I guess the eye opener for me came when I gound that McDonalds was recruiting college graduates to train to manage stores, particularly since I am old enough to remember when these kinds of operations were managed by folks who had not finished high school (worked for a couple of those). BLS can say what they like, but at this point, anyone who does not go to some kind of post secondary educational institution is likely to find their options limited. Your statistics might be right, but I am not sure that one can get to be, say, an airline attendant these days without a degree. Del Williams ________________________________ From: Open Lib/Info Sci Education Forum [[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Irene Lopatovska [[log in to unmask]] Sent: Thursday, November 18, 2010 11:28 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: Enrollment in Online Courses Increases at the Highest Rate Ever On a similar(?) note: 17 Million Kids Went To College And Became Waitresses Or Flight Attendants As more students obtain bachelor's degrees, the importance of higher education is getting watered down. In fact, millions of graduates<http://www.businessinsider.com/17-million-kids-went-to-college-and-became-waitresses-or-flight-attendants-2010-11#> are settling for underemployment. Richard Vedder of The Chronicles of Higher Education<http://chronicle.com/blogs/innovations/why-did-17-million-students-go-to-college/27634> writes, "Some 17,000,000 Americans with college degrees<http://www.businessinsider.com/17-million-kids-went-to-college-and-became-waitresses-or-flight-attendants-2010-11#> are doing jobs that the Bureau of Labor Statistics says require less than the skill levels associated with a bachelor’s degree." These alumns are becoming flight attendants, retail sales people, and even shampooers at hair salons. Read more at: http://www.businessinsider.com/17-million-kids-went-to-college-and-became-waitresses-or-flight-attendants-2010-11 Irene Lopatovska, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Pratt SILS 144 w. 14th street, 6th floor New York, NY 10011-7301 http://mysite.pratt.edu/~ilopatov/index.htm [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> ________________________________ From: Open Lib/Info Sci Education Forum [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Karen Weaver Sent: Wednesday, November 17, 2010 8:27 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Enrollment in Online Courses Increases at the Highest Rate Ever Please excuse any duplication - from the Chronicle / kw "Enrollment in Online Courses Increases at the Highest Rate Ever" http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/enrollment-in-online-courses-increases-at\ -the-highest-rate-ever/28204<http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/enrollment-in-online-courses-increases-at-the-highest-rate-ever/28204> November 16, 2010, 12:01 am By Travis Kaya EXCERPTS BELOW: "Despite predictions that the growth of online education would begin to level off, colleges reported the highest-ever annual increase in online enrollment—more than 21 percent—last year, according to a report on an annual survey of 2,600 higher-education institutions from the Sloan Consortium and the Babson Survey Research Group." "In fall 2009, colleges—including public, nonprofit private, and for-profit private institutions—reported that one million more students were enrolled in at least one Web-based course, bringing the total number of online students to 5.6 million. That unexpected increase—which topped the previous year's 17-percent rise—may have been helped by higher demand for education in a rocky economy and an uptick in the number of colleges adopting online courses." "Although the survey found sustained interest in online courses across all sectors, there was a spike in the number of for-profit institutions—a 20-percent increase over last year—that said online education is critical to their long-term strategies. However, more public colleges than private for-profits—74.9 percent versus 60.5 percent—say it's part of their long-term plans." ... EXCERPTS: ..."Administrators also continue to wrestle with the question of quality in online education. According to the survey report, "Class Differences: Online Education in the United States, 2010," 66 percent of college administrators say that online education is the same as or better than face-to-face classes—a slight decline from last year. Still, Ms. Allen said it appears that more faculty members are warming up to online education as a quality alternative to face-to-face learning and are finding new ways to use the technology." ... Excerpts from the article ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Karen Weaver, MLS Electronic Resources Statistician, Duquesne University, Gumberg Library, Pittsburgh PA email: [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> / Gmail: [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> "No artist is ahead of his time. He is the time. It is just that others are behind the time."--Martha Graham