They can take everything away from you, but your education.
I grew up hearing my elders repeat the line above, yet I’ve recently perceived doubt in the value of higher education (Thomas Friedman, for example, contends that “More employers care about whether a worker can add value, not where a college degree was earned”). There appears to be a perception that colleges are not serving the needs of today’s workforce, and that the cost of education does not match its value. Free educational opportunities on the Internet, which exclusively value an “information transmission” model of education, are seen as natural solutions to these perceived problems.
While someone can’t make you forget something you learned in school, I believe that an education imparts something even more valuable. Experiences like the hard work of learning and collaborating with others on large projects — in a way that is necessarily self directed (meaning: not driven by the demands of an employer) — creates a unique opportunity for self growth. I believe this can only be found in the intensive experience like one gets through attending a residential college.
Doug Ward similarly argues that colleges provide a promise, process and product — and the element of “process” in education is unfortunately often overlooked.
[Colleges] have done this through a process of learning that helps students hone their thinking, learn on their own and develop their independence. At the intersection of these two areas lies the main product of education: a credential that opens the door to better-paying jobs and a more fulfilling life.
I think that the changes that bring a “more fulfilling life” also creates a depth of character that is in demand in the modern workplace. While skills such as working together in diverse population, or devising a reasoned approach to a complex situation, might be eventually learned in the workplace; the opportunity build a broad basis of knowledge and skills and to practice (and fail) in the college setting is perhaps a more efficient way to meet workplace needs. While modern needs and technology certainly must bring some change to the college experience, the institution’s role in creating process which engenders a more fulfilling life should not be overlooked.
PS: I write this at the close of my formal educational experience — having successfully defended my dissertation in June.