There is no question that education is never wasted. And there is also no question that higher education can be an investment in your future.

However, there is much debate about the merits of college. When you factor in the cost of obtaining a college degree and the skyrocketing student debt, one has to question if the university system can be improved.

How to choose a major

The first step in creating my dream University would be to help students decide between their passion versus what the world tells them they should study. While it is true that students should choose wisely, often they choose a major based on what their parents want or what will make them the most money when they graduate.

Students should pick a major that complements their passion. This is key. If you are spending the next 50 years of your life in a career, it should be one that you love and are passionate about. This translates into job happiness, which goes on to affect overall happiness and satisfaction with life.

Cut the nonsense out

This leads me to my next criteria in developing an ideal university. Given the skyrocketing cost of attendance, degrees should be structured so that the student only needs to take the courses for their degree. By college, it is time to do away with extra classes and classes that do not make sense for a major. Why does a music major need to take a lab science? Or why should a math major need a foreign language?

To be fair, these classes do have merits. There are not necessary for the majors, though. Ideally, a university student should be able to take only the classes necessary for the degree they are pursuing. Eliminating extra classes could reasonably shave 2-3 semesters off the needed time to get a degree. Imagine being able to graduate in 2&½ to 3 years instead of needing 4. The money saved would be astronomical and much better for the student.

Graduating with a degree quicker also enables the student to enter the workforce sooner.

Add more online options

In today’s digital age, it would make tremendous sense to have more universities offer online degrees. There are some options available now, but students really need to investigate their accreditation to be sure the University is legitimate.

Having more universities, even those already established brick and mortar institutions offer degrees entirely online would take away some of the unfair negative association with an online degree.

Students today are mobile and tech-savvy. Having the opportunity to earn a degree anywhere and at any time would be extremely beneficial. This would enable students to work while studying, live at home, and work at a degree at their own pace. All of these benefits are positive for the student.

Also, an online university should cost substantially less than it is brick and mortar counterpart, simply because the physical upkeep is much, much less.

My ideal University would give students the ability to focus solely on their major without the need for extraneous gen-ed classes, the ability to finish their degree faster, and the option to study entirely online. It’s time to bring universities up to speed.