Does the Major Matter?

Last week, I spoke with Ned Scott Laff (35-year veteran academic leader) and Scott Carlson (Senior Writer at The Chronicle of Higher Education), authors of the provocative new book Hacking College: How to Unlock a Transformative Educational Experience Without Following the Rules (Johns Hopkins University Press).

Their book challenges one of the most sacred cows in higher education—the college major—and offers a compelling case for how we might reimagine higher education. I discovered their book from their recent article in The Chronicle of Higher Education, “The Hidden Utility of the Liberal Arts: Why They Often Fail to Make Their Case, and How They Can.”

In our conversation, we explore why the conventional approach to college majors often fails students with “empty degrees”, how universities unwittingly hide the very resources that would make education transformative, and what a more self-directed educational journey might look like.

We discuss the concept of “hidden intellectualism” and how students can discover vocational purpose that extends beyond narrow career paths and “hidden jobs.”

Particularly interesting is their critique of how higher education has become trapped in either/or thinking—separating vocational from academic education, practical skills from theoretical knowledge—when the real world demands integration of these domains. In an era of AI, enrollment cliffs, and labor market disruptions, they argue that teaching students to design their own educational pathways isn't just good for graduation rates—it's essential for lifelong learning in a rapidly changing world.

This conversation touches on fundamental questions about the purpose of education, how we develop intellectually and ethically, and what might constitute a truly transformative college experience in the 21st century. I hope you find it valuable.

Conversation Highlights

Does The Major Matter? Challenging a Sacred Cow

[00:00:10] "We're trying to constantly simplify this world that's getting more complex all the time"

[00:01:30] Degree audits: "80% or more is all blank space"

[00:03:40] We’re creating “empty degrees" until we rethink the major

[00:04:40] Beyond “seat time vs. competency”: Making education valuable by "connecting it back to what the student wants to do"

“Hidden Intellectualism”: Discovering Student Purpose

[00:06:10] Hidden intellectual drives: "I have never met an undecided student. I have met undeclared students."

[00:07:20] Computer science student breakthrough: A student discovers virtual simulation passion and "starts geeking out" with faculty

Higher Education's Survival Challenge

[00:09:30] Higher ed's reckoning: "Institutions have always talked about differentiating... now it's a matter of survival"

[00:13:40] "There are no generic professors," yet many institutions fail to showcase faculty specializations

Higher Education as Paradigm-Building

[00:19:00] Self-authorship: Learning the "skills to build your self-paradigm" as life compass

[00:21:40] Educational transformation: "When you throw anomaly into the game," it forces questioning

Discovering “Hidden Job Markets”

[00:23:40] The “hidden job market”: Empowering students to see possibilities beyond traditional paths

[00:27:50] Finance student breakthrough: "You could work for something that you believe in," beyond "Wall Street vibe"

[00:31:10] Unexpected career paths: When dance leads to DOJ and language study to clinical medicine

Critiques and Missed Opportunities

[00:35:00] Common critiques: "Why do students have to ‘hack it’?"

[00:36:30] Missed opportunity: Do universities undervalue professors who “really care about working with undergraduate students"?

The Path Forward

[00:40:10] Breaking false dichotomies: Dissolve the divide between "academic skills versus blue collar skills"

[00:41:30] Institutional responsibility: Supporting all admitted students