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The days of the state universities replacing traditional colleges and being everything to everybody are over with. State universities need to get entirely out of the 'classical education' field and be what they really are-trade schools for career seekers.

That means they should only offer majors in fields that translate into getting an occupation-Engineering, Medicine, Law, Accounting, Business, Teaching-something tangible that promises a good paying job to offset the cost of higher education. In other words, to justify the cost of 4 years learning your trade.

Non-core electives should be done away with. You go to university to learn a trade, not to get exposure to humanities or whatever. That's up to you on your own, if you have the interest or desire.

I have 3 degrees in Electrical Engineering and have been gainfully employed for 44 years-since I left WMU in 1976. Never been laid off and picked up two more degrees in my spare time. I have NO PROBLEM admitting I learned a trade at Western. Sure, I used a slide rule and calculator instead of a welding probe or plumbing tools, but it's still a trade.

I have an interest in classical education and i thought once I retire to take classes in those topics-History, Philosophy, writing, etc.. All those classical college oriented fields that I missed focusing on a technical field. But I have NO REGRETS learning my trade at Western-and that is what state universities should focus on going forward. Students don't go to WMU or CMU to 'float' or party anymore because it's simply too costly. They focus on learning a career.

And leave the classical education for traditional colleges, like Albion, Calvin, Hope and Hillsdale. There will still be folks who seek a traditional Liberal Arts education-maybe they come from affluent families, or their family owns a business so they are assured employment when they finish school, or whatever. There will always be enough folks to fill those slots, but it'll probably remain a small segment of higher education just as it was a small segment of folks who went to college before the big state universities were founded.