Oh How Colleges Love a Recession

[Sir Robin Hood]

This is about the recession, but is NOT political.

I was on Facebook earlier and noticed one of their ad's which struck me kinda funny. It was from some college/university which offers law enforcement courses & degree programs. Here is what the ad said (and I kid you not):
"Want to be a cop? The government is hiring like crazy!!" Then it goes on to say ask about financial aid, etc, etc. My question is, um, where exactly are cops being hired like crazy? Where I live, law enforcement and other government jobs are being shed. Many corrections facilities are either on hiring freezes, or laying off employees.

I was talking last month to my guidance counselor at the community college where I attend summer classes. We somehow got on the subject of the now completely empty bulletin board next to the career development offices where local help wanteds are posted. It's a large board where students usually find (on any given day) 30-40+ help wanteds and potential job opportunities. Since April, nada, zilch, completely bare. As a matter of fact, some students use the now vacant board to post notes such as "Name: Carrie...looking for a job in marketing. Will be graduating in May"..etc It's not a pretty sight. Anyhow, back to my guidance counselor. We went on and started discussing the economy. He started giving me the stats on graduates from this past Spring who landed jobs....once again, not a pretty sight. Our stats for the class of 2010 have a projected ratio of 3 graduates out of 10 will land a job of some sort. (Side note: I know some of you reading may think I'm sounding like Debbie Downer from SNL. Please don't attack the messenger, I'm just telling it as it is).

Just making a sarcastic remark, I asked him why all these online universities and colleges who have been flooding the media with ad's don't include these figures to keep people from being misled. His response (once again, I kid you not): "I hate it that it's at the expense of the country, but we really love a recession. Recessions bring new faces into our classrooms quicker than anything else. I hate it that we have to use fear as our biggest marketing tool, but when someone loses a job and thinks the only way they'll find something else is to go take some B.S. courses, they come rushing to our doors."

Now I'm all for people pushing themselves to achieve the highest educaton possible. But this whole "Sign up for (fill in the blank) University and everything will be just fine & you'll have 100 job offers when you graduate..." tactic is just plain misleading. May give you an advantage (*may), but be real people.

In the meantime, I'm gonna go apply for one of those law enforcement jobs which apparently are being offered by the hundreds in my town. Because after all..."the government is hiring like crazy!"



Let the countdown to the Y.W.A.H.W. response begin. (I'll explain that later on). *Record to beat: 4

 

[bellebuzzntink]

It's all about the bottom line - increased enrollment means more $$. What I find more disturbing than the misrepresentation of how many government jobs are available, is the counselor's reference to classes people are spending money they don't necessarily have right now as "B.S. courses". That's a very dismissive attitude towards both students and the college for a guidance counselor to have.

 

[shellybaxter]

I can tell you that colleges and universities in California aren't loving this recession. There may be more people wanting to go to college but no one has enough funding to educate them. CSU and UCs have cut their enrollment and are now letting a lot less people in. Community Colleges have to accept anyone (open enrollment) and they are having to severly cut the number of classes offered (if the classes are full they can turn students away). Categorical programs that support students who need all different kinds of help have been sliced nearly in half in some instances. Nope - higher ed in California is NOT loving the recession

 

[Cindy B]

As a new federal employee, I can say that my agency and my division in my state is hiring like crazy.. I am in a 21 person training class and the agency is trying to get another 20 plus person class starting soon.

However, this is not the norm. I am a recent (december 08) graduate. It took me 7 months to find a job.

 

[NMAmy]

It's all about the bottom line - increased enrollment means more $$. What I find more disturbing than the misrepresentation of how many government jobs are available, is the counselor's reference to classes people are spending money they don't necessarily have right now as "B.S. courses". That's a very dismissive attitude towards both students and the college for a guidance counselor to have.

Didn't he mean Bachelor of Science (commonly referred to as a BS) degree?

 

[Allison]

I doubt colleges love a recession. Giving is down, the value of endowments are significantly lower than 2 years ago, and more financial aid is needed. That does not paint a good picture.

It may get more people in the door at a community college but it's a tough time for colleges and universities right now from all I have read.

 

[LuvOrlando]

-

 

[Green Tea]

Trade and technical schools that might call themselves colleges (for profit places of learning) maybe see a surge in enrollment, but true colleges and universities do not love a recession. Endowments and enrollments are down, financial aid needs are up. There is very little to cheer about.

 

[Gabes_mommy]

Trade and technical schools that might call themselves colleges (for profit places of learning) maybe see a surge in enrollment, but true colleges and universities do not love a recession. Endowments and enrollments are down, financial aid needs are up. There is very little to cheer about.

Seriously!

I work at a community college and the state took away 30% of our funding for next year, meanwhile enrollment is up. So we'll have more students and less money to teach them.

FYI, community colleges are state funded - meaning our students pay $275 per class but it actually costs the college over $800 a class - the state makes up the difference.

Enrollment is up- but why shouldn't it be? If people aren't working isn't it a good idea for them to do something productive that will help their future?

OP - I find your whole post really offensive. State funded colleges are not profit driven so to insinuate that we are all getting rich off the recession and taking advantage of people is inflammatory and ridiculous.

 

[Sir Robin Hood]

Didn't he mean Bachelor of Science (commonly referred to as a BS) degree?

I think in our conversation, he was referring to courses which are unnecessary. For instance, our school has been debating for awhile the removal of the Music Appreciation course which is required for many degrees that would never use the subject matter. They're trying to trim it down to the useful courses for each major and less of the "B.S. electives". Another example: You have to have 3 credit hours of a poetry elective for the nursing degree.

As a new federal employee, I can say that my agency and my division in my state is hiring like crazy.. I am in a 21 person training class and the agency is trying to get another 20 plus person class starting soon.

Congrats on the new job! I hope these numbers in your area indicate a progressive light showing up at the end of the tunnel. Here, things aren't as lucky, but small signs of a rebound surface every now & then.

OP - I find your whole post really offensive.

Here ya go...

If there is a way to exploit a circumstance someone will do it without an ounce of guilt. Human nature IMO, its not nice but it's the way it goes

I just wish they would be honest and not give people false hope. Sure a college education will give you the competitive edge when this economy picks back up, and it *May* help you even now. But running commercials where the girl is saying that "you'll make a million dollars more in your lifetime" or making it sound like the recession will end for you presonally with a degree, and a thousand doors will open up when you graduate, that isn't happening these days. I've got a good friend who graduated this year with a degree in journalism and is waiting tables at a TGI Friday's. Sure, she'll be in a good position in a few years when we're back on top, but she can definitely claim first-hand that those types of ad's are misleading to say the least.

 

[Quiksilvr]

I think that whether a college "loves a recession" really depends on how one looks at it. From the financial perspective, it's clearly harder to run the business of education; less funding, smaller endowments, more difficult for students to get loans, etc. However, from an enrollment standpoint, it can be a good thing.

For example, in a down year, more people apply to graduate programs because they view these programs as ways to "hide out" from the economy for a couple of years and then get into the market when things are back on track. This happened when I was applying to law school in a down year. There were so many more people applying to law school that year that it made it harder to get into the best schools. I imagine that will happen this year too.