Perhaps the dramatic rise in the cost of college is related to an increased prevalence in the "career development" perspective of college students? Sure, it is enriching to learn things you did not already know. But when college is this expensive, it is hard to not view the price tag as an investment. And the only real way to get a return on that investment is to secure a good-paying job after graduation. Therefore it should be understandable, not condemnable, when some students are more focused on learning the accounting skills that will land them an accounting job than learning Norwegian literature. It isn't "what really matters is all the things you learned along the way" when you're $150k in debt. Holistic learning is certainly a valuable tradition at American universities - it may also now be a romantic educational perspective used by universities and their now massive bureaucracies to justify record high tuition costs.

Perhaps the dramatic rise in the cost of college is related to an increased prevalence in the "career development" perspective of college students? Sure, it is enriching to learn things you did not already know. But when college is this expensive, it is hard to not view the price tag as an investment. And the only real way to get a return on that investment is to secure a good-paying job after graduation. Therefore it should be understandable, not condemnable, when some students are more focused on learning the accounting skills that will land them an accounting job than learning Norwegian literature. It isn't "what really matters is all the things you learned along the way" when you're $150k in debt. Holistic learning is certainly a valuable tradition at American universities - it may also now be a romantic educational perspective used by universities and their now massive bureaucracies to justify record high tuition costs.

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