The next time someone with a Masters’ degree or Ph.D. degree says something utterly ridiculous in public, bear in mind that large universities throughout the nation are eliminating testing requirements for graduate programs.
Why is this happening? Well, the Graduate Records Examination, which has been used throughout the United States and Canada since the mid-1930s, is “culturally biased”.
Princeton University and Brown University are the two latest educational institutions to dump the GRE, but they are by no means the only ones. Cornell University stopped using the exam for biomedical engineering students a few months back. Other universities that have removed GRE exams for select Master’s and Ph.D. degree programs include Capella University, SNHU, Colorado Technical University, Western Governors University, and Roger Williams University.
The reasons being given for dumping the GRE make it abundantly clear that educational institutions are far more interested in being “woke” than in providing high-quality training.
Princeton has stated that the GRE is biased against minority groups and that the university wants to attract “intellectual diversity” to its programs. Brown University echoed the same sentiments, making it clear that the university’s intention is to “broaden the talent pool of students” who are accepted into the university.
The statements are odd, given the fact that studying for a graduate degree in a field such as neuroscience, biotechnology, biomedical engineering, and molecular biology inherently requires that students have a high level of intellect and talent. These fields are really only for a select few students who have what it takes to learn the material and keep up with the coursework. “Broadening the talent pool” of those who can get into these classes may sound nice on paper, but what happens when “intellectually diverse” students can’t manage the course load and are then stuck with a large student debt and no degree to show for it? The GRE isn’t just for universities; it also benefits students by enabling them to see if they have what it takes to complete a course before signing up.
Alternatively, there is a danger that the universities, in an effort to maintain a “diverse student body”, will simplify the courses for those who shouldn’t have enrolled in them in the first place. What happens then? People who obtain a degree in one of these fields won’t have the ability to actually do their job right, putting themselves and others in danger due to mistakes or incompetence.
Another possible outcome of this mess is that businesses will automatically suspect that any female or minority student who graduates from one of these degree programs got in the programs on the basis of gender or skin color rather than ability. In the end, those who would be hurt by eliminating the GRE are the very people that universities claim to want to help.
In times past, universities provided people with a top-tier education in specialized fields such as law, healthcare, business, or what have you. At the same time, many people and companies recognized that not everyone needs a university degree. Individuals often started a successful career with a high school or college diploma, and employers didn’t mind training employees who were willing to work hard to learn the ropes. Sadly, those days are long gone.
Everyone wants a university degree, even though obtaining one is both costly and time-consuming. Universities are jacking up prices while putting a priority on being politically correct rather than educating students.
