High marks no assurance

It would appear that Carleton University grads have Mensa-level IQs, given the proliferation of As and above. I graduated from Carleton (B. Comm., 1972) and certainly did not attain those lofty results. I entered the job market and discovered how ill-prepared I was for reality outside the towers of academe.

I teach small-business accounting at a local community centre. My students have both undergraduate and graduate degrees from academic institutions all over the world. My course curriculum includes a final exam. The students are bright but there are some who get low marks. Marks are awarded numerically, not alphabetically. It is a test of specific subject knowledge and based on real-world requirements by local employers. The goal is to ascertain their readiness for employment.

One hears the lament of university graduates who proudly have their diplomas but, bear mid fivefigure student loan debt only to find that their chosen major is not what the world wants. High marks are no assurance of employability.

BRUCE COLLIE, Kanata