Higher Education In Michael Roth's Beyond The University

In recent years, the public’s general perspective on higher education has shifted. Rather than encourage higher education as a tool for one to pursue his or her dreams, the growing talk amongst professionals and students is that working towards a degree is an investment, and having a degree of value is pivotal in an uncertain job market. Moreover, society views the failure to obtain a degree as the ultimate waste, as mentioned in Michael Roth’s book, Beyond the University. Through research, we found that there are three challenging issues surrounding higher education in the modern day: student unpreparedness, cost, and the value of a degree following graduation. There is a three-pronged challenge in higher education surrounding pressure on students to attend university and the quality of the education they receive as a result. First, a societal stigma surrounds and labels any student who graduates high school but does not attend college as a ‘failure’ or ‘nobody’. These students are heavily frowned upon and viewed as being below those who go on to pursue a college or university education. This stigma pressures many students, regardless of college readiness or preparedness, to enroll in an expensive university along with the rest of their peers. Secondly, with an …show more content…
From elementary school to graduate school, the financial capabilities of the family and student have a significant impact on the success of the student. Studies show that students who come from poor financial backgrounds have a more difficult time in elementary school, middle school, and high school. (Harris 99) These students don 't get the education that they need, and in the long run, they are unprepared for college. In fact, “Compared with the lowest income quartile, students in the highest income quartile are almost three times as likely to enter college and almost six times as likely to complete a bachelor 's degree” (Harris