College Cheating? The Business World is Watching

I worked every scut job in my eight-year path to a college degree. If there happened to be such a thing as "white privilege," I didn't see it. Wearing a trash bag as a rain slicker tells you where you are on the ladder of life.

Observers to the unfolding college admissions scandal have a variety of reasons to be offended: inequity, theft of opportunity, ethical failures, failures of parenting roles, abuse of public funds... it is quite a list. Another important issue is the erosion of the value of a degree in the hiring environment. The Business World is watching. University systems are reacting quickly and are firing or suspending staff linked to these charges. Closing the barn door is a good first step, but the cows are gone.

The university systems are flailing (and some are failing) at identifying their core purpose. Is it to educate a student to prepare for life? Is it to educate the student so the pupil might land the best job and build a life? Is it to sell a product and generate revenue? This scandal draws the attention of the business world to door number three. Does an employer really want to hire a youngster who spent four years acquiring a diminished product? Perhaps the employer might consider hiring the kid who wore the trash bag.

This scandal should make a good case study in a college ethics class....