The Death of University Education

I've been following the University debate with some interest. While I'm no longer a university student (B.Math, University of Waterloo, 1997), I honestly believe that the future of a society depends on what its educational institutions generate.

Right now, I see two trends; one is to make University more self-sufficient, and the second to make graduates 'employable.' The first premise is laudable, if done correctly; the second is a disaster in the waiting, and a perfect example of the short term thinking of the Harris Government, and indeed, of Society in general.

Let's put the evidence on the table, right now: I did not go to University to find a job. Let's say that again. I DID NOT go to University to find a job. I went to University for an education, to expand my horizons, to stretch my brain to the limits of my abilities and beyond.

If I wanted a job, I would have gone to college, learned a decent trade, and gone that route. Or, I would have gone into business, learning the ins and outs of the financial sector. Or have done a hundred other things that were more profitable. Hell, given my skill set, I could have started working upon graduation from High School. It would have been cheaper, and I would have made more money.

Universities, in the past, were meant as institutions of higher learning; where the best and the brightest were brought together in an environment that would encourage wild ideas, creativity, debate and, in the process, expand the horizons of basic science, and basic technology, with no pressure to produce product. While directed R&D has its uses, it is frequently the accidents that produce the products that leave the largest effect on our lives. Vulcanized Rubber, Teflon, and Penicillin come to mind.

It is this creative environment, this place where a person must force him or herself to be better than he or she is, that is most in danger when people start training for jobs. To train for a job means you must be able to preform a set of tasks, quickly and efficiently. While there is creativity within the job framework, the free association, the challenge of breaking the barriers, is lost.

While at University, I cover two subject areas, applied mathematics, and comptuer science. The CS was as applied as you can get; how to program this, how to program that, how to do sorts. It was interesting, and it was neat, but it didn't leave a lasting impression. Indeed, all it really taught me was that I could survive all-nighters.

But the AM part of my degree; that was where I learned the most. I learned to learn, I learned to think; I pushed myself, and discovered where I had come up short. I fought my worst enemy, and lost; but discovered how to win in the end. Applied Math made the University experience worthwhile; Computer Science (with one or two exceptions) was just so I could put it on my resume.

This is where the hard part comes in; to convince people I'm not crazy. But I really can't. To those of you who have pushed, who have seen magic come out of the numbers, or the letters, or the songs, you will probably understand what I'm talking about. To the rest of you who went to University because you wanted a job, you missed everything. And I can't really help you there.

Now, concerning making Universities self-sufficient; the idea of increasing tuition costs, while lamentable, is unavoidable in the era of cost cutting. However, it can be done responsibly. This, the jury is still waiting for more evidence. While looking really bad in the first couple of years, the possibility of increased federal funding looks promising. But University must be availble to the best and the brightest; or there's no point, either in terms of application or pure R&D.

(It is of interest to note that the Ontario Government, in its desperate bid to cut costs, is starting to rely more and more on other branches of government to provide needed services i.e. the costs haven't been cut, they're just being paid by a different government.)

Universities have become the domain of what I may called 'application' mania. In order to get funding, your research must have a purpose. In order to be considered a good school, you must be able to show your graduates get jobs. In this mania, we have forgotten what a University is meant to be; the promise of the future, by training people how to think, how to push their minds. We don't need more computer programmers, we need more computer thinkers.

But the future is mortgaged for the comfort of the present, as the Baby Boomer generation attempts to insure their comfort, regardless of cost. And, once again, my generation will pay the price.

Am I being harsh? Most definately. When speaking in generalities, one must leave out all the exceptions to the general rule. But, sometimes, in order to be heard, one must scream.