Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Fudging the numbers in a bad economy...

I think that a lot of the colleges out there are not being 110% truthful with their incoming students. Which is a shame considering how much money they will be taking from them.

Take Sage with all of their 98% commercials. I can probably recite the commercial that's how many times I've seen it. I would love to see the number breakdown however. How many of that percentage is "employed after graduation" and what percentage "continued their education."

Take Albany Law School. I believe they count me as "employed" even though I'm scraping by with two non-legal jobs, as are quite a few of my friends. I also wonder if they count part time folks who are taking legal work here and there when they can as "employed." And they also cut the LLM tuition this year to $15,000 ... one THIRD the normal cost. A THIRD? Dollars to donuts that all of the kids who signed up for that sweet deal are factor into Albany Law's EMPLOYED OR continued their education numbers.

I just think that it's a shame in such a crappy economy that universities cannot be honest with their students. Especially when all of these universities have policies that ensure their students be honest with them. Just set forth straightforward stats.
X % of students are employed in their field of study
Y % of students are employed, but not in their chosen field of study
Z % of students continued their education
That was prospective students can get an accurate assessment of what their chances are. Instead of thinking "oh yeah, there's no CHANCE I'll be in that 2%" Because the reality is, it's much larger than 2%.

It's a bad precedent to start off your student-university relationship on a lie. Because really, in the end it doesn't end up working out for you. Sure, you got their tuition, but will you ever see an alumni gift?

4 comments:

  1. Black storms shake the sky
    Dark clouds blind us
    Although death and pain await us
    Duty calls us against the enemy

    The most precious good
    is freedom
    And we have to defend it
    With courage and faith

    Raise the revolutionary flag
    Which carries the people to emancipation
    Raise the revolutionary flag
    Which carries the people to emancipation
    Working people march onwards to the battle
    We have to smash the reaction

    To the Barricades! To the Barricades!

    Just sayin'.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Funny you choose to write about this now. I was talking to Paul about how Albany Law had to be fudging those numbers on who is unemployed 10 months out. Giving them the benefit of the doubt and saying that our graduating class was 215 people. In order to get a 98% employment rate, only 4 people could be unemployed. I can name 5 (Myself, Ginny, Sarah Merritt, Megan Hillebrandt, Elise Rogers (nee Gominiak)). The problem is many, if not all institutions of higher learning pad their employment numbers to bolster their enrollment numbers. The solution may be to blow the cover off of the practice. The rub is who is willing to discredit their college or law school's reputation with the general public, since it is that reputation you are banking on to help, or at least not harm, you getting a job!

    You find me that person, and I will find you the news anchor willing to do a story on them.

    ReplyDelete
  3. How bout a post talking about your current political outlook? Are you still as moderate as you used to be? Are you more leaning one way or the other since Shrub left? How's BarryO done in your opinion? Joined any tea-parties lately? Scozzafava vs Hoffman?

    Faraway mind has been wondering...

    ReplyDelete
  4. Leslie, please add, me, Lettie, Tom, and Nate G. to that list, making at least 9 or 10 of us (cause I KNOW I'm forgetting someone) ... making 98% an utter lie and shame.

    ReplyDelete

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