Patron Commission: The Purpose of a University
For centuries, everyone knew the purpose of a university. Its universality didn’t pertain to being a job training program for the masses. Instead, “university” referred to the learned fraternity encompassing the whole of scholarly fields. The closest that pre-Modern universities got to a utilitarian purpose was educating the elite in philosophy, theology, and law to prepare them for roles in ecclesial and civil governance.
In short, the modern university system descended from Medieval European institutions designed to educate clergy, not to provide mass job training. Consider that the big Ivy League schools in America started as seminaries. And far from being commonplace, bachelor’s degrees were only attained by a small percentage of people. As recently as the mid-twentieth century, purusing an advanced degree required an invitation to a postgraduate program. The idea that every individual should pursue a four-year degree is a relatively recent development, and one that warrants serious reconsideration.
The runaway expansion of higher education in the United States also started in the mid-twentieth century with the G.I. Bill, which helped returning World War II veterans earn degrees and transition into white-collar professions. This model only worked well in an era of rapid economic expansion. In the postwar years, a college diploma could guarantee upward mobility, which remains the default assumption of generations who were alive at the time. But over the decades, the university system devolved from an engine of opportunity into a high-stakes higher-ed casino. Fueled by federal student loan programs passed under Clinton and Obama, and driven by a culturewide mandate that a bachelor's degree was the ticket to success, academia bloated far beyond its original scope.
Related: The Mammon Mob
Skip ahead to the present: The tragic ramifications of universalizing a system meant for the cream of the crop are now athwart us. The student loan crisis has left millions burdened with usurious debt that is not just unrepayable, but unserviceable. Federal courts are now rolling back repayment plans, leaving borrowers stranded. Nor has this financial albatross only been hung around individuals’ necks; it's degrading the whole economy. Millennials and Gen Z are postponing homeownership, marriage, and children—not just because of cultural decline, but because they're drowning in debt. Even high earners in fields like law and medicine struggle under loan burdens so massive that their monthly payments exceed those of mortgages.
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Meanwhile, universities continue to prop up bloated bureaucracies, amassing multi-billion-dollar endowments while churning out graduates who can’t read with degrees that have little value as credentials. The sad reality is that Baby Boomers who grew up in the postwar golden age sold their kids the illusion that any degree will open doors. But due to automation, globalization, and affirmative action, that illusion has been dispelled. Instead of questioning whether everyone should go to college, society just keeps feeding kids into a system that is financially unsound and detached from economic realities. Nor is it a coincidence that the problem started with the G.I. Bill, since freedom from the burden of usury remains a central military recruting pitch.
So what’s the alternative?
It’s past time to stop treating a college degree as the default path to success. A major part of the solution to the usury crisis lies in expanding vocational training, apprenticeships, and alternative certification programs. As an anecdote, my great-uncle was a plumber who never set foot in a college, except to fix the pipes, and he retired with a net worth of $4 million. Trades like that, and electrical work, machining, and welding, offer well-paying, stable careers with far lower barriers to entry. Apprenticeships and on-the-job training can provide faster, more affordable routes into many professions than a traditional four-year degree.
And let’s address the elephant in the room: Not everybody is meant to be a think tank economist, a neurosurgeon, or a software engineer. The glorification of nerds has gone hand-in-hand with the nerdification of society, and we’d do ourselves a favor to stop denigrating craftsmen who work with their hands.
In addition, universities should have more skin in the game. If institutions were required to cosign student loans or even partially absorb defaults, they would have a vested interest in ensuring their degrees provide real economic value. Granting student debtors the same bankruptcy protection as folks with underwater mortgages would also force lenders to be more responsible when issuing loans. And let’s get serious. Universities are sitting on massive endowments. They helped cause the problem, so they should contribute to debt relief rather than watching from the sidelines, counting their tuition money, while their graduates struggle.
Related: Finding Solutions
The push to send every high school graduate to college has created a system that benefits academic and government bureaucracy, the military-industrial complex, and banks at the expense of students and taxpayers. We need to rethink whether the bachelor's degree is the golden ticket it’s been billed as—or whether we should offer our kids more practical, financially viable options for building their futures.
Sincere thanks to the valued patron who commissioned this post. Art has been another casualty of materialism and credentialism run amok, so those who make it possible for independent craftsmen to earn a living in the arts are real heroes.
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