To many, the recent college admissions scandal revealed something we already knew — wealthy people have advantages in life. But this scandal also showed us a more striking problem in our education system — there’s a greater focus on succeeding than learning.

At least 50 people, so far, face federal charges for being involved in a scheme designed to help students get into prestigious universities. Parents solicited payments to William Rick Singer in exchange for false records and false test scores.

Thankfully, Syracuse University was not one of the universities involved.

But that doesn’t mean we can’t learn something from this story. While this scandal could just be seen as another example of the wealthy being given preferential treatment, we need to look at why parents were willing to do so much to ensure their children got into these colleges. It’s the result of a fractured education system in which college is more about receiving a degree than learning.

“It does give you this stamp on your forehead that basically is a way of convincing employers that you are a higher quality person, and that if you can go and learn the material in college well, you can probably learn whatever it is the employers teach,” said Bryan Caplan, professor of economics at George Mason University.

The issue with college begins at a young age. Students are taught that a mark on a transcript is more important than what’s learned in the classroom. Instead of putting in legwork to learn, students often just cram for tests and forget the information learned in lectures.

When applying for colleges, students attempt to mold themselves into a candidate for acceptance at a school rather than finding a school that will fit them. In college, students take plenty of classes that won’t hold much relevance to their careers with the goal of obtaining a line on their resume — a college degree.

Here’s where this admissions scandal fits in. These parents didn’t participate in the scheme to allow for their children to get a prestigious education. It seems like they did it so their children could boast a prestigious university on their diploma and get them into the elite networks. If it was about the things they would learn, maybe the parents would’ve thought about their children’s chances of succeeding under such a strict curriculum.

The scandal paints a bleak picture of education in America. But, college does provide value to students. Many students gain valuable work experience in college and can make connections that help them in their careers. And at least some of the classes do teach important things that help students later on.

From the perspective of admissions offices, there are many factors that need to be taken into consideration outside of a student’s qualifications.

According to Nathan Daun-Barnett, associate professor of higher education administration at the University at Buffalo, there will always be a risk of scandals like this.

“People know one of the ways to get into top institutions is through being an exceptional athlete, and anytime there is an incentive like that, there’s going to be folks who try to game it,” Daun-Barnett said.

The root of this issue exists in a culture where college has become more about the degree than the education.

Nick Turner is a senior political science and policy studies major. His column appears biweekly. He can be reached at nturner@syr.edu.

Published on March 21, 2019 at 12:00 am