A younger generation is doing a cost-benefit analysis on higher education

Is higher education worth it? Or, more specifically, do the benefits of earning a degree outweigh its costs, which, for all but the wealthy, must be measured in terms of student loan debt?

It remains a matter of faith that going to college and perhaps on to graduate or professional school are the most sensible paths toward success and — for those who seek it — prosperity.

But as the costs of higher education continue to skyrocket, and jobs remain scarce for newly-minted graduates, some sharp, younger voices are beginning to question conventional wisdom and suggest alternatives. Here are two:

Anya Kamenetz: Generation Debt and DIY U

Kamenetz is a 30-year-old writer who has become a forceful, articulate voice in questioning the debt being foisted upon young people and the value of a college education.

Her first book, Generation Debt: How Our Future Was Sold Out for Student Loans, Credit Cards, Bad Jobs, No Benefits, and Tax Cuts for Rich Geezers — And How to Fight Back (2006), was a followup to a series she wrote for the Village Voice weekly newspaper on the financial and economic challenges facing younger adults.

Her latest book, DIY U: Edupunks, Edupreneurs, and the Coming Transformation of Higher Education (2010), looks at the costs and culture of traditional colleges and universities and proposes cheaper, alternative ways to gain job training and a liberal education.

These books are not whiny screeds. Rather, they are well-researched and insightful critiques of how younger folks have been betrayed by the system, accompanied by thoughtful and even exciting options to four years at Standard Brand U.

Check out her sites for DIY U here and for Generation Debt here.

Josh Kaufman: The Personal MBA

Kaufman, age 28, is the author of The Personal MBA: Master the Art of Business (2010), which is picking up rave reviews from readers on Amazon. The Personal MBA provides a one-volume introduction to key business concepts for those who want to pursue careers in management and entrepreneurship.

Unlike Anya Kamenetz, Kaufman is a business guy, not a social critic. But if you check out his website (link here), you’ll detect a continuous undercurrent of criticism of the costs of obtaining an MBA. In his “Personal MBA Manifesto” (link here), Kaufman pitches his book and a recommended reading list as a genuine alternative to going tens of thousands of dollars in debt to complete an MBA program:

MBA programs don’t have a monopoly on advanced business knowledge: you can teach yourself everything you need to know to succeed in life and at work. The Personal MBA features the very best business books available, based on thousands of hours of research. So skip b-school and the $150,000 loan: you can get a world-class business education simply by reading these books.

Heed these voices

Will these emerging critiques and alternatives contribute to bringing down higher education as we know it? I believe that when added to the self-destructive, unsustainable paths being pursued by many colleges and universities, they will have an effect, especially if the job market remains grim for graduates.

It is wholly ironic that many of the university administrators, trustees, and professors who should be listening to these younger folks are part of the very Baby Boomer generation that has prided itself on its 60s-era activism and supposed non-conformity.

Of course, one of the big differences is that when the Boomers rallied and marched and protested, they didn’t have to anticipate spending the rest of their adult lives paying off the equivalent of a mortgage without a house.