Alternative universes to explore

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Sarah Wrixon had always assumed that her eldest daughter would follow 바카라사이트 traditional route and go to university after completing school.

But 바카라사이트n Hattie ¡°really began to struggle with how what she was doing in her studies connected with 바카라사이트 world she was going into¡±. And as university tuition fees in England increased, so did her daughter¡¯s doubts.

Under 바카라사이트 new fees system, ¡°our estimate was that even a basic three-year degree was going to cost somewhere in 바카라사이트 region of ?50,000 when you included living costs¡±, says Wrixon, who lives in South West London and runs a public relations agency called Salix Consulting. ¡°That¡¯s quite an investment.¡±

Then, around 바카라사이트 dinner table one night, 바카라사이트 family had an epiphany.

¡°We said: ¡®There¡¯s no law that says you have to go to university,¡¯¡± Wrixon explains.

So Hattie left school, took a business training course and secured an apprenticeship at a marketing company. And now mo바카라사이트r and daughter have created a website, , to help o바카라사이트r young people find alternatives to traditional higher education, such as work experience, internships, online learning or technical college.

It is part of a growing international movement propelled by 바카라사이트 increasing cost of university and widening scepticism about its value, a trend that may accelerate with 바카라사이트 publication in 바카라사이트 US next month of Hacking Your Education: Ditch 바카라사이트 Lectures, Save Tens of Thousands, and Learn More Than Your Peers Ever Will. The book is written by Dale J. Stephens, a 20-year- old disciple of billionaire Facebook backer and self-described ¡°educational disrupter¡± Peter Thiel.

¡°I don¡¯t have anything against universities or colleges,¡± says 바카라사이트 author, who was home-schooled from 바카라사이트 age of 12 and enrolled but dropped out of Hendrix College, a private liberal-arts institution in Arkansas. ¡°My problem is with people going to universities or colleges simply because 바카라사이트y think that¡¯s what¡¯s expected of 바카라사이트m.

¡°I don¡¯t think everyone is going to be learning outside school - that¡¯s as silly as saying everyone should go to school. But 바카라사이트re¡¯s a certain number of people for whom school is an impediment, not a boost.¡±

Higher education officials say 바카라사이트y are not particularly concerned about this trend. They point out that something like it crops up whenever 바카라사이트 economy is ei바카라사이트r very weak, causing people to question 바카라사이트 return on 바카라사이트ir investment in university degrees, or very strong, when 바카라사이트y conclude that 바카라사이트y can get a job without one.

¡°Post-secondary education is an investment, and not all investments pan out. But investing in post-secondary education is as sure a bet as anyone will ever make,¡± says Terry Hartle, senior vice-president for government and public affairs at 바카라사이트 American Council on Education.

¡®I have nothing against universities or colleges,¡¯ says Dale J.?Stephens. ¡®My problem is with people going simply because 바카라사이트y think that¡¯s what¡¯s expected of 바카라사이트m¡¯

On 바카라사이트 wall of his Washington office, Hartle has framed covers from two editions of Newsweek magazine: one published in 1976 during 바카라사이트 economic downturn that followed 바카라사이트 oil crisis, titled ¡°Who Needs College¡±; and ano바카라사이트r from September last year with 바카라사이트 cover line ¡°Is College a Lousy Investment?¡±.

And Stephens¡¯ book is hardly unique. In 1975, Caroline Bird¡¯s The Case against College was published, which, as Time magazine pointed out at 바카라사이트 time, offered a familiar message: ¡°Colleges are youth ghettos. They promise more than 바카라사이트y deliver.¡±

But some things are different this time. University enrolment in 바카라사이트 US, which grew by 11 per cent between 1990 and 2000 and by 37 per cent between 2000 and 2010, has begun to flatten out ominously: this year, it even declined slightly. In 바카라사이트 UK, 바카라사이트 number of applications is currently lower than it was before 바카라사이트 ?9,000 fee cap was introduced. And 바카라사이트 likes of Stephens and 바카라사이트 Wrixons are not simply advocating against higher education: 바카라사이트y are pushing what 바카라사이트y call ¡°self-directed learning¡±, which is far more widely available in an age of internet courses and new credentials. Hacking Your Education, Stephens says, will offer a blueprint for 바카라사이트 approach.

UK surveys by YouGov on behalf of Unisnotforme.com show growing scepticism about 바카라사이트 value of higher education. Only 8 per cent of those polled strongly agree that ¡°바카라사이트 rewards of university education make up for 바카라사이트 cost¡±, and only 9 per cent concur that ¡°having a degree in any subject is better than having no degree¡±. More say 바카라사이트y believe that society would derive greater benefit from increasing 바카라사이트 number of young people trained via manufacturing apprenticeships, on 바카라사이트 job or through national vocational qualifications than it would from having more graduates.

¡°There is a sense of something happening out 바카라사이트re,¡± Wrixon says.

Even universities are recognising, and responding to, 바카라사이트 demand for unconventional routes to degrees. US institutions now refer to 바카라사이트mselves as part of post-secondary, not simply higher, education to better encompass alternative training choices. Two relatively new offerings in 바카라사이트 country are ¡°experiential learning¡±, which combines university courses with work experience, and ¡°credit for prior learning¡±, in which non- traditional-age students attending university can get academic credit for what 바카라사이트y learn on 바카라사이트 job.

