A Better Four-Year University Education

The Problem

There’s little trust between teacher and student. Students must be disciplined for talking out of turn. Students must sit still for 3 hours while class is ongoing, with a short 10-15 minute break in the middle. Students cannot be trusted to be self-directed. It’s assumed that, if left to their own devices, they would simply flounder without the “structure” of school.

The student is told they must prove what they’ve learned to the authority figure, the instructor. Unfortunately, the way the current system is set up, the main ways you prove you learned is through a paper and pencil test where you fill in bubbles, or maybe write in answers. Or, you write a paper explaining what you learned or make an argument on a limited number of topics to choose from.

This is in contrast to trust.

A college student should be trusted that they want to learn, and in their fourth year synthesis project, they can “prove” their learning much better by applying the knowledge they gathered into an applied-to-life project. Some students will slack or do the bare minimum and just try to get by. But just because there are a few “rotten apples” doesn’t mean you have to treat everyone as if they’re trying to pull a fast one on you. Most people want to do a good job. (source) Especially if they’re adults who are in school by choice. There have been many books written on this subject, and the vast majority of research shows that humans don’t need to be ruled by an iron fist to be productive. In fact, micromanaging people does the opposite; it demoralizes people and makes them less motivated to work hard, or innovate.

Teachers would be better served to be experts in the subjects of their personal choice, as well as educated on how to best teach. There are many brilliant professors who, unfortunately, don’t know how to teach the subjects they are otherwise so brilliant at. Ideally, teachers would have both an equal amount of training in their subject(s) of choice, as well as, in teaching.

The cost of education is currently unaffordable in the U.S. for most of the population. The average cost of attendance is anywhere from $10,000 for a state school, assuming you are a resident of that state, to $36,000 for private education. I don’t know of anyone in my lifetime, who is around my age, who has paid out of pocket, every last penny of their college education. Most get loans, scholarships, grants, and money from their families or state programs, if possible.

The Solution

But what if universities didn’t have to pay for a brick and mortar university? What if universities were a wide network of experts, who had an education in teaching as well, as you could simply drop them a video call when you need them?

For example, if you’re interested in geometry, maybe your university has an expert you can call, who lives in Switzerland, but is affiliated and vetted by the school, and you could arrange a time to talk with them about where you’re stuck with your geometry learning, and the instructor could help you when you need them. Instead of an instructor assigning you homework, books, and tests, they could make suggestions as to which projects would help you learn the subject you’re interested in.

While a video call is inferior to an in-person, one-on-one interaction with an instructor, it is certainly a lot less expensive than the current system of paying sky high tuition, which goes toward not only the staff, but also the buildings, the maintenance of those buildings, and the landscaping.

The buildings and their maintenance alone is 15% of the tuition’s budget. Imagine now, paying 15% less for school. That’s $1,500 off for a state school, and $5,400 for a private institution. The video conference idea doesn’t seem so scary when you think of how much it can save you long term.

This is my four-year plan for a university education.

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In the first year, it’s a good time to gain the big picture, such as the theoretical knowledge necessary to understanding what’s out there that you can learn for the foundation of your education. You would be encouraged to pick as many or as few of the first year general subjects as you wish.

This is counter to the traditional system, which forces you to take subjects you will likely never use in your lifetime, and which you will likely forget. A professional dancer doesn’t need to know calculus, and a calculus professor doesn’t need to know how to do ballet. It’s okay not to know everything and to specialize and become the best in your chosen field, because there is a limited amount of time on earth, and learning calculus when you really want to be a ballerina has limited value.

Subjects would be taught all throughout the year, with one week breaks each season, for a total of four weeks off in a year. This is because health psychology studies overwhelmingly have shown taking a vacation, offers tremendous health benefits. (source) Some studies have shown taking a week to de-stress and get away from the troubles of school or work offers health benefits such as lowered cardiovascular disease risk for up to an entire year after the break is taken. These vacations also allow the brain to recharge and be in better performance for the learning that will continue after the break.

1st year (general)

Humanities
Social sciences
Natural sciences
Formal sciences
Applied sciences

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In the second year, there would be a new list of subjects that can be learned, based off of the first year’s foundation of knowledge. The student would pick as many or as few subjects as they wish to learn for the second year. This year would be a hybrid of both theoretical and applied education. Students would do less book reading this year, and spend more time working out in the field half the time, applying what they have learned or are learning. For example, say you always dreamed of being a prolific novelist. You might take all the humanities courses, but leave the formal sciences behind.

Then, you might start a concrete, detailed plan for how to begin learning to write well. An expert and teacher on writing could be your resource guide, as well as your consultant. The instructor could direct you to the right places to find a useful book, or maybe to an expert who could assist you in the direction you’re working toward. If the teacher isn’t an expert on writing horror, but knows of someone respected in the field, you could try to contact them. People are busy, but sometimes they are willing to help, and their advice should be treated as invaluable.

2nd yeaR (expanded)

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The third year is for specializing in your chosen field(s) of study. From this list you would gain access to more applied and specific training, such as going to conferences. This is the year you would take instruction and finish writing your plan as to how you are going to write that great novel, or invent that new software, or maybe even come up with a scientific paper to submit to a peer-reviewed journal, depending on your personal interests and values.

3RD YEAR (specialized)

Humanities

Social sciences

• Geography
  • Physical geography
  • Human geography
  • Integrated geography
  • Cartography

• Social work
  • Clinical social work
  • Community practice
  • Mental health
  • Psychosocial rehabilitation
  • Person-centered therapy
  • Family therapy
  • Financial social work

Natural sciences

Formal sciences

Mathematics

Applied sciences

Business

• Accounting
• Business management
• Finance
• Marketing
• Operations management

Engineering and technology

Medicine and health

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4TH YEAR (synthesized)

Fourth year is your final synthesis of everything you learned. The last year, you wrote your bucket list of things you want to accomplish in your lifetime. This is the year to actually work toward those bucket list items.

For example, if your goal is to learn a foreign language, maybe you go to Japan and stay there for a year to immerse yourself in the language and culture. Maybe your goal is to make friends while you’re there and actively practice everything you learned about the Japanese language in your studies over the last three years.

For some people, this isn’t financially feasible, but that doesn’t mean you can never cross off any of those bucket list items. You could make a website based on your learning to share with others. You could build your own greenhouse and sell your plants. You could audition for a play in the city or a community theater. There are lots of options, and not all of them have to be expensive.

The final year is supposed to be about accomplishing what you set out to accomplish in your life, not just pay a fortune to get a better paying, more prestigious job.

College could be a place that’s more than that. It could be a place to accomplish your dreams.

References

Leah Wortham et al., Autonomy-Mastery-Purpose: Structuring Clinical Courses to Enhance these Critical
Goals, 17 INT’L J. CLINICAL LEGAL EDUC., no. 2, 2012, at 105.

Marz, J., Petrie, N., & Boyes, A. (2020, July 14). The data-driven case for vacation. Retrieved March 12, 2021, from https://hbr.org/2016/07/the-data-driven-case-for-vacation