Article Link: http://qz.com/180247/why-google-doesnt-care-about-hiring-top-college-graduates/ 

This week we discussed the disruptive innovation embodied in the rise of for-profit, online colleges and universities.  During that discussion, we talked about the value, prestige, and hiring prospects of degrees from traditional “brick and mortar” institutions compared to those of degrees from for-profit, online (or other proprietary) higher-ed institutions.  That discussion, in my opinion, seemed to rest on a basic assumption: that the latter type of institutions continue to fuel the higher-ed bubble because they produce graduates with less valuable degrees and worse job prospects.  The attached article challenges that assumption.

Even if the assumption is true today, the article’s anecdote indicates that this assumption may not continue to hold into the future.  If employers are truly less concerned with the prestige of brand-name schools, and more concerned about hiring students who are capable of “learning on the fly,” then a shift in employer attitudes may favor non-traditional college and university graduates.  Specifically, if Google’s hiring attitudes prevail in the labor markets of the future, then self-guided learners from these non-traditional colleges and universities may be developing learning skills that  employers like Google are now finding matter most.

This shift in hiring attitudes could improve the value of at least some non-traditional degrees, and it could further legitimize and exacerbate the disruptive innovation of online education.

Plus, you should read the article because, around here, we can all think of a few people who lack intellectual humility. It’s refreshing to know Google finds them as annoying as you do! 😛