How your iPad will conquer student debt

Aristotle teaching Alexander.

College costs are out of control. Students and families are reeling under burgeoning debt. Politicians, state and federal, are rushing to feed the beast they have created. That might work.

The statistics are appalling when taken in whole. Here are a few…

• Since 1990, the cost of attending college has risen at over four time the rate of inflation
• In the last 25 years, full-time university administrators have increased 75% while student enrollment has grown only a bit over 25%
• Median pay for public-college presidents is now over $400,000 with several being paid over $1,000,000
• Since 2001, the cost to attend public college will have doubled by 2016
• In 1991, one in ten families carried tuition debt while today it is one in five, with many owing over $100,000

It’s undeniable that attending college has become as much a financial burden to the typical American family as home ownership. But, the recent housing bust included, home ownership on whole is still a long term investment that pays off. The same cannot always be said of the “investment” in a college education. Nearly half of all college grads now work in jobs that don’t require a college degree. Was that a double latte macchiato?
  

There appears to be a confluence of several trends at work here.

1. Public funding of tuition support has enabled colleges to exorbitantly increase fees and tuition
2. Colleges have greatly increased the number of dean or director-level positions dealing with equality, diversity, and related non-academic functions
3. We have encouraged all students to attend college, some who might be better served by excellent vocational schools

While we might continue down the path of publicly funding these fiefdoms, there is little hope that strategy will yield affordable results. Fortunately, there is a light on the horizon.
   

Teaching is the act of imparting knowledge. But over 2,000 years, we are using techniques that are fundamentally unchanged since Aristotle’s students sat at his feet. The internet has blown up that model by allowing a skilled professor to now instruct thousands of students at one time. Computerized courseware administers quizzes and recommends supplemental studies individually tailored to each student. Academic courses can be undertaken in the solitary environs of a student’s home, or in small study groups, or remote classrooms. The only requirement is an internet connection.
  

Simply use your favorite search engine to look for “university courses online.” You will find that many leading universities are offering internet courses, a good number for credit. Private, donation-based organizations such as the Khan Academy provide in-depth training in a wide range of topics from mathematics to history to physics to finance. For-profit companies are beginning to see the opportunity. Coursera, Inc., has partnered with 33 top universities to offer academically rigorous courses to students all over the world. 
  

Bloated colleges feeding at the public trough will soon take note. Some of them will see the opportunity and will embrace this new paradigm. The rest will see their enrollments dwindle. That’s life.