Every degree program at the University must satisfy a certain set of the course requirement as well as other activities connected to the academics. The university ensures the conditions are clear to all the students, and they are easy to follow. It is the duty of the students to employ all the resources that would assist them in meeting the requirements of the University. The university may set requirements in terms of mean grade required for graduation, lecture rate of attendance per student, minimum course units a student should take, lack of proper internship programs, and the submission of the necessary research papers and projects at the completion of the course. However, the completion requirements should reflect the changing nature of a college degree.
Competition for higher education continues to intensify. There are numerous people seeking opportunities to acquire a degree. The world has become extremely keen on achieving relevant intelligence level by having a lot of people getting a higher education status. There are more unemployed graduates than the people who did not acquire the tertiary education. According to statistics from the Labor Department, out of the 9 million people who are unemployed, 4.7 million have acquired higher education (Snyder 01).
What could be done to eliminate the concern remains a major concern for the universities. The first element that may be the cause of the puzzling trend is a lack of proper preparation for students at the university. The students lack proper exposure to the tasks that they are to undertake when they complete their degree. In most cases, the universities insist on excellence in theory works (Snyder 01).
It is clear that every course that one chooses to undertake in the University has some practical part. Some universities do not find the significance of the practical part. They assume that once the students have the required theoretical exposure they can easily employ the knowledge when required to do it practically. However, some students cram the notes to pass the exams but they can hardly recall anything after the exams (Snyder 01). Therefore, it becomes extremely difficult to get highly competent students in terms of practical.
The universities need to evaluate the practical knowledge requirement. It is shameful for a university student not to be in a position to handle even the simplest task of his course. The universities should come up with reliable systems that will ensure that every student goes through practical test to ascertain that he or she is well prepared to handle the tasks that await him or her after the course. A reliable period must be set within which the practical skills of the student will be tested. Tough measures must be in place to ensure the student pass this level, and they are ready to handle similar tasks after school. Grading for practical exams should be higher than for normal exams to ensure the students sharpen their skills to reach reliable levels.
The universities may intervene to ensure only the most qualified students get to the university. If a student below the set standard gets a chance to go to the university, he or she must satisfy another condition. The issue may be possible if the necessary entry requirements are set. For the students who had not reached the minimum entry points to the university they must show exclusive performance (Snyder 01). For the years that they will be in the university they must meet the minimum grade set by the university. The method will help to filter a deal of students who may not perform as per the set conditions.
The method will assist in ensuring only highly competent individuals access the higher education. The filtering process through the grades set as a minimum will protect incompetent students from graduating. If all the universities embraced this move, it would be extremely easy to have a college degree becoming more sensible at a time when its credit is reducing. The qualifications will prepare individuals for jobs in the right way without getting wasted following the existence of many college degrees that are not credible.
There is an absolute need to raise the grade for graduation so that students may work harder. At such time, there would be extremely many challenges if the GPA remained the same. To control the college degree from flooding in the society, the government must be cautious to ensure the universities maintain high GPAs that will push people to work harder (Slavov 01). The low GPAs set for graduation may mean massive mess among the students since they will flock in the market and it will be extremely difficult for them to secure jobs.
As another measure to control the GPA, the lecturers must be keen on their grading techniques. They must show seriousness in defining the necessary principles for their lessons or course subjects. Recently, there have been complaints regarding grade inflation in the universities. The lecturers are unable to offer grades on content, but they are doing it on the idea. As a result, it is becoming extremely easy for any person to pass in the university. The lecturers are not able to test for creativity and extra knowledge on the subject being tested (Phillips 01). They are focusing on the elements that may not show the potential of the student to think or reason independently over an issue.
The universities must be ready to deal with the issue as it continues to unfold. They must be willing to hold the extensive challenge that come with the exercise. It would be necessary for the universities to set standards that will allow keen marking for exams and grading. For example, the institutions may come up with exceptional strategy that will allow employment of external examiners. The people will have excellent qualifications to enable them mark the exams accordingly and in consideration of the necessary details as per the requirements of the subject.
The external examiners will help in maintaining equality among students. Also, there will not be any favor among students in grading as they will receive their grades depending on the performance. In such an incidence, it will be easy to ensure only the brilliant students pass their exams and progress to the next level of their academics. It will also ensure only the best students access the best opportunities in the job market that await the college graduates. The move will be a proper solution to the rising concern of grade inflation (Slavov 01).
For a student to complete a course successfully, he or she must undertake a certain number of units. Universities must set the minimum number of units that every student should undertake during the course. Among the units that the universities indicate as core, a target score must be set. It means all the students must meet the score. At no point will any of the students be allowed to continue on their activities if they are unable to reach the score (CSUMentor 01). The standard will be significant in ensuring that the students who leave the universities are well qualified, and they can handle various tasks based on their qualifications.
Proper grading or standards for education shows the seriousness of the institutions. It will act as a guarantee to the public that it is possible to achieve an education system that prepares the students reasonably and in a unique way. The move will help in raising positive attitude among people on the uniqueness and the significance of higher education (CSUMentor 01). The tarnished name of the college degree will be reclaimed in due time.
Internship programs must be made the core for all the students who wish to graduate. The programs are essential in testing the competence of the students who have undergone full theoretical training. The program should test the potential of the students as well as their ability to put into practice what they study in class. Also, it acts as an exposure to the reality of their profession. The students get the picture of what their profession entails. They can understand the essence of the various principles that they learned in class. The programs will ensure that only qualified students graduate (Phillips 01).
The poor performance among the university students is linked to poor class attendance. In most cases, students will come up with excuses why they should not attend lectures. It is unfortunate when the administration fails to follow the class attendance per student. The administration must ensure the student attends the set minimum number of lectures before he or she is permitted to graduate. The poor attendance for classes is reflected through poor performance for students (Snyder 01). Therefore, the universities must ensure that all graduate reasonable attend their lectures so that they may be well prepared for the activities that await them in the job market.
Change for degree completion requirements by the universities would change the current status of the college degree. Following the extensive negative traits that have been attached to the current college degrees the institutions must step up to repaint the tainted image. There must be proper control of how students graduate. Necessary conditions must be satisfied to make sure only competent students succeed. The issues that make the education irrelevant must be grounded and practical measures put in place to encourage excellent standards for college degrees.
Works Cited
CSUMentor "CSUMentor." - Plan for College. CSUMentor. Web. 4 Dec. 2014. <https://secure.csumentor.edu/planning/transfer/upper_div_ge_req.asp>.
Phillips, Vicky. "Online Degree Completion: 5 Tips for Bachelors Degree." Online Degree Completion: 5 Tips for Bachelor's Degree. Geteducated.com, 9 Nov. 2009. Web. 4 Dec. 2014. <http://www.geteducated.com/cutting-online-university-cost/257-online-college-credits>.
Slavov, Sita. "How to Fix College Grade Inflation." US News. U.S.News & World Report, 26 Dec. 2013. Web. 4 Dec. 2014. <http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/economic-intelligence/2013/12/26/why-college-grade-inflation-is-a-real-problem-and-how-to-fix-it>.
Snyder, Bonnie. "The Majority of the Unemployed Went to College?" The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 22 May 2012. Web. 4 Dec. 2014. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-bonnie-snyder/unemployment-college-graduates-_b_1536195.html>.
