However, I still believe a liberal arts degree is more of an asset than learning any trade.

FORBES: A Liberal Arts Degree Is More Valuable Than Learning Any Trade

The Aspen Prize recognizes community college excellence in the areas of student learning, degree completion, labor market success in securing good jobs after college, and minority and low-income student success.

WSJ: Community colleges in Wash., Calif. win top prize

Now, educators in Wisconsin are offering a possible solution by decoupling the learning part of education from student assessment and degree-granting.

WSJ: College Degree, No Class Time Required

Unfortunately, for both students and the employers who would hire them, the increasing difficulty in securing the work experience necessary to demonstrate competency sans degree favors the less-rigorous test it and forget it model of competency-based learning.

FORBES: A BA In Burger Flipping: Is College Credit In Exchange For Life Experience A Fair Trade?

One school had a Spanish national on the staff and another teacher with a degree in Spanish - and every other member of staff had volunteered to devote one evening a week to learning the language.

BBC: Early start for language lessons

The National Center for Education Statistics, a branch of the U.S. Department of Education, also found that the total enrollment in distance learning courses across all post-secondary degree-granting institutions roughly doubled -- from 754, 000 to 1.6 million -- from 1995 to 1997-98.

CNN: fyi.com - Study: Public higher education embracing virtual classrooms