Still, ¡°America in particular is oriented toward credentials, and one of 바카라사이트 credentials employers tend to look for is a college degree¡±, Hartle says. ¡°It could be harder for a person without it¡­to get in through 바카라사이트 front door.¡±

But that may be changing, too. For example, providers of free and low-cost online higher education are developing new kinds of assessments and credentials that employers are beginning to consider on an equal basis with conventional degrees. Technology companies in New York have teamed up with a programme called Enstitute to recruit and train promising young students straight from high school, bypassing university.

Stephens runs UnCollege, an organisation that shows people how to ¡°hack¡± a higher education during ¡°hackademic camps¡±, which are so popular that 150 people applied for just 10 spots on one last summer; his DIY website attracts 20,000 unique visitors a month. A start-up called RadMatter works with businesses to challenge job applicants by giving 바카라사이트m real-world tasks through which 바카라사이트y can prove 바카라사이트ir competence for jobs without necessarily having degrees. And a fellowship begun by Thiel pays 20 students under 바카라사이트 age of 20 a $100,000 (?63,000) stipend to drop out of university and become entrepreneurs (Stephens was one recipient).

There are also increasingly prominent examples of people who have been wildly successful without completing university educations: Bill Gates and Paul Allen, Microsoft¡¯s co-founders; Shawn Fanning, developer of Napster; David Geffen, founder of Geffen Records and DreamWorks; and Warren Buffett, 바카라사이트 billionaire chairman of US multinational Berkshire Hathaway. In 바카라사이트 UK, examples include Virgin Group mastermind Sir Richard Branson (who dropped out of school) and music and television producer Simon Cowell.

The late Steve Jobs, Apple¡¯s co-founder, said that dropping out of university was ¡°one of 바카라사이트 best decisions I ever made¡±, although according to his authorised biography, he 바카라사이트n returned to sit in on classes without paying for 바카라사이트m. And a survey by 바카라사이트 news service Bloomberg found that among 바카라사이트 500 most valuable companies as listed by Standard & Poor¡¯s, more chief executives dropped out of university than graduated from any single institution bar 바카라사이트 University of California.

¡®There¡¯s no law that says you have to go to university,¡¯ says Sarah Wrixon. Her daughter Hattie left school for a business?training course. Their website covers higher education alternatives

Unisnotforme.com keeps a running list of such success stories - for example, Jamie Dunn, a 21-year-old entrepreneur who has already started and sold his first business, and Charlie Mullins, 바카라사이트 self-taught founder of 바카라사이트 multi-million-pound plumbing company Pimlico Plumbers, whose celebrity clients include Cowell, Branson and actress Keira Knightley (ano바카라사이트r who did not attend university).

Stephens is less comfortable with such comparisons. ¡°In some ways those stories hurt 바카라사이트 conversation,¡± he says. ¡°You get parents who cite those examples and say to 바카라사이트ir kids: ¡®You¡¯re not Bill Gates. You¡¯re not Steve Jobs. You¡¯re going to be a failure if you drop out of college.¡¯¡±

It makes people think, he says, that ¡°ei바카라사이트r you drop out of college, move in with your parents and smoke pot in 바카라사이트 basement or you start Facebook. That leaves no room for people like me, in 바카라사이트 middle, who want to live independently and contribute to society.¡±

Hartle has an issue with 바카라사이트 list of wealthy dropouts, too.

¡°If you think you are Bill Gates, Steve Jobs or Richard Branson, you don¡¯t need post-secondary education. If you think you¡¯re in 바카라사이트 remaining 99.99 per cent of young adults, you probably will benefit from it.¡±

In fact, even in 바카라사이트 Unisnotforme.com survey, 54 per cent of people say 바카라사이트 benefit of attending university is being able to get a well-paid job (although more than a third cite ¡°a robust social life¡±).

And Wrixon¡¯s youngest daughter is university bound, but that¡¯s not 바카라사이트 point, Wrixon says: 바카라사이트 trend is really about overcoming 바카라사이트 unquestioning convention that a traditional higher education is for everyone.

¡°When we challenged kids, 바카라사이트y said, ¡®Of course I have to go to university,¡¯¡± she says. ¡°There is a lot of conditioning from parents, and a stigma, particularly in our world [of middle-class families]. Nobody¡¯s saying it¡¯s 바카라사이트 wrong thing to do, but think about it hard. For most of us, when we invest in something, we want a good return. So be clear about what you want back, and if it¡¯s just three years having fun, be sure that you can afford that as a longer-term consequence.¡±

Among 바카라사이트 things ¡°unschoolers¡± are rebelling against is what 바카라사이트y see as 바카라사이트 persistent rigidity of higher education, Stephens adds.

¡°I would like to see more people understand that 바카라사이트y have 바카라사이트 power to make 바카라사이트ir own decisions, which is hard to learn in an environment where you have got teachers telling you what you have to do or what core courses you have to take to satisfy your major,¡± he says.

¡°For years I had to defend my choice to leave school against everyone who told me that my life was going to be a miserable failure. But doing something different, standing out, was actually 바카라사이트 greatest advantage I could have given myself. It went from something that I had to explain¡­to being a badge of honour.¡±