Is the Traditional Path right for me? 1 hour ago
#1
Im opening up an interesting topic about this generation's access to higher education compared to the way our parents had taught us about higher education from the time they grew up in. I'll be going over topics such as subsidized loans vs unsubsidized loans, asynchronous vs synchronous study, and non flexible vs flexible education schedules.
Our generation approaches higher education more differently compared with how our parent's generation were taught to view college. For many of our parents that have had the chance to attend college, the traditional path was relatively straightforward for them.
graduate high school → attend college → take classes on a set schedule → graduate → enter the workforce
Today however, students have far more options for where, when, and how quickly they earn a degree. One of the biggest differences between generations is that college no longer has to mean physically attending a campus Monday through Friday. Students today can choose between synchronous education, being online at a specific time with an instructor and classmates and asynchronous education, where coursework can be completed on your own schedule. That flexibility can be especially important for adults who work, have families, or simply can’t afford to spend four years following a traditional class schedule.
Think about this for example, students can choose between synchronous classes, where every student would attend at the same time, and asynchronous programs where students can complete their coursework on their own time and schedule. A good reference of this was during the Covid-19 pandemic where nearly all classes from educational facilities operated by the Department of Education turned towards Zoom to operate their classes due to the pandemic. I had first hands experience in this when I was still studying nursing which turned out for the better for me while it was asynchronous. There's many programs a student can applicate themselves to and enroll and one that I like to refer to is WGU (Western Governor's University). There's competency-based peograms offered by this University that offer students a flat rate for a 6 month period term to complete as many classes as they'd like possible. The rate isn't limited to only 6 months and could constantly be renewed upon the start of the next term or next set of 6 months timeframe. This option makes education more affordable as a flat rate buffet for studious individuals seeking a more faster and flexible education.
Programs such as UMPI YourPace and WGU, along with alternative-credit platforms such as Sophia Learning and Study.com, also raise an interesting question: Does earning a degree have to take four years anymore? Students can potentially use flexible programs and transferable credits to reduce the amount of time and money required. For example, the two sources I mentioned earlier Sophia Learning and Study.com both take anywhere between 2-3 months to accumulate 90 credits total that can be accepted and transferred into UMPI YourPace for a Bachelor's degree. This means that you'd only have to attend UMPI for 30 more credits to graduate or in other words 10 more classes. UMPI or University of Maine offers a wonderful program that extends for 8 weeks with a flat rate similar to what WGU had to offer allowing students to make taking and completing 10 classes in such a short timeframe possible. Similar to how Sophia and Study are asynchronous classes that you do at your own pace without live lectures, the same goes for UMPI. Each class follows a lesson and quiz style study which then follows along with essays and projects and exams. The classes are meant to be completed roughly weekly or every 8-9 days throughout the course of your whole enrollment in UMPI.
This creates a completely different approach to earning a degree:
Traditional model:
Pay per semester → take a fixed number of classes → wait for the semester to end → repeat.
Flexible model:
Transfer what you already know → complete affordable courses elsewhere → demonstrate competency → move through remaining requirements as quickly as you can.
As I mentioned earlier Students can potentially use flexible programs and transferable credits to reduce the amount of time and money required. Instead of paying a university’s full tuition rate for every introductory course, students can sometimes complete eligible coursework through alternative providers and transfer it into their degree program.
Then there is the financial-aid side. Federal Direct Subsidized Loans don’t accrue interest while an eligible student is enrolled at least half-time or during the applicable grace period, while Direct Unsubsidized Loans begin accruing interest from disbursement. Direct Subsidized Loans are generally available to students with demonstrated financial need. The federal government covers the interest while the student is enrolled at least half-time and during the applicable six-month grace period. Direct Unsubsidized Loans don’t require demonstrated financial need, but interest begins accumulating from the first disbursement. However some unsubsidized loans can begin their payments within 6 months after your graduation or completion of college allowing college goers to study peacefully, attain a job in a higher level of education and then be capable of paying their loan over the course of 10 years. This raises the bigger question for me asking: Has higher education actually become less accessible, or has it simply evolved into something completely different from what our parents were taught to expect?
It also creates an interesting generational conversation:
Our parents may have been taught:
“Go to college, get your degree, and you’ll be fine.”
Our generation has to ask:
“Which degree? How much will it cost? Can I transfer credits? Can I finish faster? Which loans am I taking? Can I work while studying? Do I even need a traditional four-year program?”
And that’s where I think the conversation gets really interesting.
Maybe higher education hasn’t necessarily become less accessible. Maybe the traditional model of higher education has become less attractive while the number of alternative paths has exploded.
Overall, higher education today is more flexible but also more complicated than it was for previous generations. Our parents were often taught to follow a traditional path: attend a four-year college, take classes on a fixed schedule, graduate, and begin a career.
Our generation has far more alternatives. Synchronous and asynchronous classes, competency-based programs like WGU and UMPI YourPace, and transfer-credit options through platforms like Sophia and Study.com can allow students to work, study around their schedules, transfer existing credits, and potentially finish degrees faster.
At the same time, financing remains a major concern. Understanding the difference between subsidized and unsubsidized loans can make a significant difference in how much a student ultimately pays.
So perhaps the biggest difference isn’t that college is simply easier or harder today. It’s that the pathway to higher education has changed. We now have more ways to earn a degree but also more decisions to make about cost, time, loans, transfer credits, and which educational model actually makes sense for us.
