Based on what I've seen here at Case, the most advanced learning environment in the Galactic Federation(and looking at Ashland and basically 99% of the assclowns I see who have college "degrees"), education is simply a business. As long as s/he can pay, any asshole can get a degree with minimal work and absolutely no demonstrable intellectual, moral, social (or any combination) value. Most schools will do everything they can to KEEP students from failing out, even when they have, in fact, already failed. I mean, hey, that's a $30,000 loss if the student leaves. Make him a gym major so we can get his money and he can walk around as a big, proud college grad.
And it's even worse in my department for grad students. It's basically impossible to fail out of this place which pisses me off for two reasons: (1) it's devaluing my doctorate having clueless people graduating at the same "level" as I do (this is the more important of the two) and (2) I hate these people to begin with, so I'm all for removing them from any possible setting where I have to talk to them. I think the idea of education as a right is more prominent at this level because we are being paid to be here, not paying. I think this makes a huge difference a the undergrad level vs. grad level (I know not all departments are paid like we are, but either way the end result is the same: n00bs getting degrees they don't deserve and haven't really earned). It reminds me of Angrybot when he fires his students from school. I wish that would start happening.
