Jail university officials who sell career-useless majors?

[Novorobo]

This idea came to mind thinking of all the out of work college grads... while Trump university is an especially egregious example, I think it was the inevitable end result of years of university officials, public and private, getting away with deceiving students about the likelihood of getting a job with a given major.

You could argue it's a consequence of a society that undervalues education. Even if that's the problem, universities shouldn't pretend others will value it.

Isn't it time to stop tiptoeing around the issue, and lock 'em up for causing so many people to waste so much time, effort, and money?

[Kannap]

Speaking as a college student, it's the student's place to research the current job market as well as the projected job market in five years to determine if their major is going to get them anywhere.

[Mike the Progressive]

Yes, imprison all philosophy, anthropology, history and gender studies professors. Their crime? Teaching useless topics. Their punishment? Death*

*The legal way, almighty mods.

[Uxupox]

If people get into useless majors that have no job markets then it's their own damn fault for not doing research before hand.

[Forsher]

This idea came to mind thinking of all the out of work college grads... while Trump university is an especially egregious example, I think it was the inevitable end result of years of university officials, public and private, getting away with deceiving students about the likelihood of getting a job with a given major.

You could argue it's a consequence of a society that undervalues education. Even if that's the problem, universities shouldn't pretend others will value it.

Isn't it time to stop tiptoeing around the issue, and lock 'em up for causing so many people to waste so much time, effort, and money?

If this is really a problem... and I remain unconvinced by your thorough analysis... then there is, surely even in the US, consumer protection legislation. Caveat Emptor is a useful personal philosophy, it is true, but it is no longer the legal paradigm. However, that does not mean that you can't try to sell things, as opposed to offering something for people to buy.

On the other hand, why do we care? People ought to be free to do what they will with their ability to attract finance. If they find it worthwhile to study accounting, then by all means let them devote their lives to such technical affairs while we higher beings are less vocational in outlook. Or something. I should go to sleep.

[Felrik]

Yes, imprison all philosophy, anthropology, history and gender studies professors. Their crime? Teaching useless topics. Their punishment? Death*

*The legal way, almighty mods.

Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it.

But Mike they're keeping us alive, can't you make an exception for the history guys.

[Purpelia]

This idea came to mind thinking of all the out of work college grads... while Trump university is an especially egregious example, I think it was the inevitable end result of years of university officials, public and private, getting away with deceiving students about the likelihood of getting a job with a given major.

You could argue it's a consequence of a society that undervalues education. Even if that's the problem, universities shouldn't pretend others will value it.

Isn't it time to stop tiptoeing around the issue, and lock 'em up for causing so many people to waste so much time, effort, and money?

So basically you have a problem with false advertising? Because that's what this is about. Telling someone your university has a much higher chance of getting them employed than it does is absolutely no different than telling them your 10 step program will make them lose weight, get a better complexion and cure their cancer. And there are already laws against that in the civilized world. Not sure about america though. We'll have to consult someone from there for that question.

[Mike the Progressive]

Yes, imprison all philosophy, anthropology, history and gender studies professors. Their crime? Teaching useless topics. Their punishment? Death*

*The legal way, almighty mods.

Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it.

But Mike they're keeping us alive, can't you make an exception for the history guys.

Haha I have a masters in American history, so I understand. But the greater good, Felrik. The Greater Good!

[Dahon]

This idea came to mind thinking of all the out of work college grads... while Trump university is an especially egregious example, I think it was the inevitable end result of years of university officials, public and private, getting away with deceiving students about the likelihood of getting a job with a given major.

You could argue it's a consequence of a society that undervalues education. Even if that's the problem, universities shouldn't pretend others will value it.

Isn't it time to stop tiptoeing around the issue, and lock 'em up for causing so many people to waste so much time, effort, and money?

Trump University, like everything else associated with that Kyubey-grade jackasshole, is a Himalayas of snake oil and bullshit that manages to bury reputable occupations that do have a slight semblance to what he and his fellow crooks offer to hapless students.

The fact of the matter is that if you're into get-rich-quick-ASAP schemes and literally nothing else, you're likely better off pursuing a degree in business.

[Felrik]

Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it.

But Mike they're keeping us alive, can't you make an exception for the history guys.

Haha I have a masters in American history, so I understand. But the greater good, Felrik. The Greater Good!

All hail the almighty Mike the Progressive

He knows best.

[Arachno-Satinism]

Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it.

But Mike they're keeping us alive, can't you make an exception for the history guys.

Haha I have a masters in American history, so I understand. But the greater good, Felrik. The Greater Good!

the cold, emotionless, rational maximization of well-being and happiness for the greatest possible number!
no exploitable skills for production of capital = out

[Felrik]

On a serious note, It's the students responsibility to find out what jobs are needed and the most popular at that time, if they chose a useless degree its there own damn fault.

[Dameth]

Speaking as a owner of a useless degree, namely a master in philosophy, I say this making broad generalizations about those teachers is as harmful as saying that a degree should have no contact to the outside world. You can't study in a vacuum, that's for sure, but research is a driving force to productivity, even in fields in which we might no see uses yet. To my knowledge, some fields of philosophy are now used to develop IAs, and we don't know what future reserves, so it's in the interest of the community to keep research going.

