TW and Education, degrees (long)

[Kevin Montgomery <kmontgomery -at- LOGICON -dot- COM>]

     The relatively-nonproductive discussions of the value of degrees and
     the need for certification have rolled back around in their eternal
     cycles.

     Everyone agrees, I believe, that hiring managers want some way to
     winnow applicants prior to an interview. Right or wrong, smart or
     stupid, most will make the first cut based on the applicant's degree
     status. The competent many without degrees may protest, but that won't
     change the way the system works.

     What we need is a system to certify that a person who has not
     completed college has become, through whatever means, just as
     knowledgeable as a college graduate. We need a system to objectively
     measure college-level knowledge, and we need a fancy piece of paper to
     attest to its presence.

     Well, we have the system and we have the paper. The system is provided
     by several private colleges; the paper is an accredited BS or BA
     degree granted by those colleges.

     The colleges I speak of are called credit banks. They perform two
     functions. First, they combine college credits earned from classes at
     other institutions into one degree program, essentially eliminating
     residency requirements. Second, they objectively measure knowledge
     through standardized testing and by portfolio review. Standardized
     testing consists of GRE (Graduate Record Exam) and CLEP (College Level
     Examination Program) examinations. Portfolio review involves
     demonstrating the knowledge you possess by writing papers on specific
     subjects and by supporting those papers with evidence of the
     experience you have had that led you to obtain that knowledge. Both
     methods yield college credit that applies to your degree. These
     colleges do not teach conventional classes, and do not require you to
     visit their sites.

     I finally got tired of fighting the battle of the undegreed. I was
     losing in the first cut to wet-behind-the-ears children with papers
     attesting to four years of seat warming. So, I aced a few tests
     (thanks to a lifetime of constant learning), cashed in my old college
     credits, and got a shiny new BS degree. The degree was directly and
     indirectly responsible for an income increase of several thousand
     dollars in just a few months, and I am feeling much more secure about
     finding positions should I move on from here. I know I can squash
     those bepapered kids in the actual interview!

     I used Regents College for my degree (518 464-8500). Also consider
     Charter Oak College (203 677-0076) and Thomas Edison State College
     (609 984-1150). You may write me directly with specific questions.

     -Kevin Montgomery
     kmontgomery -at- logicon -dot- com