Thank you for listening to my thoughts and opinions, I hope you had a good read and found insight in this topic!
Higher Education Then vs. Now: Is College Really Less Accessible, or Just Different?
Our generation approaches higher education more differently compared with how our parent's generation were taught to view college. For many of our parents that have had the chance to attend college, the traditional path was relatively straightforward for them.
graduate high school → attend college → take classes on a set schedule → graduate → enter the workforce
Today however, students have far more options for where, when, and how quickly they earn a degree. One of the biggest differences between generations is that college no longer has to mean physically attending a campus Monday through Friday. Students today can choose between synchronous education, being online at a specific time with an instructor and classmates and asynchronous education, where coursework can be completed on your own schedule. That flexibility can be especially important for adults who work, have families, or simply can’t afford to spend four years following a traditional class schedule.
Think about this for example, students can choose between synchronous classes, where every student would attend at the same time, and asynchronous programs where students can complete their coursework on their own time and schedule. A good reference of this was during the Covid-19 pandemic where nearly all classes from educational facilities operated by the Department of Education turned towards Zoom to operate their classes due to the pandemic. I had first hands experience in this when I was still studying nursing which turned out for the better for me while it was asynchronous. There's many programs a student can applicate themselves to and enroll and one that I like to refer to is WGU (Western Governor's University). There's competency-based peograms offered by this University that offer students a flat rate for a 6 month period term to complete as many classes as they'd like possible. The rate isn't limited to only 6 months and could constantly be renewed upon the start of the next term or next set of 6 months timeframe. This option makes education more affordable as a flat rate buffet for studious individuals seeking a more faster and flexible education.
Programs such as UMPI YourPace and WGU, along with alternative-credit platforms such as Sophia Learning and Study.com, also raise an interesting question: Does earning a degree have to take four years anymore? Students can potentially use flexible programs and transferable credits to reduce the amount of time and money required. For example, the two sources I mentioned earlier Sophia Learning and Study.com both take anywhere between 2-3 months to accumulate 90 credits total that can be accepted and transferred into UMPI YourPace for a Bachelor's degree. This means that you'd only have to attend UMPI for 30 more credits to graduate or in other words 10 more classes. UMPI or University of Maine offers a wonderful program that extends for 8 weeks with a flat rate similar to what WGU had to offer allowing students to make taking and completing 10 classes in such a short timeframe possible. Similar to how Sophia and Study are asynchronous classes that you do at your own pace without live lectures, the same goes for UMPI. Each class follows a lesson and quiz style study which then follows along with essays and projects and exams. The classes are meant to be completed roughly weekly or every 8-9 days throughout the course of your whole enrollment in UMPI.
This creates a completely different approach to earning a degree:
Traditional model:
Pay per semester → take a fixed number of classes → wait for the semester to end → repeat.
Flexible model:
Transfer what you already know → complete affordable courses elsewhere → demonstrate competency → move through remaining requirements as quickly as you can.
As I mentioned earlier Students can potentially use flexible programs and transferable credits to reduce the amount of time and money required. Instead of paying a university’s full tuition rate for every introductory course, students can sometimes complete eligible coursework through alternative providers and transfer it into their degree program.
Then there is the financial-aid side. Federal Direct Subsidized Loans don’t accrue interest while an eligible student is enrolled at least half-time or during the applicable grace period, while Direct Unsubsidized Loans begin accruing interest from disbursement. Direct Subsidized Loans are generally available to students with demonstrated financial need. The federal government covers the interest while the student is enrolled at least half-time and during the applicable six-month grace period. Direct Unsubsidized Loans don’t require demonstrated financial need, but interest begins accumulating from the first disbursement. However some unsubsidized loans can begin their payments within 6 months after your graduation or completion of college allowing college goers to study peacefully, attain a job in a higher level of education and then be capable of paying their loan over the course of 10 years. This raises the bigger question for me asking: Has higher education actually become less accessible, or has it simply evolved into something completely different from what our parents were taught to expect?
It also creates an interesting generational conversation:
Our parents may have been taught:
“Go to college, get your degree, and you’ll be fine.”
Our generation has to ask:
“Which degree? How much will it cost? Can I transfer credits? Can I finish faster? Which loans am I taking? Can I work while studying? Do I even need a traditional four-year program?”
And that’s where I think the conversation gets really interesting.
Maybe higher education hasn’t necessarily become less accessible. Maybe the traditional model of higher education has become less attractive while the number of alternative paths has exploded.
Overall, higher education today is more flexible but also more complicated than it was for previous generations. Our parents were often taught to follow a traditional path: attend a four-year college, take classes on a fixed schedule, graduate, and begin a career.
Our generation has far more alternatives. Synchronous and asynchronous classes, competency-based programs like WGU and UMPI YourPace, and transfer-credit options through platforms like Sophia and Study.com can allow students to work, study around their schedules, transfer existing credits, and potentially finish degrees faster.
At the same time, financing remains a major concern. Understanding the difference between subsidized and unsubsidized loans can make a significant difference in how much a student ultimately pays.
So perhaps the biggest difference isn’t that college is simply easier or harder today. It’s that the pathway to higher education has changed. We now have more ways to earn a degree but also more decisions to make about cost, time, loans, transfer credits, and which educational model actually makes sense for us.
Thank you for listening to my thoughts and opinions, I hope you had a good read and found insight in this topic!
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