About College Diplomas
A college diploma signifies that an individual has satisfactorily completed an accredited program of education. In the United States, common diplomas include bachelor's of arts, bachelors of science and masters of business administration. The diploma also refers to the physical document that certifies the achievement. Some individuals choose to frame and display their diplomas in their workplace or residence.
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Types
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College and post-graduate diplomas involve more advanced work than simple high school diplomas, have more stringent entrance requirements for educational programs and are generally considered higher attainments. All higher education institutions require either a high school diploma or the General Educational Development (GED) equivalent to allow entry, and also require scores for a battery of standardized tests.
Function
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The primary reason that most people pursue educational diplomas, aside from the inherent pleasure in accumulating knowledge, is to enhance their career prospects. Although many if not most educational degrees do not involve direct vocational training, the mere possession of an advanced diploma communicates to potential employers that the person in question has a baseline level of responsibility, intelligence, ability to learn new skills and function in a social environment.
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Features
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Some professionals such as lawyers, doctors and dentists are legally required to possess a variety of diplomas to practice their profession. In other fields such as engineering, at least some higher education diplomas are currently necessary to pursue meaningful employment. Many jobs require at least a bachelor's degree to even consider applicants at the entry level.
Effects
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The business world has taken to using diplomas as a metric for determining at least in a vague sense what kind of performance they can expect from an employee. Since massive amounts of public funding are directed towards higher education, it has become accessible to almost anyone who is capable and willing to go through the time that it takes to complete a course of higher education. The subsidies directed towards education makes it so that employers can use it as an inexpensive screening mechanism for potential employees.
Considerations
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College diplomas do not necessarily indicate much about someone aside from the fact that they were able to complete an educational program. The skills involved in succeeding in higher education are often quite different from those in the business world at large. Students only have to satisfy their teachers--they do not need to consider the desires of customers. This is partly why education alone is not enough to differentiate many people just leaving college from the crowd.
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Resources
- Photo Credit Josh Parrish, Flickr
