Think Carefully About Higher Education

THE BEST OF HIGHER EDUCATION rigorously challenges the mind, the body, and the soul. Does anyone really believe it is possible to secure a fulfilling career in six, nine, or twelve months? A myriad of “career” colleges, universities, and technical institutes spend billions promoting such fulfillments. The same institutions seek out and overtake struggling regionally accredited schools in order to expand federal loan capital for the legions of students who believe a wonderful career is just around the corner. Thinking carefully, federal loans are taxpayer investments reserved for students who will eventually contribute to the sciences, technology, and culture. It is interesting to note that fast-track colleges do require high school diplomas or GED qualifications that represent more than a few months of primary and secondary educational experiences. It is ironic these same schools promise to deliver a career in only a few months but still require the diploma. Students, parents, and advisers should take more than twelve months to make intelligent decisions about higher education. Any school that promotes measured collaborative and independent thinking regarding academic rigor, institutional culture, aligned discipline options, and real financial education deserves serious attention. Yes, the financial piece is critical, signing each student loan is fast-track but repaying these commitments with interest can take a lifetime.

View this compelling PBS Frontline Special: Campus Inc.

Is this a cliché?

AFTER MORE THAN THREE MONTHS of intense work it is time to relax and consider a recent epiphany discovered while crawling around in a used book shop in Minneapolis. The juxtaposition of one book jacket with a picture of an eye partially covering another book with the word, design immediately sparked the idea of creating a rebus. After clearly picturing a solution and producing the first image it was time to stop and ask if this little exercise was really just foolish. The more important question, How many times have we seen this before? In the process of searching for the same solution produced by someone else one finds eye wear companies, blogs, more book titles and of course, Eye: The International Review of Graphic Design. The question of originality looms in the background but the point of this exercise was the surrealistic encounter of two books destined for graphic play.