Postsecondary Options 1

Points To Consider When Choosing a Postsecondary Path

Kevin Jost
Laura BeMent
EDUC705
March 23, 2015

Points To Consider When Choosing a Postsecondary Path

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What is the best postsecondary educational path? Is it ethically wrong as an educator to
tell a student that college is not the right choice for him or her? Should students be steered
towards specific postsecondary paths? These questions are becoming part of the mainstream
conversations taking place in our educational communities more and more often these days. A
motivated high school student eagerly awaiting his or her release into the real world has a
plethora of options in terms of postsecondary education and or training. Emerging high school
graduates are not taking the time to see the wide range of options available to them and properly
assess why one option may be a better choice over another based on a variety of factors. There
are pros/cons, benefits and pitfalls associated with four-year colleges/universities, community
colleges as well as vocational and technical schools. These options will be weighed and
examined throughout this paper.
Most people in our county have the belief that enrolling in college is very much still
worth the effort. It is common knowledge that college graduates will earn more money over their
lifetime than non-college graduates, but is there a point in which this is not the case? Many
private colleges have surpassed the $50,000 a year mark (Kelly, 2010). Although this is the high
end of educational cost, the average college graduate leaves with a debt of $20,000 (Kelly,
2010).
What is interesting about these figures is that studies indicate although tuition has
surpassed the cost of living, the money taken in by colleges have spent a lot of it on things other
than classroom education itself. Athletic centers, administrative staffs and wonderfully beautiful
facilities eventually lead to institutions having to cut costs by eliminating educator positions. In
the article, Kelly states that colleges have courses increasingly taught by graduate assistants or
adjuncts who work for lower pay (2010).

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Colleges would have serious trouble if they were considered businesses as opposed to
educational institutions. Analysts would ask such questions as: Is the consumer getting the
product we promised? What do you actually learn here? Can you guarantee a job? Admission to
graduate school? (Kelly, 2010, p. 8).
Four-year schools are certainly expensive, but it is common knowledge the education is
not all about the money you spend to obtain it. According to Kelly, the traditional liberal
education provides a framework on how to think (2010). He states that managers are looking to
hire individuals displaying creative intelligence and the ability to effectively communicate as
candidates with these skills will be more productive and useful in the long-term. Another
positive he notes regarding a four-year degree is the persistence one needs in order to complete
it. This goes hand in hand with the persistence one also needs for establishing a work ethic
(Kelly, 2010).
Vocational and technical education has certainly seen its increase in the limelight as of
recent times. So much so in fact, that according to Davidson in the article Industry Seeks
Answers To More Labor Shortages, members in the construction community have initiated new
vocational programs targeting high school students (2014). The reason for the influx of new
programming is due to the recent decline in federal funding for career and technical education
(Davidson, 2014).
According to Brian Turmail, executive director of public affairs for the Associated
General Contractors of America (AGC), Somewhere in recent decades, our country made a
collective decision that everyone should attend college. The robust workforce and technical
education programs that once existed in our high schools disappeared in favor of college-track
programs. When we lost this opportunity to show students what working in construction is really

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like and the opportunities out there, we lost our pool of skilled workers, as well. (Davidson,
2014, p. 19).
A nationwide AGC conducted survey, revealed three-quarters of constructions companies
are challenged to identify and hire qualified employees. One such construction firm, FMI,
anticipates 1.5 million workers in need of being hired in order to complete the current years
amount of projects (Davidson, 2014). Furthermore, the Construction Labor Market Analyzer,
estimates that by 2016, construction projects in the United States will require 6.7 million
workers. This is 50% more workers than are currently employed in the industry (Davidson,
2014).
Mark Breslin, CEO of United Contractors in California, states that union and non-union
apprenticeships programs will double in numbers over the next four years (Davidson, 2014).
It was reported in June of 2010 that total student debt in the United States exceeded total
credit card debt at $914 billion compared to $672 billion. Additionally, it was higher than total
auto and mortgage loans, according to Bennet and Wilezol (London, 2013). It was also reported
in 2011 by one Associated Press that 54 percent of graduates from this year did not have jobs and
many of the 46 percent that did, were working in positions unrelated to their degrees (London,
2013).
What about the students who are not prepared for a four-year college and community
college? Vocational and technical programs offer a wide range of opportunities, many requiring
less than two years of commitment. Kate Blosyeren Kreamer of the National Association of
State Directors of Career Technical Education, states that only 20% of high school students
directly focus on career and technical education and furthermore, when the students who do not
focus on such courses, graduate with seventh-grade skills, educators push them to apply for

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college where most of them will pay for remedial courses earning no credit towards a degree
(Petrilli, 2014). A large number of these students are steered toward community college and
according to Complete College America, a college-access advocacy group, less than 10 percent
complete a two-year degree within three years and Petrilli continues to state the majority of them
never succeed past their initial remedial courses (2014).
For those students who do possess the necessary skills for a traditional four-year college
or university, financial concerns may be an appropriate factor in deciding to attend a community
college. It is common knowledge that community colleges are a far less expensive approach to
higher education compared to their larger and more prestigious four-year counterparts. There are
other benefits as well associated with the lower price tag.
According to the article, Success in Community College: Do Institutions Differ?
community colleges have a better sense of what the local businesses need in terms of
employment and have the ability to reshape their programs if needed and it helps when there is a
major company in the community. One such example is with Boeing in St. Louis, MO. The
community college created a program targeting entry-level sheet metal workers and upon
completion, Boeing interviewed 112 of the 125 who completed the program and hired 98 of them
(McClure, 2010).
Here is another reason for considering enrollment at a community college; Tony
Carnevale, director of the Center on Education and the Workforce at Georgetown University,
estimates that from 2008 to 2018 there will be 13 million job openings for individuals who have
completed certificate or AA degrees and 17 million for those holding BA degrees and higher
(McClure, 2010). Do you want to throw your hat into the ring of the 17 million? Getting their

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by means of an AA degree and then transferring to a four-year school is certainly the less
expensive option.
In conclusion, students truly do have options when considering postsecondary paths. The
question is are they fully committed into exploring these options prior to making the decision as
to what to do beyond high school? Are educators doing their part regarding preparation of skills
and maybe even more importantly, setting students up for the highest chance for success? These
are questions that are becoming more and more prevalent in schools across the country as student
debts reaches new highs and degree completion and job placement reach new lows. Four-year
colleges/universities, community colleges, and vocational and technical education programs all
have a seat open for the right student and the future of our country is dependent upon students
making the right decision in which one to attend.

References
Davidson, K. (2014). Industry Seeks Answers To More Labor Shortages. ENR: Engineering
News-Record, 274(2), 19.
Kelly, B. (2010). Is College Still Worth it?. U.S. News & World Report, 147(8), 6-12.
London, H. (2013). College: Who Profits?. Academic Questions, 26(3), 360-365. doi:10.1007/
s12129-013-9366-3

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McClure, A. (2010). Community Colleges as Economic Saviors. University Business, 13(3),
34-40.
Petrilli, M. (2014, March 18). College Isnt for Everyone. Lets Stop Pretending It Is. Retrieved
March 17, 2015, from http://www.slate.com/articles/life/education/2014/03/
college_isn_t_for_everyone_let_s_stop_pretending_it_is.html