Uncollege mission draft

Mission:

1. To change the notion that university is the only path to success.

2. To prepare people for success in an ever changing world in which it is [virtually] impossible  for educational intuitions to be relevant.

We believe that:

• We pay too much for university and learn too little.[!]
[Every text book takes up to three years to come out.  Our world is moving too fast  for that process to provide current coverage. ]
• You can get an amazing education anywhere—but to get it you’ll have to break some rules and piss off some people.[!]
• University is not inherently bad, but university isn’t the only path to success.
• You must get an excellent education to survive in a world where 50% of the population is under 30.
• [Subjects taught in ]Traditional universities are often contrived, theoretical, and irrelevant [and are generally better at enforcing compliance and conformity than teaching scholarship or critical thinking].
• Education must help narrow the opportunity gap.
• You can contribute to society without necessarily having a university degree—becoming the next Mark Zuckerberg or smoking pot in your parents’ basement are not the only options.
[The technical and communications skills needed in business and society are not covered particularly well in college and may easily be acquired elsewhere.]
• University lacks academic rigor.  [This is far too broad a generalization. Rigor as defined by academia exists only in academia — peer reviewed journals etc.  I would leave this one out. ]

[University makes students slog, wait in line, demonstrate fealty, and jump through pointless hoops on cue but this experience does not teach them critical thinking and problem solving skills. (Frequently bypassing these requirements does teach these skills.)]
• The skills required to succeed in today’s global economy are not taught in school.
• If you want to gain these skills, you must hack your education. [And here’s how!]