A degree has always been a commodity. It's what young people need to compete for better jobs. Every time that competition between elite aspirants got tougher, there was a corresponding expansion of education, or rather the credentialing institutions.
theguardian.com
theguardian.com
This happened in the eighteenth century. The Age of Reason preceded the Age of Revolutions.
There was dramatic expansion of university enrollments before the Crisis of XVII c.
And the rise of universities presaged the Late Medieval Crisis.
There was dramatic expansion of university enrollments before the Crisis of XVII c.
And the rise of universities presaged the Late Medieval Crisis.
I don't want to be completely cynical, but after teaching at a state university for 30 y, my estimate is that at most 10% of students care more about education than the credentialing process.
This is not to deny that during the 30 y of my direct experience with the US educ. system, its "commodification" has made great strides. Which only further supports my main thesis:
competition between elite aspirants => increased emphasis on the credentialing side of education
competition between elite aspirants => increased emphasis on the credentialing side of education
Take a look at this figure from Secular Cycles. Enrollments at Oxford quadrupled between 1550 (when intraelite competition was at the lowest point) and 1640 (on the eve of the English Civil War). Then declined again to 1750 (the next low point of intraelite competition).
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