That story really underscores a trend in American ”higher” education at nonselective schools: take anybody. Several years ago, the vice provost for undergraduate studies at Temple was frank enough to admit that academics at his school “went slack” in the mid-90s, “when Temple decided to open its doors to all and sundry in order to pay its bills.” At many institutions, the financial imperative so dominates that they will admit woefully unprepared students (many of whom are not, contrary to the NY Times story, “eager”) and then go to considerable lengths to keep them enrolled to the flow of revenue continues. The poor students think that they are getting the piece of paper that will give them admittance to the good life, but often they end up in exactly the kind of job that other high schoolers get.