Prediction on Higher Education (a couple of years from now):
Students no longer drive to class early in the morning. Nor do students have to work around class schedules. Instead, students view prerecorded lectures from their laptops/I-Phones. Gone are the days of live teachers and live students.
These video lectures were recorded many years ago. The university pays the original "recorded" professor a small royalty for each class. This royalty fee costs a fraction of a live lecture. This allows the university to pay for a top notch professor to lecture/record one semester, then reuse that recorded lecture in subsequent semesters. One-time cost.
Student questions are posted to message boards which a professor actively monitors and responds to. Students never ask the same question twice since all previous questions are searchable online. Professor responsiveness is very quick (usually in 1-2 hours). The professor answering questions is a full time professor (which may not be the same person as the original recorded professor). This full-time professor is able to handle four times as many classes due to automation etc.
The need for college dorms is marginalized since they are no longer necessary. Because of this, dormitories with excess capacity are demolished since their operating costs are fixed and become a resource drain if not filled to capacity. OR, students get single rooms all to themselves!
Tuition prices plummet due to a surplus of pre-recorded lectures on the market. New industries develop that specialize in creating top-notch video lectures for colleges and handling student questions on message boards (24/7 rapid response student support). Local colleges contract with these new companies (again at significantly lower costs).
International students also benefit (lower tuition/more accessible classes etc). The reach of the US education system now permeates every continent. This has other benefits to their local economies with a higher skilled workforce. Traveling to the US for one semester may be required (for lab classes which require a live teacher).
Tuition for all students is now affordable (and continues to drop as time goes on). Student loans are minuscule.
In the end, higher education is commoditized. Prices plummet, quality increases.
Students no longer drive to class early in the morning. Nor do students have to work around class schedules. Instead, students view prerecorded lectures from their laptops/I-Phones. Gone are the days of live teachers and live students.
These video lectures were recorded many years ago. The university pays the original "recorded" professor a small royalty for each class. This royalty fee costs a fraction of a live lecture. This allows the university to pay for a top notch professor to lecture/record one semester, then reuse that recorded lecture in subsequent semesters. One-time cost.
Student questions are posted to message boards which a professor actively monitors and responds to. Students never ask the same question twice since all previous questions are searchable online. Professor responsiveness is very quick (usually in 1-2 hours). The professor answering questions is a full time professor (which may not be the same person as the original recorded professor). This full-time professor is able to handle four times as many classes due to automation etc.
The need for college dorms is marginalized since they are no longer necessary. Because of this, dormitories with excess capacity are demolished since their operating costs are fixed and become a resource drain if not filled to capacity. OR, students get single rooms all to themselves!
Tuition prices plummet due to a surplus of pre-recorded lectures on the market. New industries develop that specialize in creating top-notch video lectures for colleges and handling student questions on message boards (24/7 rapid response student support). Local colleges contract with these new companies (again at significantly lower costs).
International students also benefit (lower tuition/more accessible classes etc). The reach of the US education system now permeates every continent. This has other benefits to their local economies with a higher skilled workforce. Traveling to the US for one semester may be required (for lab classes which require a live teacher).
Tuition for all students is now affordable (and continues to drop as time goes on). Student loans are minuscule.
In the end, higher education is commoditized. Prices plummet, quality increases.