Retooling the "U"

"Like many schools today, is it the job of the University to instruct or indoctrinate? Sometimes I don't know if they know the difference anymore..."

Like many of us, my wife and I are card carrying alumni of the University of Minnesota. We are also taxpayers in this state. I guess that makes us stakeholders. In other words, we have the right to make suggestions. To praise and to complain. And at times, just to bitch.

My wife and I both graduated with undergraduate degrees in 1975. Mine from the Carlson School of Management and hers from the College of Education. She later received a Master's degree (MED) in Special Education from the "U" in 1979. And why do I point that out. Because much has changed at the "U" since then. And for the most part, the changes have not been good.

Let's look at what has happened to tuition since I graduated. As a vet, I received the now former GI bill to attend college. Since I was married, my monthly check was $220. With that money, I could pay for my tuition, a part of my wife's tuition, and part of our rent. The rest of the money we needed was made up by working a few hours per week part time. From the time we were married until graduation, neither one of us accumulated one penny in student loans.

Now flash forward to today. The University is very expensive. However, still a bargain compared to going to a private college. As a local resident living at home, if you can graduate with an undergrad degree in four years by only spending $60K, you have done well. Out of state and graduate tuitions are higher. Many students walk out the doors with a diploma and a big fat bill.

I have been waiting for a long time to see which large University will break the mold. Retool the teaching process. Get rid of the left leaning undergrad professors and lecturers who believe their only job is to indoctrinate rather than instruct our youth. And how would we do that? Just like Amazon has retooled the "brick and mortar" department stores, creative online education should be able to retool "brick and mortar" learning facilities. 

Now don't get me wrong. I still love the "U". I believe in the "U". Amazing things happen on the Twin Cities campus, especially in medicine and agriculture. Both the Chemical Engineering Departments and College of Pharmacy are ranked the third best in the nation. Overall, the University is ranked in the top 25 research facilities in the United States.

That being said, each and every year representatives from the University coming to St. Paul begging for more money. And the costs keep rising - much faster than the rate of inflation. The "brick and mortar" campus in the Twin Cities has become bloated with bureaucracy. It needs to be right sized. And the innovative thinkers at that facility need to figure out how to educate undergraduate students at a fraction of what it costs now. And to do it without sacrificing quality.

I really don't mean just to single out our hometown Big 10 facility. Many colleges are the same way. I only focus on the "U" as I have some familiarity with the place. My concern with our higher education system is simply this - if we can't affordably education our young people to be trained and equipped to take the emerging jobs of the 21st century, then why do it all? To indoctrinate young people rather than educate them, and then send them packing with thousands of dollars in debt, serves nobody.

It is time to think outside the box Goldy. Time to get with the program. In a changing world, the "U" needs to change also. Time to change. Time to re-tool.