Abolishing College: No More Academic Lobotomies?

Alternatives to conventional higher education are experiencing explosive growth. Coursera offers free online courses from at least 33 respected universities worldwide. And EdX recently added the entire University of Texas system of institutions, to join Harvard, MIT, and UC Berkeley.

The shift to online college-credit courses is occurring three to five years faster than expected because of demand from students and universities, said Anant Agarwal, president of Cambridge-based EdX and an MIT professor.

The University of Texas System plans to put up $5 million to join the EdX online venture, started by Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, to help meet demand for low-cost college courses.

...Most universities realize major structural changes are needed, though moving lectures online doesn’t go far enough, said Jeff Sandefer, a Perry adviser who taught entrepreneurship courses at the University of Texas and started the Austin-based Acton School of Business, which offers graduate management degrees. EdX and Coursera, another university group offering free online studies, “will hasten the flight of full-price customers to less-expensive alternatives, accelerating the demise of traditional academia,” Sandefer said by e-mail. _BusinessWeek

Modern universities are known for their antagonism to students' freedom of speech rights, and for an intolerance to diverse points of view. The steep rise in tuition rates over the past few decades has skyrocketed, driving student debt above $1 trillion, and rising. Administrative bloat is out of control, and the quality of education on campus is suffering as a result.

If any institution deserves to be made obsolete -- besides big media and big govenment -- it is the big college bubble. The EdX, Coursera, and Khan Academy approaches to free online education will not result in the actual abolition of college indoctrination and intolerance. Making a destructive institution obsolete is far quicker and cleaner than going to the trouble of abolishing it.

Imagine a world with free speech for everyone, no more academic lobotomies, no more academic intolerance / indoctrination. A world of self-directed learners, with the entire universe of knowledge available to pursue.

It sounds like a very dangerous world! ;-)

And remember: It is never too late for a dangerous childhood.