Who Needs Stanford?
With escalating tuition costs, state budgets seeing record red ink, and college savings plans cut in half by the recent tumult of the stock market, many parents are wondering how they can provide their kids with a quality college education. There is hope.
A new model of education is emerging that will utilize social media and other online tools to deliver a Stanford-caliber education at a Cal State East Bay price. While traditional universities will continue to exist, their role in the educational process will change.
Fast Company recently published an article describing this phenomenon and also provides a snapshot of 5 startups that are on the ground floor of Education 2.0. This Fast Company article makes at least a few key points:
* Education is Changing – universities have already begun the evolution from teaching institutions to research houses. Colleges and universities are rarely known for how well they prepare students for their careers and impart knowledge inasmuch as they are known for the research of their rock star professors. The evolution in Education is analogous to the music industry. Up until about 10-15 years ago, the record companies dominated every aspect of the music business from recruiting talent, producing the music, distribution/delivery of music and merchandise, concert promotions/events, etc. Fast forward to present day and the limitless possibilities of the internet, the record companies are almost exclusively focused on creating content. It will be the same for colleges and universities where they will focus on providing research and curricula and leave the student recruitment, facility administration (when needed for labs, etc.), course delivery, alumni meetups, fundraising, etc. to more efficient and nimble experts that leverage the internet, social media, online gaming, and other relevant tools.
* Education is Expensive – the beauty of Education 2.0 is that there are tremendous economies of scale, an absence of legacy costs and other financial burdens, infinite possibilities with the internet, and the bottom line is that you will be able to get a premier education for a mere fraction of what it costs today. MIT, UC Berkeley, and other top institutions are already giving away course content online. Giving it away. While the contacts and the name plate of Stanford or Harvard education are invaluable, not everybody can afford to attend those universities. Education 2.0 at least gives hard working and talented folks that may not have the financial means to attend at top tier university the opportunity to get the same caliber of education.
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9:22 AM on August 27th, 2009
I don’t really understand this article. What’s the point that it’s trying to make?
9:47 AM on August 27th, 2009
Hi Anonymous,
The main focus of this article is to introduce a different educational paradigm to our readers. Most of us know that distance learning has been around for a long time, but, as John pointed out, with the advent of faster networks and various social media technologies, both traditional universities and new post-secondary educational startups can deliver content and teach in innovative ways like never before. Of course, what ultimately made us decide to share this article with our readers is the cost angle. Given everyone from the State to the students are working with a significantly reduced budget, the promise of a “best of breed” education that can be adapted to different learning styles at a lower cost certainly got our attention.
11:03 AM on August 27th, 2009
I think it’s a great article(s) and thank you for sharing it! It’s a novel idea by utilizing the existing means, i.e. distance learning systems. With globalization we’re living in a smaller (yet more expensive) world and we should take advantage of the global means, including the great minds… and by sharing and learning from each other, (who knows)… we may not only be educated for less but also achieve the global peace as a bonus..
1:23 PM on August 27th, 2009
The teaser confused me. Had nothing to do with a Stanford-caliber education for cheap.
11:43 AM on August 27th, 2009
This would never work unless you’re talking about only teaching subjects such as Language, Communications, History, Political Science, etc. You just can’t overcome the necessity to have to be in a lab for science and engineering subjects. Plus, what if you ever needed to interrupt the professor/lecturer for questions – wouldn’t work either.
Edit: Actually, after re-reading the article, it seems like this is meant to replace/supplement centers like University of Phoenix, Heald, etc. from the quote “accredited degree programs.”
10:02 PM on August 27th, 2009
This article is flawed from the beginning. People pay the Stanford (or Harvard) price for the nameplate, not for the education. In my humble experience, the Stanford-caliber education is at best average among most respectable college-level education centers in this country. But, it’s not overpriced because you will get that nameplate. So, financially, it’s worth paying ‘Stanford’-price to get average education.
7:50 AM on August 28th, 2009
Hello Anonymous – the Fast Company article referenced in this post was making at least a few key points:
* Education is Changing – universities have already begun the evolution from teaching institutions to research houses. Colleges and universities are rarely known for how well they prepare students for their careers and impart knowledge inasmuch as they are known for the research of their rock star professors. The evolution in Education is analogous to the music industry. Up until about 10-15 years ago, the record companies dominated every aspect of the music business from recruiting talent, producing the music, distribution/delivery of music and merchandise, concert promotions/events, etc. Fast forward to present day and the limitless possibilities of the internet, the record companies are almost exclusively focused on creating content. It will be the same for colleges and universities where they will focus on providing research and curricula and leave the student recruitment, facility administration (when needed for labs, etc.), course delivery, alumni meetups, fundraising, etc. to more efficient and nimble experts that leverage the internet, social media, online gaming, and other relevant tools.
* Education is Expensive – the beauty of Education 2.0 is that there are tremendous economies of scale, an absence of legacy costs and other financial burdens, infinite possibilities with the internet, and the bottom line is that you will be able to get a premier education for a mere fraction of what it costs today. MIT, UC Berkeley, and other top institutions are already giving away course content online. Giving it away. While the contacts and the name plate of Stanford or Harvard education are invaluable, not everybody can afford to attend those universities. Education 2.0 at least gives hard working and talented folks that may not have the financial means to attend at top tier university the opportunity to get the same caliber of education.
Cheers, John Z.
10:51 AM on August 28th, 2009
I don’t think anyone would turn down Stanford or Harvard for financial reason.
11:50 AM on August 28th, 2009
Nameplate is the important factor here. It doesn’t matter if Cal, Stanford, MIT, or any other college for that matter gives away their content online. You still don’t have a diploma/transcript from one of those top tier universities. And that will put you in a disadvantage in the corporate world. Heck, I know of people that are in a higher position or making more money because of the specific university they attended compared to someone else who had a higher GPA at a lower tier college.
And regarding the financial hindrance of attending these top universities, if you were really that smart (without having the available funds), you really should know how to obtain sufficient funding via scholarships and grants. Not attending Stanford because of a lack of funds is not an argument to make. And does anyone remember Stanford’s financial aid for families with lower incomes? http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2008/february20/finaid-022008.html
If your family makes less than $60K/year, tuition/room&board is all free. If your family makes between $60-$100K/year, your tuition is all free.
I didn’t attend Stanford personally, but just wanted to state the facts. (p.s. I hate Stanford athletics) In my opinion, top tier university education has no obstacles for anyone as long as they try their best. People who complain about not having money to attend aren’t searching correctly for different avenues of funding.
There, my 2 cents.
1:18 PM on August 28th, 2009
Accredited universities offering education 2.0 would do it at regular tuition rates. If you look at the schools that offer online courses, the tuition is usually the same or higher than traditional classes.