Salaries of 6,000 NIS a month: “BA degrees are irrelevant.”
Outdated
teaching methods and BA degrees are no longer relevant to the job market; these
are just some of the problems of the higher education system. ■ A committee of experts assembled by the Student Authority recommends
completing BA degrees in two years and revoking psychometric exam.
Concerns are
growing that the higher education system is failing thousands of undergraduate
students by using outdated methods which are sending them into the labor market
without sufficient training.
"In too many places, a BA degree is no longer
relevant," says the chairman of the Student Authority, Gilad Arditi.
"Everything that students have been learning in three years can be done in
less time, with the same effect. We have become a system which delivers lots of
content – but without much added value.
“Curious people are the ones which motivate mankind, and if
you turn off too many young Israelis, they stop asking why, and become less
active and interested in what is happening around them. So they accept the
systems they find along the way,” says Arditi.
Against this
background Student Authority initiated the establishment of a committee of
experts to update the higher education system. The committee, which includes
Mandel Foundation in Israel CEO Moshe Vigdor, former CEO of the Council for
Higher Education (MALAG), called for the higher education system to take
responsibility for its share in encouraging inequality in Israel. The
Committees recommendation included that steps be taken to update their structure of their undergraduate studies, among
other things, to reduce inequality. These recommendations were submitted to the
MALAG, and are expected to rise for discussions on a new multi-year plan, to
take place over the next five years.
That report
states that "The Committee calls upon the higher education system to
recognize its part in creating and preserving the existing reality of unequal
opportunities in society. The higher education system in Israel must ask itself
what role it plays in the widening and deepening of the economic and social
disparities.
"To this
end, the higher education system must recognize that as it is currently exists,
it causes social inequality. It must accept some responsibility in order to
stop the deepening of inequality of Israel, and take steps to strengthen the
mechanisms for creating equal opportunities and diversity in the system, and
enabling inclusive growth.”
Vigdor said,
"You cannot have a system where students take time to study technical
subjects, and earn a degree, only to find that once they secure employment,
they only then really learn what to do.”
Arditi adds: "The problem is that not only is the link
between academia and employment. Everyone in the higher education system -
lecturer, administrators and students – are in their comfort zone. There is a
conspiracy of silence; no one is challenging the system that everyone is afraid
of change. The status quo is maintained because there will always be students
who want to learn. However, if the situation remains as it is today, there will
be fewer and fewer people seeking out degrees, and it will start to lose its
prestige. It’s already starting to happen.”
According Arditi, the higher education system has lowered
the bar to recruit more students. "The absurd thing is that whoever
finished high school and attends college is going backwards. The secondary
education system has progressed faster than higher education system, and those
who attend to college may find themselves learning the old-fashioned instead of
how they were taught in high school. When we were children we were told in college we
will stop memorizing the material and really
learn, but this is not always the case.”
Members of the
Committee recommend to develop a mechanism for students to complete a
bachelor's degree in just two years (instead of the usual three years now),
through continuous study without reducing the
curricula.
The Committee
further recommends integrating courses which focus on active learning, enabling
undergraduate students to gain practical experience as part of the curriculum
and for credits. In addition, it recommends that faculty develop experimental
curriculums, which will be able to integrate different types of learning and
evaluation methods.
Arditi said that
the initiative to set up the committee stemmed from “the
students, where there is the greatest interest. We see the importance of
10.5 billion shekels invested in the state and in how it’s spent. You cannot
say - okay, we'll take the time here and get a degree and this is it - we have
to push the system forward.”
Committee, which
convened over five months, included among others by Prof. Shlomo Biderman,
President of the Academic College of Tel Aviv-Yaffo, Dr. Yifat Biton from the
College of Management, Prof. Galit Yovel from the School Brain Sciences at Tel
Aviv University, Prof. Uri Kirsch, who studies the policy of higher education
and the World Na’aman Institute at the Technion, Rabbi Rafi Feuerstein,
President of the Feuerstein Institute which supports and provides alternative
testing to the Psychometric exam, and social activist Daphni Leef.
“People say: 'We did what you told us, we went,
we studied for an academic degree - and here we are earning 6,000 shekels a
month. This is an issue to be investigated in depth. The academic system is a
key tool for social policy, and to think about how to stop create the caste system of today" says Vigdor.
