Higher education in America has become an increasingly controversial topic. College tuition has grown by 80 percent since the early 2000s, and the price of textbooks has grown by a similar amount. Since college is seen as a required step towards career achievement, more and more people attend college, and thus more and more people get degrees. Following basic economic principle, as the supply of these pieces of paper increase, their value has begun to decrease. College students are finding it harder and harder to differentiate themselves from the growing hordes of degree earners. On top of this, graduates often find themselves unable to get a job, as they haven’t developed real world skills throughout their degree programs. In response to these growing concerns with higher education, a few people decided to launch a different take on the subject in a program called Praxis.

What is Praxis?

Praxis is a one year program in which participants are matched with a growing business, and physically work with them to gain on the job skills. While they work at this company, participants also complete three or more online modules on subjects typically centered on business and entrepreneurship. These modules are Philosophy/Logic and Ethics, Business, Economics, Technology & Digital Skills, Entrepreneurship & Life Skills, and History/Culture. Along the way, Praxis participants complete major projects that highlight their skills, partake in coaching sessions to help develop their career aptitude, and generate Personal Development Projects (PDP) that assist their personal development. The program is rounded out by a recorded oral examination in which an expert in a certain field of business tests each participant’s working knowledge of their studied subjects. This program seeks to combine intellectual and professional development.

Who Typically Enrolls?

Those who enroll at Praxis are typically 17-25 year olds who favor non-traditional learning styles, or who are concerned with building real world skills. These often include young entrepreneurs, gap year students (between high school and college, or between undergraduate and graduate school) or young professionals seeking more career development.

What Does Praxis Cost?

The cost of Praxis ranges from $11,000 to $13,000 in total. Participants often choose to use the money they earn through their work experience to pay for the program, in which case the net cost of Praxis would be zero.

What Does Praxis Bring To The Table?

Isaac Morehouse, creator of Praxis argues that the program is a great educational opportunity for young professionals or students who find the typical college atmosphere disengaging, or feel their college experience has still left them without important skills needed for a successful career. He also argues that Praxis is a good option to set students apart from others, when so many are gaining similar degrees.

The Praxis Program takes a unique approach to education and career development. It will be interesting to see whether programs like these gain more popularity in coming years.