their abilities and talents.
So let’s find out the value of the higher education endeavor, and perhaps we’ll also find who it’s of particular value to. I think a close analysis will demonstrate the value we provide — and it’s worthwhile knowing the answers to big questions like that.
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