“Let me see if I’ve got this straight. In order to be grounded I’ve got to be crazy, and I must be crazy to keep flying. But if I ask to be grounded that means I’m not crazy any more, and I have to keep flying.” Alan Arkin, Catch-22, 1970

Author Joseph Heller coined the phrase, “catch-22,” in his book of the same name written in 1961. (The satirical novel, set in World War II, was subsequently made into a movie.) A catch-22 is a convoluted situation from which an individual cannot escape because of contradictory rules.
Too many young people are enrolling in college today driven by cheerleading educators and organizations such as the College Board. Politicians contribute by providing access to easy money and promulgating the importance of educational attainment even though the students aren’t necessarily attaining an education. This bubble would probably exist without any additional stimulation, but in 1971 the Supreme Court threw more fuel on the fire. In the Griggs versus Duke Power Company ruling they made aptitude testing legally risky. The unintended consequence was that employers have chosen the degree, i.e. the credential, as a surrogate rather than accept the legal exposure.
One hundred years ago a high school degree was rare—only about ten percent of the population held one. The degree sent a signal—“this person is smart and hard working.” The high school graduate could get a starting job at a bank and work his way up to branch manager or even president.
Fifty years ago the unwritten rule for college readiness among high school students was the top ten percent. (This represented an IQ of around 120.) Today college is considered to be for everyone. With such a wide range of abilities and aptitudes available the employers upped the stakes regardless of the job requirements. As an example: sixty-five percent of openings for Executive Secretary jobs now require a BA.)
Today even the echo of a bachelor’s degree is rapidly fading. An example: thirty years ago a BA degree would provide entry into the occupational therapy field. Ten years later a master’s degree was needed. Now a doctorate is becoming more and more common. More and more the master’s degree is the new signal—“look, this person is smart, an achiever”.
This has created a problem of supply and demand. Dr. Richard Vedder, professor emeritus at Ohio University and director of the Center for College Affordability and Productivity, describes the issue, “Colleges are turning out more graduates than the market can bear, and a master’s is essential for job seekers to stand out—that, or a diploma from an elite undergraduate college.” The graduates with BA’s are in competition and half of them are going to lose and be underemployed or unemployed while the non-credential holders are the outcasts forced into the dregs.
Only the educational institutions have benefited. This emphasis on obtaining credentials represents a financial bonanza to the colleges as progressively more and more young people, many disengaged and necessarily weaker academically, stream in the doors. In turn the schools have dumbed down the curriculum, inflated the grades, and turned a blind eye to student misconduct.
There is a crisis in post-secondary education. Employers are demanding more and more credentials. Massive numbers of high school graduates see the credentials as a key to a better future. This causes the value of the credentials to erode. At the same time the cost of obtaining the credentials continues to escalate. This makes the return on investment of a college degree problematical. College has become the greatest catch-22 of all time.
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