The problem with the "handful of elites" suddenly taking over higher education is that everything about those elites is about exclusivity: you sell the fact tha

The problem with the "handful of elites" suddenly taking over higher education is that everything about those elites is about exclusivity: you sell the fact that only the chosen few go to Harvard, Stanford, MIT, whatever. If anyone is going to take over, it'll be a public institution of some kind, where a much broader acceptance of large groups of people into the school is more a part of the DNA. Look at Georgia Tech's online masters, for example: $7k for a pretty reasonable and rigorous degree. But even then, there isn't an online replacement to the college experience, which is in person with large groups of friends learning how to live on your own a bit in a safe, educational environment. No one wants to stay at home and take online classes and live with their parents.