[img]1530|left|David Voncannon||no_popup[/img]During dinner recently, my wife and I were having a conversation about the costs of a college education.
Many years ago we had the same conversation, but with specific reference to our son, a high school senior, who was looking at colleges. He had taken all the standardized tests, including the SATs, and he had done well. Having scored especially well in math and science, he researched programs for mathematics and computer science.
As with most high school students preparing to move on to college, he had applied at a number of schools. While we anxiously awaited admissions letters, he wanted to visit some campuses. One was Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburg, which has a world-renowned math and computer science program.
The school had set up visitation programs with separate tracks for prospective students and parents. The students were given tours of the campus, dorms, and they met with current students and professors.
And Now the Money Talk
Parents were treated to series of discussions on campus life and finances, which mostly focused on how to pay for the tuition and living expenses for their children. The part that particularly got my attention was when the presenter said, “We are now looking at payment for an education being a lifelong commitment.”
At that time, 25 years ago, the total cost to send our son to Carnegie Mellon would have been $40,000. Not being monetarily wealthy, that was a huge sum. The concept of a lifetime commitment made no sense at all. Ultimately our son selected a different school, which was more affordable.
Our dinner conversation continued with the realization that college costs certainly have not decreased in the intervening years.
Later, the conversation morphed into a discussion of whether a college education still is relevant, taking into consideration the increased costs and the difficulty of actually getting into the classes a student needs to complete his degree. Then my wife, smart woman that she is, posed a profound question, which is the topic of our discussion today.
“What does a student really learn in college today?”
I did not immediately recognize how penetrating the question is. After all, the answer seems obvious. A student is taught, or at least exposed to, a range of subject matter related to the career choice he or she has made.
Probing More Deeply
For some reason, the question stuck with me long after dinner. The more I pondered, the less obvious was the answer. Do the course material and classroom experience represent everything a student learns during his college experience? Here again, the answer seems obvious. A college campus is a world far different than that experienced by high school students. For most, it will be their first extended stay away from family and friends. Expectations and responsibilities dramatically increase.
Beyond classes and homework, for the first time a student will be responsible for his own meals, laundry, entertainment and the myriad details that must be handled just to survive. Obviously then a student learns a great deal outside the classroom. But does the combination of experiences really compensate for the costs and difficulties related to obtaining that degree? I would submit to you dear reader, that there are two overwhelming reasons, beyond the subject matter, that make college worthwhile.
Bonds That Are Made of Iron
Consider that during college, students make friends and forge bonds that will last for the rest of their lives. The personal network built during college will support them during moments when they believe they cannot continue. They will provide support in return. Some will meet their first, perhaps only, spouse or significant other. The network a student builds during college will act as the foundation for a career offering job leads and career advice. Those contacts form the nucleus of the network that will continue to develop throughout the students’ lives.
To understand my final point, we must first embrace the concept of lifelong learning and education. I noted earlier that a portion of what a student learns during college is the subject matter relevant to her or his career choice. The downside to that is that 70 percent of what is learned during college is obsolete within two years. The implication is that to stay relevant, we must constantly be learning new tools, techniques, products and concepts. And so, dear reader, my final and I think most important thought related to a college education is that a student learns how to learn.
When a person first enters college, he often is overwhelmed by the difficulty and volume of material. Of necessity, a student must learn the discipline to focus and quickly absorb material. Every day brings new concepts added to topics introduced just a few days earlier. Survival and success depend on mastering study techniques. Whether a student recognizes it or not, that discipline and set of techniques will remain with him long after the specific subject matter has faded.
Now consider that during our lives we will be expected to learn thousands of new products or concepts. The techniques learned during college will enable the graduate to move forward quickly and accurately where others may flounder. I believe the ability to learn probably is the least obvious and yet most valuable tool that we develop during our college experience. Is a college education still relevant today?
I would shout a resounding Yes.
I would argue that with the increased competition prevalent today, education is more important than before. It’s important to note that a person does not have to attend a college to gain knowledge, build a network, or develop discipline and learning skills. But attending college forces the issue, making the outcome more certain.
Footnote: To finish the story of my son’s search for a college, even though he was accepted at Carnegie Mellon, he decided to attend the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, the Tarheels. The Tarheels were a sympathetic favorite since we lived in North Carolina at that time, and he was a huge basketball fan. That was a big help on the financial side since in-state tuition was considerably less expensive than any other option.
It was an emotional blow to me, however, since I was enrolled in a Master’s degree program at Duke University when he entered college. He graduated five years later with a degree in radio and television journalism. Please note the extended time to graduate, caused by changing degree programs after two years. College basketball season continues to be a friendly battle, even after all the intervening years.
Mr. Voncannon and his wife, Elizabeth, have lived in the Telefson Park area of Culver City for 12 years. He is the founder and owner of D & E Associates, providing IT consulting, maintenance and home integration services for small companies and individuals. Mr. Voncannon holds a Bachelor of Engineering Technology in Computer Electronics and a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
He also has earned a Master of Business Administration degree from Duke University Fuqua School of Business. Mr. Voncannon is active in Culver City, working as a community spokesperson during development of the Tilden Terrace project, serving on the Culver City Advisory Council on Redevelopment and is a member of the local Chamber of Commerce. He may be contacted at dvoncannon@pacbell.net
