[game_edu] Responsibilities (was Re: Here goes the first shoe . . .)

[Erin Hoffman]

I think that some of this comes down to a deeper question of whether
the purpose of a program is vocational or educational; the two are not
necessarily the same thing. From my observations many of the problems
in modern academia come from this notion that because a student pays
tuition they are entitled to "service" (or even "grades", when this
entitlement is extrapolated out).

A university should be teaching to a level of aptitude that it itself
tests for and determines standards for. It should not be considered
purely or even largely employment preparation (unless it's the kind of
educational program that brands itself as such -- but most degrees in
mainstream academia involve some kind of bachelor's degree, whether in
communication, computer science, electronic art, etc). I think game
programs in particular have this problem where they are part of a
marketing effort for the school itself -- the school is marketing to
prospective students with "look how many people we place in industry
jobs!". A tension develops because the institution needs these
numbers, but it SHOULD be entirely up to a student to be in charge of
their own career trajectory, not up to the institution.

This kind of factor in education, while natural and likely
unavoidable, I would argue is at odds with actual education. The "job"
of the university in this regard I think is best considered completely
separate and approached by a different department -- the counseling
and placement department of the university itself, which maintains
contact with local industry to facilitate internships, which should be
the real preparation. The program itself should be providing a
foundational education in the disciplines, which don't have any single
monofocused application, but teach higher thinking that impacts life
and career in a deeper way.

It seems that a lot of students today don't see education for its own
value, but only as a stepping stone into a job. That's a real shame,
and a lot of problems stem from it. I would argue that a school
dependent entirely on its acquisition and placement numbers has
flipped its priorities and become ransomed to the student, which
ultimately creates an unfairly student-driven environment where
failure is the burden of the institution instead of the individual.
Subsequently the student is ironically under-served as compared to a
university setting that focuses on aptitude, humanities, analytic
thinking, and traditional university values. The challenge for game
studies programs in particular is to fashion a performance bar not
dictated by the industry. Just my $.02.

--Erin