A new film from documentary filmmaker Andrew Rossi investigates whether higher education is really worth the effort and cost of attaining a degree.
The film, “The Ivory Tower,” is directed by Andrew Rossi, who is best-known for his documentary, “Page One: Inside the New York Times,” about the disruption of the newspaper business by the Internet.
“It seemed to me that there was a disruption story in higher education,” Rossi told Forbes in an interview. And was that what he found?
“Yes, it is true,” Rossi said. “There are some severe structural problems in higher education.”
The film is showing at the Sundance Film Festival and will air on CNN later in 2014.
Rossi is quick to point out that college is still important for many people. He noted that there is a strong “un-college” movement in San Francisco, where high school students are encouraged to take classes to help them determine if their goals can be met without the time and expense of college.
Also, Peter Thiel – who founded Paypal – began in 2011 to offer $100,000 to entrepreneurs under 19 to forego college and begin working on their ideas immediately. “Rather than just studying, you’re doing,” says the Thiel Fellowship website.
But such movements are often geared toward those who already have a network of connections and are more interested in entrepreneurship than working at a specific career, said Rossi.
Rossi said the college experience can be especially important for those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
“The power of a community college or a state school to provide social mobility is still every important,” Rossi told Forbes.
According to Rossi, he has an expert in his film who essentially says, “Telling a bunch of student that they are going to become the next Steve Jobs or Mark Zuckerberg and just drop out of school is like telling someone who is good at basketball that they are going to the NBA.”
That said, Rossi also listed some of the problems plaguing higher education. For example, he said that some of the higher-tier schools in the country have endowments that allow them to provide better facilities, research opportunities and academic programs.
Other “mid-tier” schools have to try to raise funds, trying to “emulate these other elite schools,” Rossi said.
Another problem has been the difficulty for students to find jobs during the recession and post-recession recovery. Rossi said as many as 50% of college graduates under the age of 25 are unemployed or under employed.
That said, Rossi said college education is still worth it. Students, however, should simply determine whether the occupation they are studying for will compensate them for the amount of money they are spending.
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