Lower college costs with A.C.D (accumulative credits degree) The way it would work is that professors and others (certified,accreditated and tested, i.e. Engineers, coo’s, ceo’s, cfo’s, lawyers, scientists) would be allowed, by law, to teach courses in their fields of expertise. They would provide a location to teach, appropriate for the course of study. The courses would be accredited through the normal processes and the fee structure would be their choice within guidelines set up by a board of overseers. The guiding principle would be to produce a high quality education at much lower costs. Since there are no campuses and no endless layers of college bureaucracy, the costs would be greatly reduced. Accumulate the credits you need and get a degree. I am sure people with vested interest will oppose any competition to their lucrative strangle hold on educating our kids. There are details that would need to be worked out and perhaps only a couple degree programs should be started at the onset. All colleges that accept federal money would be required to accept credits received through A.C.D.’s. All federal and state monies that are available for traditional colleges would be made available as well. The quality of the education would be the highest priority, so teachers would be tested and retested in their field of study and recertified through the board. The board whose majority will be business leaders/experts will help to ensure the programs are designed to meet the demands of employers. The board would consist of 2 school age parents, 4 professionals, i.e. 1 from accounting/finance, 1 from hi tech, 1 from medical sciences, 1 from manufacturing, then 1 from higher education administration and 1 professor. They would be the self-regulating body ,( accountable to the board of education) to define the structures, implementation and police the program. Under a new law professors and others could moonlight teaching these course (or form associations or companies) without retribution from their employers. The structure of the governing board and its’ agents should be kept as small as possible to avoid the problem we face now with education, a bloated bureaucracy. The general education requirements could be limited to these important topics; US history, Math, English, personal finance, new technology and current world events. These G.E.R.’s would help to produce productive citizens with the tools to make informed decisions. Politicians and college administrators’ policies have driven up the costs of a college. A different alternative approach needs to be created to educated our children without crushing them with debt
Posted on: Sat, 24 Aug 2013 01:53:54 +0000