National College Equivalence Examination

[Alpha]

Why not?
College Degrees By Examination: The National College Equivalence Test (NCEE) (forbes.com)

[Johann]

It would do at least three things -none of them particularly undesirable, in my view.

(1) It would put a serious dent in the gigantic, rapacious money-sucking mill that fuels traditional (and online) universities. I have no problem with that.

(2) It would save a number of people considerable time and money , if they were not required to spend 4 years + of their lives in study halls etc. or thousands of dollars and much time online. Offset of course, to some extent, by the time taken to learn (by what method?) what they need to know and do for the "NCEE" or whatever it finally gets called.

(3) It would spawn many exam-prep programs - at various cost levels - tailored to achieving success in this particular test. Just like those for the present GED, Tech Certifications and graduate exams, LSAT etc. Might be a good business opportunity. I see nothing wrong there.

The only really controversial issue I see is that a large number of people might ponder the old question: "If a considerably increased proportion of people were to have one, what's a Bachelor's degree worth then? Is it the same as a HS diploma used to be? Or even less? "

Valid question - and I'm not sure of the answer - but not a reason to say "no" to progress. I think it's coming. And I'm fine with it. But I'm 78. If I had just laid down a bundle, or assumed debt to enter college, or were about to do so -- I might think differently. People who are well beyond traditional college age and are still paying crushing student loans might resent this new way of qualifying for a degree as well -- and not without justification.

[ss20ts]

Valid question - and I'm not sure of the answer - but not a reason to say "no" to progress. I think it's coming. And I'm fine with it. But I'm 78. If I had just laid down a bundle, or assumed debt to enter college, or were about to do so -- I might think differently. People who are well beyond traditional college age and are still paying crushing student loans might resent this new way of qualifying for a degree as well -- and not without justification.

I have a massive amount of student loans from my various degrees and attempts at college in my younger years. Sure I wish UMPI's YourPace existed back then, but I also know I would have failed at that then too because I wasn't ready for the program. Testing out of a degree? Why not? Testing isn't for everyone either. Many people would succeed. Just as many people would fail. I am not someone who begrudges how someone paid for their degree or if other generations don't end up with the massive student loan debt I'm saddled with. I wouldn't wish the student loan debt on anyone! I really hope the government creates some sort of relief for it as they're the ones who caused this to begin with. Our education system needs a major overhaul. Programs like the Big 3, UMPI, and WGU show that there are other ways to earn a degree. Hopefully, this continues to open new doors.

[Tedium]

I'm all for it. I mean, I already see the Pierpont BOG AAS as this, and I think that's how it's marketed. We're always saying on this board that most of these degrees are useful to check the boxes. I say bring it on.

[sanantone]

I don't think three hours for general education subjects and one hour for the major would be sufficient. Maybe if more colleges awarded credits for them, the SAT subject tests and the eliminated areas of study for the GRE subject tests would still be around. I thought I saw somewhere that ACT used to have college-level subject tests. For general education, I think CLEP, DSST, AP, IB, and the Cambridge exams offer more than enough options. Uexcel is also promoted to non-Excelsior students.