One of the hallmarks of Bernie Sanders’ and Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaigns in the past year has been the argument that college should be free (or nearly free) for every student.
Student loan debts should be tossed to the side, and somehow the government could raise the money to fund tuition-free college education. According to Clinton’s plan, “All remaining college debt will be forgiven after 20 years.”
Of course, this plan is a pipe dream. But Clinton, Sanders and even Trump fail to address the overarching problem surrounding higher education. College is not for everyone. A four-year university is not for everyone. Not even community college is for every student.
In past decades, a college education has been sold to the public as a ticket to the middle class and a propeller for higher salaries in the future by guidance counselors and educators across the country.
College enrollment rates have increased dramatically since the year 1950, and in 2015, approximately 69 percent of high school graduates are attending a higher education institution of some kind, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Graduation rates paint a different story. Only 61.2 percent of those who enroll in a four-year institution end up graduating, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
For some, financial issues force them to drop out. Other have adjustment problems or become too involved in the party scene and lose focus of their schoolwork. This means that almost 40 percent of students do not receive the coveted college degree and find that they wasted money and time on the endeavor in the first place.
These students could have more success if they found vocational or training schools that met their needs, instead of being pressured by overzealous college counselors or admissions representatives to take a chance on places they should have never been in the first place.
Luckily, there is a solution to this problem that works. High schools and community colleges have begun to make job training classes available to all students. The Department of Labor, other government agencies and trade unions have also joined the charge in making apprenticeship and workplace shadowing programs commonplace, which partner with employers that need skilled, young workers.
These programs train needed skilled workers, preparing them for careers that do not require college but still provide a comfortable living. An average tool and die maker earns around $51,130 a year, while a computer programmer (who does not always need a college degree, but extensive training is required) earns an average of $84,360.
This way, students who are not destined for graduating college can still receive job and skills training without the time and cost expense of a college education.
With this in mind, it is the responsibility of school districts and accredited universities across the country to stop the mentality that going to college is the only way to work toward the middle class and live a prosperous adult life. With the help of our educational institutions, we can move past this disposition and ensure that all young people end up in the right place, whether that be on a college campus, a training program or directly in the workforce.
Patrick Waters is a sophomore accounting major from St. Louis, Missouri.