"Israel's current reality can do more than transfer
knowledge, and help reduce inequality," he adds. "Academia could be
one of the tools for achieving this goal. Universities in Israel have more
responsibility to the periphery, minority and religious groups. Today, a BA is
a tool for social mobility, thus contributing to those who made it. The
question is what the relevance to society is."
The greatest recommendation of the Commission to reduce
inequality is to develop a multi-year plan to improve access to higher
education among periphery populations, and develop research which will provide
an updated and accurate representation of the different sectors and their
needs.
The Committee
recommends an alternative to the psychometric exam, which many have argued is
biased against applicants who cannot afford to attend a preparation course or
are non-native Hebrew speakers. "Classifying exams can be tilted and
easily influenced by the candidate or the arrival resources from the periphery.
The higher education system needs a sorting mechanism which recognizes the
growth potential in a candidate.”
In addition, the
Committee recommends to establishing a system which will allow applicants to be
accepted not only in higher education but also to study trends in science. According
to the Commission, the colleges give preference to candidates from disadvantaged
communities and outlying areas. In addition, it proposes to set up workshops to
help students in areas with poor access to higher education assistance in
enrolling in graduate courses.
The report was
severely critical of the old-fashioned method of teaching in colleges and
universities today and wrote: "Knowledge is not merely expanding one's
mind sufficiently. As of today, colleges continue to maintain the same teaching
methods that took place almost from the beginning, in stark contrast to the drastic
changes that have occurred in almost all areas of life,” the report stated.
"Adherence
to traditional teaching methods increases the separation between the content,
tools and skills learned during the degree and those required by the labor
market, creating significant barrier to integration.
"Too many
people lose their sparkle in their eyes after their first degree, because they
are receiving a mediocre education,” said Arditi. "They understand that
they are there because they need to obtain the degree in order to begin to play
the game. To give them back the spark, we should stop seeking to please them
and begin to lead. This academic leadership not only fundraising, but students
need to chart a path.”
According Arditi,
"There are more than 300,000 students in the higher education system, and
it is clear that not everyone will be academics, that most of them turn to the
labor market, yet and the goal is still to prepare all students for research. A
lot of students still maintain the illusion that by attending university, they
will have a job. But the truth is, there is little connection and students are
experiencing frustration and disappointment. It is hard to get hired without
experience, and that's why many students begin entering the field during their
second year of study. The labor market is signaling that the world outside
academia works differently.
"I always
explain the higher education system should focus on research that is needed to
change humanity, but you cannot say that in the end the most important is to
teach them all statistics, to prepare them to be explored. You have to
understand what skills the higher education system can give all fields of study
to send people with workforce skill set fit for the 21st century. it is no less
important,” says Arditi.
Vigdor explains,
"The idea is to give students a tool for thinking, to improve their
ability to read and write and reflected, to function properly in society. These
tools are not given today." He said that one of the recommendations is
engaged in deepening humanities and values in all disciplines. "Humanities
provide more content and help develop the
thinking," he says.
In addition, the
committee members visited the higher education system which has not carried out
a comprehensive study examining the impact of the contribution of volunteer
project of their students and the community.
"This is
absurd situation completely contradicts the spirit of the academia, which
advocates research-based activities and knowledge and there is an urgent need
for immediate amendment of the current situation," the report said. The
report's authors suggest doing such a study to examine whether the current
planning efficiency and contribute to the community, and develop measures more
involvement of the academic community, such as the development of social
enterprises tracks by students.
"Institutions
of higher education treat students seriously, and it is of the utmost
importance that professors connect with the students," said Vigdor.
"But the Commission proposes to examine how it is possible to provide
students with more powerful tools. It is a big challenge, but we need to create
a new dynamic to do the same. We can reduce disparities and equip the students
with the tools that will contribute to better themselves and society. In the
end most people come to have knowledge and want to develop their skills - universities
be more equipped to do so. "
Original article written in Hebrew: http://www.themarker.com/news/education/1.3038804
Original article written in Hebrew: http://www.themarker.com/news/education/1.3038804