At a personal level, meeting some (one specifically) rogue foucault teacher changed my perspective on life forever and for the better. Today I have a job and I'm happy with my life, in great part thanks to him. Education is cheap in my country and I don't regret a cent I spent there.

[Bufett and Colbert]

Useless is in the eye of the degree holder.

[The Grim Reaper]

You're conflating two entirely unrelated issues in your OP - one being majors with low graduate opportunities, and the other being degree mills like Trump University.

The most egregious degree mills are those selling business degrees to lower-level employees seeking management opportunities, and those selling IT/STEM degrees to returning veterans, people between jobs, and lower-income families. Very few degree mills offer, say, gender studies or sociology, which I would assume are the majors you are most terrified of.

[Purpelia]

To be fair, I can sort of agree on the gender studies thing. Like what is that supposed to even be? And how is it anything but a subset of sociology? It certainly does not sound valuable or broad enough to warrant a separation from general sociology.

[Xadufell]

To be fair, I can sort of agree on the gender studies thing. Like what is that supposed to even be? And how is it anything but a subset of sociology? It certainly does not sound valuable or broad enough to warrant a separation from general sociology.

My thoughts exactly

[Felrik]

To be fair, I can sort of agree on the gender studies thing. Like what is that supposed to even be? And how is it anything but a subset of sociology? It certainly does not sound valuable or broad enough to warrant a separation from general sociology.

I don't even know what jobs people could possibly get with the Gender Studies degree.

[Gig em Aggies]

adding to others have previously stated besides the students responsibility to search the job market for their preferred major it is also the student who chose that degree field to begin with. like at first I chose a BS in CJ but then switched to a BA in History why cause I like history. I'm not gonna punish a professor or other university official for something that's not in their control. anyways I see this as a very flawed personal opinion with nothing of substance to support the sentiment that you feel.

[Xadufell]

To be fair, I can sort of agree on the gender studies thing. Like what is that supposed to even be? And how is it anything but a subset of sociology? It certainly does not sound valuable or broad enough to warrant a separation from general sociology.

I don't even know what jobs people could possibly get with the Gender Studies degree.

Becoming a professional laughingstock aside, nothing.

[Felrik]

I don't even know what jobs people could possibly get with the Gender Studies degree.

Becoming a professional laughingstock aside, nothing.

24 hours a week, $5 a hour.

[The Grim Reaper]

To be fair, I can sort of agree on the gender studies thing. Like what is that supposed to even be? And how is it anything but a subset of sociology? It certainly does not sound valuable or broad enough to warrant a separation from general sociology.

I don't even know what jobs people could possibly get with the Gender Studies degree.

Academia, pair with criminology for criminal justice & women's crime studies, follow into the JD for the same goals, follow into the MD for culturally-sensitive women's health with a strong communications & ethics background (MD is designed for students outside medicine), pair with media studies for gender-targeted marketing, pair with business for gender-targeted business management, pair with psychology, pair with policy analysis for minority policy work, pair with science communications or tech studies or engineering for recruitment & outreach, follow into a Masters in any liberal arts field at all.

Pair with history for a specialist academic career, pair with education psychology or education to move into education management, whatever.

The liberal arts majors are designed to be a basis for further study - that's how they work. There's a reason the most senior degree program by Western norms is the Doctor of Philosophy. Anyone expecting to get a job in a gender studies factory with a bachelor's is sorely mistaken, and anyone who thinks that gender studies majors are inherently flawed because you can't get a job in a gender studies factory is also sorely mistaken.

[Alvecia]

This idea came to mind thinking of all the out of work college grads... while Trump university is an especially egregious example, I think it was the inevitable end result of years of university officials, public and private, getting away with deceiving students about the likelihood of getting a job with a given major.

You could argue it's a consequence of a society that undervalues education. Even if that's the problem, universities shouldn't pretend others will value it.

Isn't it time to stop tiptoeing around the issue, and lock 'em up for causing so many people to waste so much time, effort, and money?

It's their own time, effort, and money to waste, surely?

[Felrik]

I don't even know what jobs people could possibly get with the Gender Studies degree.

Academia, pair with criminology for criminal justice & women's crime studies, follow into the JD for the same goals, follow into the MD for culturally-sensitive women's health with a strong communications & ethics background (MD is designed for students outside medicine), pair with media studies for gender-targeted marketing, pair with business for gender-targeted business management, pair with psychology, pair with policy analysis for minority policy work, pair with science communications or tech studies or engineering for recruitment & outreach, follow into a Masters in any liberal arts field at all.

Pair with history for a specialist academic career, pair with education psychology or education to move into education management, whatever.

The liberal arts majors are designed to be a basis for further study - that's how they work. There's a reason the most senior degree program by Western norms is the Doctor of Philosophy. Anyone expecting to get a job in a gender studies factory with a bachelor's is sorely mistaken, and anyone who thinks that gender studies majors are inherently flawed because you can't get a job in a gender studies factory is also sorely mistaken.

Fair enough then.

[The Tofu Islands]

While actively misrepresenting the employment prospects of a particular course would be bad (and presumably against existing laws surrounding truth in advertising and whatnot), I'm not entirely comfortable with the implication that the purpose of university is simply to improve one's employment prospects, as opposed to, for instance, getting an education.

Deconstructing degree mills is, I feel, an entirely different problem.