Comment by mordae | Hacker News Reader

Comment by mordae | Hacker News Reader

Screw all of that. Just make the education modular, let anyone take any module and any time and certify them based on requirements for that particular module. Regardless of their attendence and other crap. Then once they have requisite modules, issue them the corresponding degree.

The whole idiocy of linear education makes me furious. I have only gotten motivated to study certain topics later in my life, where it's effectively impossible to return to college because I would have to study a whole bunch of unrelated crap and get the degree or go home instead of gaining a small portion of it and perhaps finishing the rest later.

And let me just take the exams when you have nothing to teach me! I mean, seriously, why would I have to enroll and attend just to get certified for Linux system administration when I make living off it? Just give me the module. Same with software development, databases and so on.

Sure, I will take the OCSP / BGP advanced networking classes when I have time for them, but don't force me to study routing now (or you won't have enough credits for this semester and you'll have to go away).

Aaaaargh.

This is precisely how Western Governor's University (WGU) works, as I understand. You do the modules and when you've completed them (at your own pace), you get the degree. I had a teacher in high school who did this to get a IT degree, and they have lots of other ones as well.

HN story where someone got a CS degree in three months by speedrunning the tests: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25467900

My college had some dependencies between the courses, but IIRC it was possible to graduate after 2,5 years instead of the usual 4. Some people in my original group did just that and got out a year earlier.

My personal record was 14 courses (standard being 5-6 per semester) due to narrowly avoiding dropping out thanks to talking with the dean and getting approval for making up for my failures in the previous semester. I failed three of them, but that was still enough to stay afloat. Can't imagine actually going through this every semester.

Just note, if you take a look at the actual materials covered and single final assignment required for classes at WGU you will find they are a joke compared to what you find at standard universities (e.g. university of utah, Virginia tech,…)

Employers don't care, they just want the degree credential box checked. Valid point if the knowledge is what you're after.

Employers don't care unless they do, if they do then they'll put your resume in the reject pile just by the university they don't greatly of. There is some level they are looking for, that bar could be very low (WGU is fine) or very high (even UW isn't good enough).

As someone who manages a team and hires good number of candidates, I can confirm that I do care a lot where a candidate learned what they claim on their transcripts. Its not the only thing I care about but certainly MIT and The University of Phoenix resumes do not go into the same pile. Don't fool yourself.

> HN story where someone got a CS degree in three months by speedrunning the tests

That does not inspire confidence at all.

Bachelor's degrees ensure a common baseline of knowledge - a pretty low bar if the preceding 13 years of your education were thorough. Looking over WGU's programs, if you've worked in the field and have requisite experience, you _should_ be able to test through a program quickly.

I did IB, competed in high level science and math competitions, did dual enrollment... and CLEPped the maximum per semester I could in college.

Is that such a shock if I'd already covered the material at a higher level?

the uk has had modular degree schemes going back to the 1980s, when i wrote the software to administer one (nomad/2, ibm vm/cms, if anyone is interested). you could do the modules part-time, take a year off etc.

I've done some MOOCs and I think that should at least be an option for most classes. The current system is still very medieval and hasn't adapted enough to modern reality.

Some schools are doing stackable degrees. You take a block of a few classes (e.g. 3-4 classes), get a graduate certificate for that area and once you get a few of them, you can convert them to a graduate degree. It might be trickier for undergrad as that's where the grit is being created.

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