What happens when colleges / Universities close their doors?
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So, instead of going the way of student loan debt forgiveness and that direction, I want to ask a different question. Mainly, when a school closes its doors, for whatever reason:
- What happens to the credibility of the degrees that the alum has earned?
- Is the degree obtained by the alum still credible because of the education learned by the alum?
- Or is the the degree worthless because the institution granting the degree out of business?
While I am not concerned about my own credibility based upon my experience in the industry, I was able to get my start based upon my degree, which has allowed for me to gain experience. However, the concern comes from those that went to other schools that have closed their doors for whatever reasons.
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@NerdyDad said in What happens when colleges / Universities close their doors?:
- What happens to the credibility of the degrees that the alum has earned?
Sadly, these tend to tank with the school. It happens in the other way as well... people who got degrees from UCLA when it was a worthless party school are now highly revered because UCLA is considered a decent school today - highlight how pointless the educational process is. Almost no one cares about what you learned but about how well a school is marketed at the moment.
So when a school goes under, its students tend to suffer quite a lot. They don't lose their degrees of course. But if a school loses its fame or becomes famous for being bad or loses accreditation, people see your degree as worth less or even worthless in the case of the latter.
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@NerdyDad said in What happens when colleges / Universities close their doors?:
- Is the degree obtained by the alum still credible because of the education learned by the alum?
The degree is still valid, for sure. And old timers who remember the school will likely still see it as the value it was or near to it. But people will also wonder why the school collapsed and question how bad their education was prior to full failure.
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@NerdyDad said in What happens when colleges / Universities close their doors?:
However, the concern comes from those that went to other schools that have closed their doors for whatever reasons.
The long term credibility and stability of the school that you choose are among the top factors that you use to choose where you go to school (and failing to do so is a huge reflection on candidate's decision making capabilities.) And this risk is one of the many factors you must consider when choosing the risky college route to a career. College comes with many, many risks and unless your degree is specifically for a government union job (one where you can only work in the field if the government allows it - basically you "buy" your job from them) you should never associate getting a degree with "furthering your career." That's not the purpose of a degree and again, if a candidate goes to college for that purpose, that decision as well reflects on them.
When someone chooses to go to college, it's a huge decision and every aspect of it reflects on them and will always reflect on them. So doing it casually is very foolish.
