Subtitles section Play video Print subtitles Captioned by Elrtv UCATION IS THE KEY TO THE AMERICAN DREAM. (man) BUT TODAY, SOMETHING'S WRONG. 'T READ, PERIOD. (mVIVE? DRIVEN. 'T READ, PERIOD. (man 4) YOU KNOW, I GOT SWALLOWED UP. POWERFUL FORCES ARE DRIVING HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW DIRECTIONS. I'M JOHN MERROW. WHAT WE'RE GOING TO SHOW YOU, BOTH GOOD AND BAD, ABOUT COLLEGES AND I'UNIVERSITIESW. CAN BE FOUND ON VIRTUALLY EVERY CAMPUS IN AMERICA. THIS PROGRAM IS PROVIDED BY: ABOUT COLLEGES AND I'UNIVERSITIESW. ADDITIONAL SUPPORT WAS PROVIDED BY: WITH ADDED BY: (John Merrow) GMILLIONS EVERY FALL. (Female Student) IT'S REALLY EXCITING BECAUSE I'VE BEEN LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS FOR A LONG TIME. SO, I'M JUST GLAD TO FINALLY BE HERE, MOVING IN. (John Merrow) MORE THAN 14 MILLION UNDERGRADUATES AT 4,200 COLLEGES, FOLLOWING A DREAM. IT'S STILL NOT ONLY A WAY UP FOR SOME PEOPLE, G SURE THAT YOU'VE BEEN STAMPED BY SOCIETY FOR FUTURE SUCCESS. PARTLY A RITUAL, YOU'VE BA TRANSITION.Y SOCIETY IT'S ALSO A WAY OF PEOPLE BEGINNING TO MOVE OUT OF THE FAMILY. SO THERE'S STILL A PRETTY POSITIVE SENSE OF IT AS PART OF THE AMERICAN DREAM. IT'S ABOUT BUILDING CONFIDENCE, ILDINGRT OF THE AMERICAN DREAM. YOUR COMMUNICATION SKILLS, LEARNING TO WORK WITH PEOPLE, (student) I'M REALLY EXCITED, A LITTLE BIT NERVOUS SINCE WE JUST GOT HERE AND STUFF, THE WHOLE COLLEGE EXPERIENCE AND EVERYTHING. (woman) A VERY FEW YEARS AGO IT WAS POSH SCHOOL ANSUSTAIN A FAMILY, AND EVEN SUSTAIN A MIDDLE CLASS STANDARD OF LIVING THOSE DAYS ARE OVER. NEVER AGAIN WILL NECESSITY FOR ANY INDIVIDUAL E TO ENTER AND STAY IN THE AMERICAN MIDDLE CLASS. [bells chiming] (John Merrow) BUT EVEN WITH COLLEGE A NECESSITY, THERE ARE WARNING SIGNS THAT ALL IS NOT WELL IN HIGHER EDUCATION. dogs]HERE ARE WARNING SIGNS BUT TODAY 39% OF STUDENTS ADMIT TO BINGE DRINKING. (man) OWWWW! THAT WAS WEAK. I WANT MORE! [crowd cheering] (John Merrow) THE DEBATE OVER THE ROLE OF SPORTS ON CAMPUS PERSISTS. (Frank Deford) IT'S NOT ILLEGAL FOR A COACH TO MAKE $2 MILLION A YEAR BUT IS IT RIGHT, IS IT ETHICAL, (John Merrow) 68% OF TODAY'S COLLEGE STUDENTS ARE WORKING ATHOLD DOWN FULL-TIME JOBS WHILE TRYING TO BE FULL-TIME STUDENTS. (woman) I FREQUENTLY DO. WHEN YOU ARE DEAD TIRED YOU DON'T HEAR THAT ALARM. I DON'T CARE HOW LOUD IT IS. UGH IT. AND THAT'S HAPPENED. (John Merrow) 44% OF TODAY'S COLLEGE FACULTY ARE PART-TIME TEACHERS. THIS MAN TEACHES AT THREE COLLEGES. (man) I'M PRETTY MUCH AN ASSEMBLY LINE KIND OF A GUY. I WISH I COULD TAILOR MAKE MY DELIVERY. CAN'T DO IT. TOO MANY STUDENTS, TOO MANY CLASSES. (John Merrow) AND TEACHING IS OFTEN NOT A PRIORITY. (man) CLEARLY IF I WANT A RAISE IT'S GOING TO BE THROUGH RESEARCH. I'M NOT GOING TO GET RAISES BASED ON QUALITY TEACHING, NO MATTER HOW GOOD THAT TEACHING IS. (John Merrow) STUDENTS WHO START MAY NOT FINISH. MOST DISTURBING OF ALL IS WHAT'S BEING SAID ABOUT THOSE WHO DO GRADUATE. MOST DISTURBING OF ALL IS WHAT'S BEING SAID (Lara Couturier) THERE'S BEEN REPORT AFTER REPORT AND COMMISSION AFTER COMMISSION FORMED OF BUSINESS LEADERS WHO ARE CALLING OUT TO HIGHER EDUCATION AND SAYING, "WE NEED TO CHANGE THE SYSTEM. "WE THAT OUR EMPLOYEESWITH ARE SHOWING UP WITH." AND THIS HAS IMPLICATIONS FOR DEFENSE, IT HAS I MEANS TO RUN LOCAL GOV, (John Merrow) AND YET, OTHER THAN CONCERNS ABOUT COST, (Kay McClenney) THAT'S