DGS49
Diamond Member
On a segment on higher education yesterday on NPR, there was a discussion of a new Obama program that would attempt to evaluate the nation's colleges and universities with quantitative information about things like comparative cost, graduation rates, earnings of graduates - the sorts of things that a rational, middle-class student and her parents might like to consider in deciding which college to pursue.
Actually, I like the idea.
And then they had a spokesperson from Sarah Lawrence College in New York (my apologies if Sara Larrence is spelled wrong).
At SLC, it seems that there are no MAJORS, no GRADES, and the students pursue whatever course of study they find amusing. In place of grades, the professors provide a "detailed, extensive" written evaluation of the student and her progress through the term.
The spokesperson was permitted to say - astoundingly, in my view - that AFTER FINANCIAL AID, the average cost per student-year was "about $44 thousand"! One can only speculate what the actual tuition is. Breathtaking, I suspect.
SLC is concerned that the mundane evaluation envisioned by the Obama program might give the impression of a school that is overpriced and generally worthless (my words, not hers).
I have the impression, based on nothing more than rumors, that SLC is mainly a haven for rich kids whose parents are sufficiently grounded that they will either be successful in the family business, or alternatively to live out their lives as beneficiaries of trust funds.
Please correct me if I am wrong.
Actually, I like the idea.
And then they had a spokesperson from Sarah Lawrence College in New York (my apologies if Sara Larrence is spelled wrong).
At SLC, it seems that there are no MAJORS, no GRADES, and the students pursue whatever course of study they find amusing. In place of grades, the professors provide a "detailed, extensive" written evaluation of the student and her progress through the term.
The spokesperson was permitted to say - astoundingly, in my view - that AFTER FINANCIAL AID, the average cost per student-year was "about $44 thousand"! One can only speculate what the actual tuition is. Breathtaking, I suspect.
SLC is concerned that the mundane evaluation envisioned by the Obama program might give the impression of a school that is overpriced and generally worthless (my words, not hers).
I have the impression, based on nothing more than rumors, that SLC is mainly a haven for rich kids whose parents are sufficiently grounded that they will either be successful in the family business, or alternatively to live out their lives as beneficiaries of trust funds.
Please correct me if I am wrong.