The Wall Street Journal is reporting about yet another failure of affirmative action — this time for black law students. A study found that by lowering standards so that more black students could enter programs they increased the gaps in performance between white and black students.

Easily the most startling conclusion of his research: Mr. Sander calculated that there are fewer black attorneys today than there would have been if law schools had practiced color-blind admissions — about 7.9% fewer by his reckoning. He identified the culprit as the practice of admitting minority students to schools for which they are inadequately prepared. In essence, they have been “matched” to the wrong school. Mr. Sander’s original article noted that when elite law schools lower their academic standards in order to admit a more racially diverse class, schools one or two tiers down feel they must do the same. As a result, there is now a serious gap in academic credentials between minority and non-minority law students across the pecking order, with the average black student’s academic index more than two standard deviations below that of his average white classmate.

This is precisely the problem — lowering standards. I am actually for affirmative action in some cases, but only when the standards have been met. Lowering the standard hurts everyone — including, and possibly most of all, the people allowed in due to the lower standard.

The study continues by showing that this is true of college performance in general at the university tested (UM):

A black student with a 3.2 high school GPA and 1210 SAT score has a 92% of admission to UM vs. only a 14% for a white student. However, 1) black students (45%) are almost 6 times as likely as white students (8%) to be on academic probation at UM, and 2) and almost 2/3 of black students (64%) fail to graduate nationally in 6 years, vs. 42% for white students.

There’s a very simple solution to all of this, and it applies to all students: don’t let people progress to the next grade level unless they are ready. If this creates a giant backlog of 16 year-old 5th graders then so be it. You can’t solve a problem that isn’t being identified.:

I got all the way signed up and was about ready to start my first class, and yesterday I put an end to it. I’ve already contacted my original, brick-and-mortal university to let them know I’d be enrolling there again.

Too much to go into, but UoP is a joke. The people who sign you up are salespeople. The whole place is a total hack. Is it legit? Sure. Will the degree get me what I want? Sure. But I don’t care.

Ultimately it came down to self-respect. The place just has a trashy feel to it — like it’s a money-making scheme that’s barely holding itself together through legal representation and marketing. No thanks. I’ll pass.:

Perhaps the reason I’m so into information security certifications is because I still haven’t finished my bachelors degree.

I have over 90 hours (from a “regular” school) and all I lack is some core, but despite my now excellent CV I still feel the pang of inadequacy due to not having finished my degree. So I’m considering once again doing something about it — sooner rather than later. I’ve always known I am going to finish before moving into management at around 40, but maybe I can do it earlier — online.

I’m considering University of Phoenix Online, which seems to be the premier option, but I still have some negative thoughts about the whole online thing. I wonder if others will feel the same way, e.g. hiring managers, peers, etc., or if it ultimately won’t matter. At this point I almost think the BS degree is a “check the box” issue more than anything else. You either have one or you don’t.

The program I’m looking at actually seems pretty cool; it’s a bachelor of science in information security:

Bachelor of Science in Information Technology/Information System Security

So what are your thoughts on the matter. Do I ruin my reputation by having one of these degrees? Or is it a “just get one” scenario where all that matters is that it’s an accredited school?

Any input would be appreciated…

Many people debate which is more valuable to an employer — certifications or a four-year degree, and why.

I have the answer (lucky you).

In the past the answer was a resounding, “college”. This is because anyone who had gone through four years of arduous study in various disciplines was simply exposed to more and able to adapt easier to assorted challenges.

This isn’t the case anymore. These days, many college graduates can scarcely read and write — let alone do mathematics or logically approach problems.

The rise of the importance of certifications is simply a response to this fact. Managers need something to go by, and they have been shown time and time again that a four-year degree isn’t a guarantee of anything. So, in the absense of that benchmark they’re being forced to choose another — certifications.

It’s really that simple — as the quality of university graduates fall, employers’ dependency on and requirement for certifications will rise.

According to this article, those in information security with a bachelors degree get paid little (if any) more than those with just a high school diploma.

This doesn’t suprise me.

Many are saying that this means that college doesn’t matter — that it’s worthless, etc., but they’re way off. The problem is the quality of education. Overall, the standards for someone with a 4-year degree are way down from where they were 10 or 20 years ago. The difference between a high-school graduate and a college-educated person back then were quite significant.

Today, however, we have people graduating with Bachelors degress that can’t do basic multiplication and division in their heads, don’t have basic problem solving skills, and have a horrible grasp of English.

Because of this, there are a TON of people who only have high school under their belts that compare to or surpass those with these degrees.

But make no mistake — someone with a degree from Cal Tech, MIT, Carnegie Mellon, etc. is going to blow away all but the most talented high-school graduates.

Bottom line — don’t confuse most college education with a good college education. The first is essentially what high school should have been. The second is truly an exercise in how to expand one’s abilities.

As for information security, the reason there is so attention paid to whether or not you have a degree is because being successful in the field requires talent and intelligence. If you have these things you’ll go far. If you don’t, you won’t. Ultimately, certifications and degrees are peripheral to this fundamental rule.