The latest entry in the debate as to whether the value of college lies in what you learn while you are there or in what it signals about you comes from an article in the National Review Online. James Piereson and Naomi Schaefer Riley build on an article that appeared in the Chronicle: “Why Thousands of College Grads Start their Careers at a Rental-Car Company.” (paywalled)
This is what economists such as Ohio University’s Richard Vedder and George Mason’s Bryan Caplan have been arguing for years: College degrees are simply a signifier — an easy way of telling an employer that you have a basic grasp of the English language, some rudimentary math skills, and the ability to show up on time in clean clothes. On those measures, is a graduate of the University of Michigan any different from a graduate of Michigan State or Northern Michigan University? Not really. Does a 3.8 GPA predict that you will do better or worse at managing a car-rental office than someone with a 2.8 GPA? Probably not. Does majoring in business predict that you will do a better job than an English major or a sociology major or a physics major? It’s unlikely.
The management at Enterprise are saying aloud what many employers know to be true. Bosses who require a college degree are taking advantage of a system that does the sorting for them. They understand that a bachelor’s degree is not really necessary for doing an entry-level job, and that whatever your educational background, you will require significant training to do well in that particular position.
I am not convinced that signaling is the only reason college is valuable, but it does make one wonder whether our efforts at increasing retention and putting programs online in ways that no longer require that students “show up on time in clean clothes” is undermining a central and important aspect of college.