Common Sense Cracks the Sky: GOP Governor Ditches Degree Requirements for Most Government Jobs

What does a college degree mean? The answer, it seems, is “less and less.”

In Utah, they’re devaluing it even more: The previously prestigious piece of paper is no longer needed for most government jobs.

On December 13th, the Office of Gov. Spencer. J. Cox issued a press release noting a new approach:

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox announced the state’s efforts to eliminate the requirement for bachelor’s degrees in its employee recruitment and emphasized similar support by local governments and the private sector.

“Degrees have become a blanketed barrier-to-entry in too many jobs,” Gov. Cox said. “Instead of focusing on demonstrated competence, the focus too often has been on a piece of paper. We are changing that.”

Thanks to evolving efforts, 98 percent of the 1,080 jobs in Utah’s executive branch — that is, 1,058 — don’t anymore require a degree.

As it turns out, experience is an apt teacher:

Instead, the state’s hiring managers and hiring committees consider comparable experience as equal to educational qualifications at every step in the evaluation and recruiting process.

The proposed effects of such a loosening:

Gov. Cox said that eliminating bachelor’s degree requirements will broaden access to qualified talent and expand employment opportunities to attract diverse candidates, including underrepresented groups. This can lead to more jobs for candidates in rural areas, more opportunities for those returning to work after an extended absence through the state’s Returnship program, and more opportunities for apprenticeships and other on-the-job training opportunities facilitated by the Department of Workforce Services.

It would appear there are multiple factors that could feed an end to degree mandates. For one thing, there was a time in America when, it was generally thought, the smart kids went to college. These days, every Tom, Dick and dummy looks to attend. Hence, a diploma hardly indicates a divergence from the less brainy bourgeoise.

Beyond that, universities have changed their product — openly. No longer does secondary education function as a means by which for young adults to sharpen their minds and skills, be challenged in their beliefs, and explore new horizons.

As evidenced by myriad headlines, the modern aim of academia is, in a word, virtuous:

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Host of School’s Free Speech Event Issues Language Guide Prohibiting ‘Man,’ ‘Woman,’ and ‘Mother’

University Schools Students on the Importance of Free Speech — and Reporting People Who Use It

Minnesota College Requires Monthly ‘Antiracism’ Staff Training — Separated by Race

University’s ’21-Day Antiracism Challenge’ Schools Students on ‘How White People Got Made’

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Professor Razes the Evil of Writing Rules, Whacks White Supremacy by Gonging Grades

Arizona State University Dean Pens 350+ Page Book on How Grading Writing Is White Supremacy

University Hosts a Workshop on Pain Management for Transgender Breast-Binding

Ivy League University Will Give Transgender Students ‘Tucking Tape’

To be clear, Utah isn’t the only state rethinking college degree requirements.

From Campus Reform:

Utah follows in the footsteps of Maryland, whose Governor, Larry Hogan, announced in March “the launch of a multi-pronged, first-in-the-nation workforce development initiative to formally eliminate the four-year college degree requirement from thousands of state jobs.”

Compliments of Utah’s news release, the Republican governor “affirmed both his support for those who choose a degree-seeking route and his commitment to Utah’s world-class colleges and universities.” However, he “emphasized that a degree should not be the only way to get a good paying job or have a fulfilling career.”

Or the only way to purchase woke credentials; but for now, ostensibly, it is…

As a former employer I can say with certainty I would never hire anyone with a DEI credential.https://t.co/dyOLLGbMg9

— Dale Swanson (@SNAFU21) December 31, 2022