BECAUSE THE AMERICA PUBLIC HAS VERY LITTLE INFORMATION. WE DON'T REALLY HAVE ANY INFORMATION THAT TELLS US FROMDENT LEARNING. WHEN THOSE KIDS GO TO COLLEGE WE DON' ACTUALLY HING WHILE WHEN THOTHEY'RE THERE.COLLEGE (Lara Couturier) WE HAVE NO IDEALY REALLY WHAT GOES ON AT MOST WE MAKE HUGE ASSUMPTIONS THAT SOMETHING MAGICAL HAPPENS IN FOUR YEARS. (man) YOU READY FOR THIS? BUT I'LL I'LL BE READY TO COME BACK HOME PROBABLY. (John Merrow) ON HIS FIRST DAY AT WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY, WHICH ENROLLS MORE THAN 18,000 STUDENTS, THE VAST MEGION. (Matt Morris) IT'MING I GUESS. JUST ALL THE PEOPLE, 'CAUSE I'M FROM A TOWN ABOUT 400 PEOPLE. IT'S A BIG CHANGE, IT'S GOING TO BE A BIG CHANGE. (John Merrow) HIS WEEKENDS DRAG RACING. [engine roaring] HE'S NOT (John Merrow) WELL-PREPARED FOR COLLEGE.G. (Matt) I COULD HAVE BEEN A STRAHOOL. I WAS "A"-"B" WITHOUT BRINGING A BOOK HOME. , (Matt) I COULD HAVE BEEN A STRAHOOL. I DON'T STUDY A LOT THOUGH BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE VERY GOOD STUDY SKILLS. FIRST IN HIS FAMILY TO GO TO COLLEGE. HIS DAD WORKS AT U.P.S. (Donna Morris) YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THAT MATT NEVER WAS THE TYPE ACADEMICS. HE CONCENTRATED IN SPORTS, (Donna Morris) YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THAT MATT NEVER WAS THE TYPE A BIG CHANGE FOR HIM. ACADEMICS. HE'S NEVER HAD THE STUDY ETHICS OR WHATEVER YOU WANT TO CALL IT. (JohHAS HIGH HOPES. 8! [cheers, applause] (Matt) IT WAS KIND OF 50/50 WHETHER I WANTED TO GO TO COLLEGE, I WANT TO HAVE A NICE RACE CAR, A NICE HOUSE. I FIGURE IF I CAN MAKE SIXTY, SEVENTY THOUSAND DOLLARS A YEAR, BY MYSELF, I CAN HAANT. (John Merrow) WHAT CLASSES ARE YOU TAKING? COMPUTER-AIDED DRAFTING, ENGLISH, BOWLING, ONOMY, ENGLISH, AND UNIVERSITY EXPERIENCE. THAT'S KIND OF ABOUT AS... WHAT'S THE WORD I'M LOOKING FOR? AY OF CLASSES AS YOU CAN GET, I'D SAY... SOUNDS WHAT'S THE WORD I'M LOOKING FORCHALLENGING ALSO. UH, IT'D BE PRETTY TOUGH, I'D SAY. OF FREE TIME. WHAT'S THE WORD I'M LOOKING FORCHALLENGING ALSO. SO YOU MIGHT AS WELL USE IT. (John Merrow) WESTERN KENTUCKY'S MISSION IS TO SERVE THE STATE AND ITS HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES. (man) I WANT A DEGREE IN THEIR HAND SO THAT THEY'RE CREDENTIALED SO T THE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR THE REST OF THEIR LIFE. THE STATE INVESTS $75 MILLION A YEAR IN THIS UNIVERSITY AND THE PAY-OFF IS A TALENTED WORK FORCE, AN IMPROVED QUALITY OF LIFE, AND AN ECONOMY THAT'S BEING DRIVEN BY OUR UNIVERSITIES. (John Merrow) MOST COLLEGES ACCEPT AT LEAST THREE QUARTERS OF THOSE WHO APPLY. (Professor) ALL RIGHT, WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TODAY WITH THE MONETARY POLICY. (John Merrow) THE PROFESSOR IS BRIAN STROW, AN AWARD-WINNING TEACHER. NCOMMITTEE WOKE UP ONE DAY AND SAYS, "YOU KNOW WHAT? "THIS .1 OR 10% RESERVE REQUIREMENT, MAYBE IT'S TOO LOW." (Brian Strow) I'M HERE BECAUSE I ENJOY THE CLASSROOM, I ENJOY BULB ON IN A STUDENT'S HEAD, AND THEY SAY, "OH, ECONOMICS ISN'T QUITE AS BORING AS I THOUGHT IT WAS. THIS IS ON THE NEWS ALL THE TIME." WE'VE GOT AN EXTRA $100 IN CASH SITTING AROUND. THE BANK WAS PREVIOUSLY FULLY LOANED OUT, DIDN'T REALLY WANT TO SIT ON EXTRA CASH. WHAT'S IT PROBABLY GOING TO DO WITH THE MONEY NOW? (male student) DIDN'T REALLY WANT TO SIT ON EXTRA CASH. LOAN IT OUT. YEAH, LOANS ARE GOIN