University enrolment up, as grads return to school
Recession drives the biggest spike in enrolment since 2003
“The MA now replaces the honours BA in many fields,” he said. “A lot of people get the BA to get themselves in the running, but then they find that they need more,” he said.
O’Heron attributed this phenomenon to the fact that the fastest growing occupations require the most education-such as healthcare, science and engineering.
Terry Power, president of employment firm Randstad Canada says fields that require higher education have seen better employment opportunities through the downturn.
He said the unemployment rate in professional sectors, especially information technology, engineering and highly specialized fields run at about half the rate of the general unemployment rate.
But Turk says there’s no evidence in the general job market that higher credentials are necessary.
“I think the reason that employers are able to get employees with these credentials is because of the bad job market.”
Now they can require a MA when 20 years ago a BA would do, but it’s not clear how necessary those degrees are, he said.
“We have this curious phenomenon going on where you need more credentials to be able to get jobs but the quality of the jobs and the amount you use your education in the job may actually be diminishing.”
- The Canadian Press
Myron, I think Todd's argument in this case is as follows; Private Universities don't offer courses that are relevant ...
Concerning my assessment of the original argument, it certainly wasn't my intention to misrepresent Mr. Pettigrew's argument. Perhaps I ...
Dr. Pettigrew, your statement
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Myron Penner misrepresents my argument. My first premise is that public universities should be open to the public. Penner may ...
Comment by highlyirritable on 27 October 2009:
I entered University as a full time mature student in 2007, planning on getting my 3 year BA. By 2009, with the economy further tanking, I had changed my course of study to a 4 year honours program.
If the current state of North American financial affairs remains the same, I may not emerge from University until 2020, with my doctorate in hand.
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