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It highlights low completion rates for low-achieving students, reliance on remedial noncredit courses, and wasted time and money. It identifies three harmful elements—idealizing bachelor’s degrees, overselling access, and stigma-free remediation—then proposes remedies to inform students and align goals with realistic outcomes.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/beyond-one-size-fits-all-college-dreams-alternative-pathways-to-desirable-careers/592354/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/beyond-one-size-fits-all-college-dreams-alternative-pathways-to-desirable-careers/592354.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"McGucket","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-30","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":19},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"Why does the paper argue that the “college-for-all” movement can be self-defeating?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"Because students are encouraged to go to college, yet few complete four-year (or even two-year) degrees. Many poorly prepared students end up in remedial, often noncredit courses and may drop out without earning college credit.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"What are the three elements of the BA-for-all movement identified as potentially harmful?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"The paper names: (1) idealizing the BA degree and ignoring strong alternatives, (2) promising college access without showing the troubles students may face on campus, and (3) cultivating stigma-free remediation that hides that many students are in remedial noncredit courses.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"What remedies does the paper call for to improve student outcomes?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"It calls for realizing that many good jobs do not require a BA, fully informing students about their options, and honestly telling students what it will take to succeed as they select goals.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},592354,1792632470,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":19,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":144,"read_time":145,"preview_page_count":4},1236954412713,"https://us-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_29158cc5080c5b710cf443261637dec0","Beyond One-Size-Fits-All College Dreams  \nAlternative Pathways to Desirable Careers  \nILLUSTRAT IONS BY KENNETH MCMILLAN  \nBy James E. Rosenbaum, Jennifer L. Stephan, and Janet E. Rosenbaum  \nA  \nsk middle and high school students if they plan to graduate from college and the vast majority will likely answer yes. Even students whose grades are below average or downright abysmal will nod their heads and  \nJames E. Rosenbaum is a professor of education and social policy at Northwestern University, a sociology faculty fellow with the university’s Institute for Policy Research, the principal investigator for several major studies of how to improve outcomes for urban youth, and the author of several books and dozens of academic papers. Jennifer L. Stephan is a postdoctoral fellow at the Institute for Policy Research at Northwestern University. JanetE. Rosenbaum is an assistant professor in the School of Public Health at the University of Maryland, where she studies adolescents’ risky behavior in order to develop prevention programs.  \nsay they sincerely believe they will not only gain admission to college, but will earn a four-year degree. This desire among practically all students to attain a bachelor’s degree is both natural (given our society’s emphasis on college as the key to a good life) and worth encouraging (especially since higher studies can lead to a good life of the mind) .  \nA four-year college degree has long been an aspiration for the nation’s highest-achieving students. But over the past couple of decades, two dramatic changes have occurred: most of society became convinced that a bachelor’s degree is necessary to land a good job, and many educators responded by encouraging all studentsto goto college. Today, most high school graduates are going to college, but that’s not necessarily good news. The fact is, few are earning four-year (or even two-year) degrees.  \nWhile we laud the college-for-all ideal, we believe that unless students are better informed, the movement will be self-defeating.  \nWith thousands of higher education institutions offering open admissions, it is true that virtually all students can go to college. Yet less than half of high school seniors planning to get bachelor’s degrees succeed in this goal, and completion rates are less than 20 percent for low-achieving students. Those who are poorly prepared end upin remedial courses—many drop out without earning a single college credit. Meanwhile, they have wasted precious time and money that could have been spent on career-focused certificates or associate’s degrees that have better outcomes than are generally recognized.  \nIn short, with our good intentions, we actually mislead the youth who most need our guidance. And, with our imprecise language, we actually mislead each other too. In everyday language and in formal policy discussions, the word “college” is used as a synonym for “bachelor’s degree.” Colleges have much more to offer than just four-year degrees—and recognizing that fact would  \nbut we do not. We are mystified by what we are increasingly seeing as idealism that prevents optimal outcomes across youth-related fields. We think our society’s tendency to advocate BAs for all is a good example of this problem. Somehow, across fields, we must find a way of being honest with our youth without crushing their dreams. Short term, the truth about college might be disheartening. Long term, knowing the truth is the only way to accomplish one’s goals.  \nThis paper aims to identify three elements of the BA-for-all movement that are potentially harmful: (1) the idealization of the BA degree, which results in ignoring excellent options like an applied associate’s degree in mechanical design technology, graphic communication technologies, dental hygiene, or computer networking; (2) the promise of college access, which results in high school students seeing their slightly older peers go off to college, but not seeing the trouble many have once on campus;","cbCaisTqf800L9qQ","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaisTqf800L9qQ","pdf",384320,11,"English","# Introduction\n## The college-for-all ideal and its limits\n## Misleading language and unrealistic expectations\n# BA-for-all movement: three potentially harmful elements\n## Idealization of the BA degree\n## Promise of college access\n## Stigma-free remediation\n# Remedies and policy implications\n## Jobs that do not require a BA\n## Fully informing students about options","[{\"question\":\"Why does the paper argue that the “college-for-all” movement can be self-defeating?\",\"answer\":\"Because students are encouraged to go to college, yet few complete four-year (or even two-year) degrees. Many poorly prepared students end up in remedial, often noncredit courses and may drop out without earning college credit.\"},{\"question\":\"What are the three elements of the BA-for-all movement identified as potentially harmful?\",\"answer\":\"The paper names: (1) idealizing the BA degree and ignoring strong alternatives, (2) promising college access without showing the troubles students may face on campus, and (3) cultivating stigma-free remediation that hides that many students are in remedial noncredit courses.\"},{\"question\":\"What remedies does the paper call for to improve student outcomes?\",\"answer\":\"It calls for realizing that many good jobs do not require a BA, fully informing students about their options, and honestly telling students what it will take to succeed as they select goals.\"}]","Beyond One-Size-Fits-All College Dreams - Alternative Pathways to Desirable Careers | PDF",1792074395,28]