01-08-2013, 03:57 PM
Most universities have understood this future was coming. It is just so economically inefficient to teach 20 students at a time with a researcher that could command thousands of dollars a day. Spread that educator costs across hundreds or millions and all of the sudden the cost per student for the educator's time becomes trivial.Â
However, the alienation thing should be a real concern. Some online student is highly unlikely to gift a university millions of dollars even if they ultimately become a billionaire. However some portion of on-campus students would be expected to donate millions, should they stay loyal and happy throughout their lives. So flirting with the online crowd risks the probability of future large donations from the undergrad and grad students.
Still, the game is to educate and if the best brands can ultimately get $10 per online student I suspect that will be a very favorable business model and one that is consistent with the idea of bring knowledge to more people. blah, blah, blah.
However, the alienation thing should be a real concern. Some online student is highly unlikely to gift a university millions of dollars even if they ultimately become a billionaire. However some portion of on-campus students would be expected to donate millions, should they stay loyal and happy throughout their lives. So flirting with the online crowd risks the probability of future large donations from the undergrad and grad students.
Still, the game is to educate and if the best brands can ultimately get $10 per online student I suspect that will be a very favorable business model and one that is consistent with the idea of bring knowledge to more people. blah, blah, blah.