Can Your Life Be Significant Without Ottawa?

Have you heard the recent radio commercials for Ottawa University? You know the ones that tell you to "prepare for a life of significance" by getting your degree from Ottawa?

Is it just me or do you find these ads mildly insulting? It's almost like they're saying that if you don't have a degree from Ottawa University, your life can't be significant. 

Now, it's important to understand that I'm not lashing out at Ottawa because I am not college educated. On the contrary ... I actually have a BBA and MBA from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater (which I am very proud to own) and I teach as an adjunct professor at Marquette University.

Rather, I am insulted by this ad for two reasons:

1) I know plenty of people that never went to college that live very fulfilled and significant lives.

2) When I am looking to hire new employees, degrees from schools like University of Phoenix, Ottawa and Kaplan just never measure up to those from other universities.

I must be honest here ... I have previously lumped Ottawa into this same pool of for-profit universities that place more emphasis on turning a dime than on enriching their students.

However, I must give credit where credit is due. This blog encouraged me to check out Ottawa University a bit more and I actually discovered that unlike the University of Phoenix, Kaplan University and Strayer University, Ottawa University actually is a nonprofit university.

With this new information, I'm a bit more likely to view Ottawa in a slightly more "significant" light in the future. But, I still take exception with their tagline...