Katherine Long has a very disturbing story at the Times about programs being cut from the community colleges.
The irony in Katherine’s story is that these community college programs have a documented record of real productivity .. over 80% of the grads get REAL jobs. Why are these real programs being cut while students need to get jobs? It is shameful that the legislature is, in effect, replacing these real job programs with WGU’s “competency” diplomas .. diplomas that WGU will nto tell us whether its students can use their degrees to get jobs.
Of course, Seattle Central’s very successful program in clothing design or the justly famous culinary programs at South Seattle don’t offer an MA degree like one of those snazzy programs at WGU! Somehow, I suspect that most students need jobs more than they need dubious diplomas .
Still we need to remember the sunny side. My representative tells me that WGU is “free.” The state will, officially, not be spending money at WGU. … What she tell me would be true unless you count dollars of wasted student aid paying WGU’s tuition bills or, I predict, the unemployment bills when these newly minted MBAs and BS degrees do not lead to jobs.
or, I predict, the