I just finished reading a Forbes article last night entitled, “The Higher Education Highway Needs More Off-Ramps.”

The author, Ryan Craig, waxes sentimental about Route 66 and tries to make the case that universities need to build “more frequent and easier-to-navigate off-ramps,” based on stackable credentials and competency profiles.

He might be right, but he misses the point.

The problem with the three-year superhighway model to a college degree is that it doesn’t accommodate real life or even the desires of many students. The traditional student wants to experience life as a college student and that experience might not fit in three years. Additionally, it might not fit the community college transfer student at all.

My larger concern, however, is that students aren’t cars.

 
Cars don’t have babies, aren’t responsible for elder care, and they don’t have mortgage payments. Sure, college students may proverbially run out of gas, need their battery recharged, or seek some other kind of “repair”. But, most students who want to take a break for a short time aren’t doing it just to “sightsee” as Craig suggests.

They are coping with multiple pressures and complicated life circumstances. They need options to allow them to adapt and be resilient. The three year, “fast track,” super highway to a degree is a theoretic construct created by various kinds of officials who are sitting a safe distance away from our students.

That pathway may be a great pathway for some, but it should never be marketed as the major pathway, the only pathway, the best pathway, or even the right pathway for all.

What do you think?