Concepts gathered from chapter 8–
“Information wants to be free, in turn, will make people free.” (65)
Summary:
Some theorists have claimed that campus universities will die along with firms because technology is allowing us to transport knowledge through space/distance and time. Much like the prediction of the exchange of firms for home offices, campus universities face the same threat. Their competition, online universities, like Phoenix and Britian’s Open University, are competing for students that campus universities don’t always appeal to: minorities and people that can’t afford to pay high tuition rates. There is also a discrepancy of which and what is a worthy degree which are often measured by independent organizations that “specialize” in providing that knowledge to the public. In turn, the market can be highly discriminating.
Notes:
Next to religious institutions, educational institutions are the oldest in the world. And so universities have set in place prices they deem worthy and mediums of delivery that aren’t accessible for all people.
So mega universities challenge campus universities by lowering prices, and making the knowledge very accessible nationally and/or globally. But, one of the challenges that online universities have are providing graduate and post grad programs for their students. People also question their accreditation and how the market will interpret its value. So campus universities are preferred in these cases.
Not too long ago universities took on a business-like framework and are changing with businesses as they digitize libraries and such. But there is still a lot to debate over when it comes to paper doc vs. digital.
“A good degree works like a legislative omibus package.” (217)
Often innovators and inventors are the students that fiddle around in other areas like psychology, the arts, humanities and such. It’s a catch 22 because without the accessibility to these other means of information and knowledge, as well as, cultural groups that swap info, these students wouldn’t have been able to produce their newer kinds of thinking. On the other hand, lots of people question the organization of universities that have been set in place for hundreds of years.
“We all need to learn things that we didn’t set out to learn.” As Karl Jaspers said, we need to mingle with people from different fields, different backgrounds, different expectations because it makes a critical contribution to individual education and the institution. (218-219)
So changing the way programs are structured so that students can reach other areas of information is really important for the survival of universities.
Some really doubt the survival of the university like Peter Drucker. But, as stated in chapter 7, people are capable of reflecting on problems and correcting them by researching, planning, restricting destructive behavior and re-educating. (171)
We need to protect our institutions by working together to create degrees that are accessible to ALL people and allow students access to other programs, other ways of thinking, and individual creativity.
Vocab
enculturation
omnibus
GUI
renewable knowledge base
rigidities
complementarities
Questions:
What might happen if education becomes too expensive and inaccessible?
How can universities make education affordable for people that live in slums in places like Indonesia?
