Here is an interesting article by David Brooks. Interesting, because he sees the problem clearly but does not advocate the right solution. The problem is this: Colleges are overpriced and there is increasing evidence that they are not really educating. (In other posts--or maybe just in conversation--I have made a point of noting that college has two parts an educational element and an experiential element. Both are worth something. Neither are worth a life of debt slavery which many college graduates are now facing.) He sees this an his answer is: Bring "No Child Left Behind" (NCLB) to college (i.e., bring accountability to the system by showing parents and students which colleges are teaching least).

This is a bad idea in the same way that NCLB is bad in elementary and secondary schools. It leads to lowest common denominator teaching which would be called gaming the system were it applied to casinos. It distracts the good people and while it might whip some of the worst colleges into doing a better job, it is a cumbersome and overall negative fix.

So what should happen? I advocate freedom. I think that many of the restrictions faced by people trying to start colleges should be lifted. From recent conversations with friends involved in what could be termed the Underground Higher Education Movement, many of these restrictions have been started recently. They are written for (and no doubt by) gigantic institutions and they are crushing small, start up colleges. If we simply lifted the restrictions, money and students would follow (not perfectly or immediately but surely and eventually) achievement. This type of accountability would also avoid the NCLB lowest common denominator problem. Why do people want to avoid these competitive fixes? Because many folks think that control or accountability is crucial to getting goods and services (education is a service) to people. The locus of control in this system is going to break! It is breaking even now. Judgment Day is coming for colleges...heck, I think it might already be here.

Here is the article:

Are Colleges Making the Grade?