"Have the tools for [traditional universities'] demise been put in place – the Internet, personal computers, iPads and other
tablet PCs, videoconferencing apps, online publishing and online
libraries of very affordable and in many cases, free content?"
asks Brian Watt at ricochet.com.
What are parents and students (and in some cases taxpayers) paying for
today beyond the acquisition of a diploma? Administrative overhead?
Athletic programs? Housing? Maintenance of buildings? Gardeners?
Security? Contraception? Liability insurance? Legal counsel? Bail?
The "socializing aspects of university life may disappear," writes Watt, along with "the more radical hybrid of social/anti-social activities – like protests
and riots either motivated by winning or losing a sports title or
vandalizing school property because capitalism is of course, evil and
unfair..."
But consider also that the easy availability of college coursework
taught by the best professors in the world to those living in less
affluent parts of the world who might never haven been able to afford to
attend or be qualified for a traditional university may eventually
result in another renaissance, enlightenment or technological revolution
giving them the opportunity to learn and then create or do amazing
things.
It's an interesting thought: a first-class education without a crushing student debt burden.
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