Have you read Bryan Caplan on this topic? The main problem he brings up is that such alternative schemes also signal weirdness, which many employers do not want.
I do read Caplan’s blog. Some employers probably don’t mind weirdness plus if my idea ever took off doing it wouldn’t be considered weird. Being weird is probably considered a negative trait because you won’t conform to what your boss would expect you to do, but anyone who graduated from my program would in a big way have signaled their ability to do what others ask of them.
Heh, I read his blog too, and I think I even suggested something like your idea, even addressing the people who were making some of the same objections here. (Not to claim credit or anything—this is the clear implication of the highly successful signaling model of college.)
The idea is to give the signal that good colleges are able to imbue in students, without all the cost. Once you see that, a lot of the objections fall away. The question remains, though, about whether this would actually signal good qualities for the students, which requires overcoming be absurdity heuristic on the part of employers.
Have you read Bryan Caplan on this topic? The main problem he brings up is that such alternative schemes also signal weirdness, which many employers do not want.
I do read Caplan’s blog. Some employers probably don’t mind weirdness plus if my idea ever took off doing it wouldn’t be considered weird. Being weird is probably considered a negative trait because you won’t conform to what your boss would expect you to do, but anyone who graduated from my program would in a big way have signaled their ability to do what others ask of them.
Heh, I read his blog too, and I think I even suggested something like your idea, even addressing the people who were making some of the same objections here. (Not to claim credit or anything—this is the clear implication of the highly successful signaling model of college.)
The idea is to give the signal that good colleges are able to imbue in students, without all the cost. Once you see that, a lot of the objections fall away. The question remains, though, about whether this would actually signal good qualities for the students, which requires overcoming be absurdity heuristic on the part of employers.