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Wow this essay is fantastic. The idea that the amount of people who "need" financial aid has stayed constant while tuition prices have increased 170% (way outpa

by dhruvp 8y ago

Wow this essay is fantastic. The idea that the amount of people who "need" financial aid has stayed constant while tuition prices have increased 170% (way outpacing wage growth) is unreal. Conrad if you wrote a book about this I would buy it. Super fascinating stuff. Colleges are clearly massive financial instruments that need to be analyzed further.

dfgert 8y ago
I doubt analyzing university would do much since its already a common knowledge at this point still nothing is happening. Government and legal institutions are ineffective in solving problem where solution results in loss in profit. Building alternatives to universities that are driven by grass-roots movements are the perfect way forward here. Home schooling, MOOCs and startup businesses are some of the developments that have started diminishing the need of expensive degrees.
- bumby 8y ago
  What I think will be interesting in the next few decades is if universities will maintain their monopoly on accreditation or if they will lose that like they did on their monopoly of education. As long as there's a need for degrees as a signal for baseline competence/barrier to entry, it seems those needing it will be at the mercy of the systems that provide it.
  - wallace_f 8y ago
    > a need for degrees as a signal for baseline competence/barrier to entry The signal is valuable. The unnatural barrier to entry is, at best, unethical. Ideally, the barrier to the opportunity to earn the credential would not exist. It should be available to everyone worldwide. Individual research positions should be applied for. Certain practical skills must be taught in labs, etc. But the vast majority of intellectual effort in a Harvard degree should already have all its coursework and testing available to everyone, and at reasonable cost. Otherwise it is not an open competition, it is an institution promoting socioeconomi status.
    - bumby 8y ago
      I think that's part of the issue as it relates to the article. If that accreditation becomes available to anyone, it loses its elitism and erodes some of the value signal. That may or may not be why some of the elite schools open up their courses but not their accreditation online. It may not be in the institutions best interest to be as open as the ideal you describe.
      - wallace_f 8y ago
        Yes, and especially as charities that are effectively subsidized by Joe Everyperson taxpayer, they should not be left off the hook.
- pergadad 8y ago
  Sadly MOOCs as provided by US institutions have gone pretty much the same way as tuition: insane cost for what it is. The French national online university is an interesting model though.
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
cjmb 8y ago
Thanks for the words of encouragement. I'm not focused enough right now to put a book together -- although I agree that there is more to be said on and around this specific topic. Some good nuggets are in this comment section -- as is usually the case for HN. The essay format allows me to spend a month writing an essay about the intersection of Game Theory, Anime, Military Strategy, AI, and Political Economy without stressing about any grander narrative, which I very much enjoy...
banku_brougham 8y ago
Really an eye opening discussion. I think I’ve been consuming reporting on the ever rising cost of tuition for all of my adult life. Yet never has any journalist approached the question of universities 501(c)(3) status, in the publications I’ve read. Its crazy! Over time the tax advantage could make university endowments (as well as wealthy religious entities) the largest owners of capital in the world, along with sovereign wealth funds.

by dhruvp 8y ago

dfgert 8y ago

I doubt analyzing university would do much since its already a common knowledge at this point still nothing is happening. Government and legal institutions are ineffective in solving problem where solution results in loss in profit. Building alternatives to universities that are driven by grass-roots movements are the perfect way forward here. Home schooling, MOOCs and startup businesses are some of the developments that have started diminishing the need of expensive degrees.

bumby 8y ago
What I think will be interesting in the next few decades is if universities will maintain their monopoly on accreditation or if they will lose that like they did on their monopoly of education. As long as there's a need for degrees as a signal for baseline competence/barrier to entry, it seems those needing it will be at the mercy of the systems that provide it.
- wallace_f 8y ago
  > a need for degrees as a signal for baseline competence/barrier to entry The signal is valuable. The unnatural barrier to entry is, at best, unethical. Ideally, the barrier to the opportunity to earn the credential would not exist. It should be available to everyone worldwide. Individual research positions should be applied for. Certain practical skills must be taught in labs, etc. But the vast majority of intellectual effort in a Harvard degree should already have all its coursework and testing available to everyone, and at reasonable cost. Otherwise it is not an open competition, it is an institution promoting socioeconomi status.
  - bumby 8y ago
    I think that's part of the issue as it relates to the article. If that accreditation becomes available to anyone, it loses its elitism and erodes some of the value signal. That may or may not be why some of the elite schools open up their courses but not their accreditation online. It may not be in the institutions best interest to be as open as the ideal you describe.
    - wallace_f 8y ago
      Yes, and especially as charities that are effectively subsidized by Joe Everyperson taxpayer, they should not be left off the hook.
pergadad 8y ago
Sadly MOOCs as provided by US institutions have gone pretty much the same way as tuition: insane cost for what it is. The French national online university is an interesting model though.

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

cjmb 8y ago

Thanks for the words of encouragement. I'm not focused enough right now to put a book together -- although I agree that there is more to be said on and around this specific topic. Some good nuggets are in this comment section -- as is usually the case for HN. The essay format allows me to spend a month writing an essay about the intersection of Game Theory, Anime, Military Strategy, AI, and Political Economy without stressing about any grander narrative, which I very much enjoy...

banku_brougham 8y ago

Really an eye opening discussion. I think I’ve been consuming reporting on the ever rising cost of tuition for all of my adult life. Yet never has any journalist approached the question of universities 501(c)(3) status, in the publications I’ve read. Its crazy! Over time the tax advantage could make university endowments (as well as wealthy religious entities) the largest owners of capital in the world, along with sovereign wealth funds.