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There may be a cost reducing technique (technology) in the way education is conducted. But it's optimizing something that's not the bottleneck. My take. I thin

There may be a cost reducing technique (technology) in the way education is conducted. But it's optimizing something that's not the bottleneck. My take. I think the main reason for increasing costs is loans. Loans that cannot be escaped through bankruptcy. Colleges can raise tuition at rates much faster than inflation because everyone has access to unlimited student loan money. They name a price, all students can access money to pay it. One way to bring prices down is to allow prices to grow so high that people balk. Even when provided access to unlimited loan money to pay it. Waiting for this to happen doesn't require any special activism or groups though. But it might just be the actual way it plays out. A natural bubble pop. If you don't want to sit on the sidelines and wait for things to pop naturally, you could raise awareness about loans. Try to make people balk at the prices sooner? Or try to promote a change in the law allowing bankruptcy to be an escape from loans. Once bankruptcy is introduced you will see access to money plummet sharply and college tuition prices along with it. The longer this goes on, the more people unwittingly commit themselves into life long indentured servitude. TOO LONG DIDN'T READ: I don't think you will successfully leverage your skills as a programmer to reduce college tuition costs. Even if you optimize a piece of the puzzle (online MOOC reducing the need for staff/land/buildings)

bobblywobbles 6y ago
Thank you for your thoughtful reply. I do think that loans are a definite room for improvement in terms of reducing the cost of higher education. I will think how to approach this if I choose to do. I do not feel motivated to go into the political space - which is why I prefer a technology-focused approach. I will sit on these thoughts and see if I can come up with something I am comfortable taking on - thanks again!
- Foober223 6y ago
  You could view law as software for people. Laws are first class technology/software just as much as prolog software system.
muzani 6y ago
One option might be to help Americans get into or find good foreign colleges, like NUS, University of Melbourne, or the IITs. Break the monopoly. Many foreign countries hold that education is a human right and try not to charge too much. The other one might be disrupting colleges. Find a better way to educate people. Online courses and bootcamps are doing a good job, but don't quite have the "college experience". But with the pandemic going on, and today's bandwidth, this might be a good time.
- Symbiote 6y ago
  Melbourne is AU$44k/year for science, about US$30k. Is America so expensive that this is reasonable? Many countries that are cheap (or even free) for local students charge significant fees for international students.
  - Fej 6y ago
    Private universities in the US charge more than double that. Public ones, usually much less for in-state students, but it depends.
  - trcollinson 6y ago
    The current annual cost for Harvard is US$50,420. So the other poster who said many are more than double is, well, off by a bit. So the "best" University (by their own marketing) is about 60% higher. The University of Utah where I live is about US$10,000 a year. The UC school system in California is at about US$14,000 a year. A good online school system like Western Governors University is about US$6000. The problem is quite like the post above you said. It's loans. Students, with very little information or guidance are handed tens of thousands of US dollars a year to "pay for school". They can do any program, pay for any housing, pay for any food (my son in his first semester racked up a $7000 food bill, because cafe's took student food cards). Schools take advantage of the monstrous amount of debt students can get into. There is no reason why a student needs to be tied down if they make smart decisions. The problem is the same today as when I was 18. 18 year old college students aren't always making smart decisions.
giantg2 6y ago
One thing that goes along with the loan issue is what is being 'taught' to kids as they grow up. Parents, primary schools, and secondary schools all try to ingrain the idea that "you have to do well in school so that you can go to college and get a good job". They are essentially brainwashing children into thinking that college is the only option. There are technical positions that pay better than many jobs that require a degree (auto mechanic, diesel-electric mechanic, electrician, construction, police, etc). The opportunities provided by technical schools are being systematically suppressed by the overwhelming message from teachers that one needs a degree to be successful. I don't think I've ever witnessed a more evident example of institutionalized bias. On a side note, I know a guy that is a diesel-electric mechanic. He had little debt and was able to graduate to start making money sooner. He has awesome benefits and made a starting salary that is higher than I make now (I'm in software dev, 8 years in, one promotion, and a MSIS). I also know a guy who two years into a construction position and will make more than me (lower rate, but he's overtime eligible).

bobblywobbles 6y ago

Thank you for your thoughtful reply. I do think that loans are a definite room for improvement in terms of reducing the cost of higher education. I will think how to approach this if I choose to do. I do not feel motivated to go into the political space - which is why I prefer a technology-focused approach. I will sit on these thoughts and see if I can come up with something I am comfortable taking on - thanks again!

Foober223 6y ago
You could view law as software for people. Laws are first class technology/software just as much as prolog software system.

muzani 6y ago

One option might be to help Americans get into or find good foreign colleges, like NUS, University of Melbourne, or the IITs. Break the monopoly. Many foreign countries hold that education is a human right and try not to charge too much. The other one might be disrupting colleges. Find a better way to educate people. Online courses and bootcamps are doing a good job, but don't quite have the "college experience". But with the pandemic going on, and today's bandwidth, this might be a good time.

Symbiote 6y ago
Melbourne is AU$44k/year for science, about US$30k. Is America so expensive that this is reasonable? Many countries that are cheap (or even free) for local students charge significant fees for international students.
- Fej 6y ago
  Private universities in the US charge more than double that. Public ones, usually much less for in-state students, but it depends.
- trcollinson 6y ago
  The current annual cost for Harvard is US$50,420. So the other poster who said many are more than double is, well, off by a bit. So the "best" University (by their own marketing) is about 60% higher. The University of Utah where I live is about US$10,000 a year. The UC school system in California is at about US$14,000 a year. A good online school system like Western Governors University is about US$6000. The problem is quite like the post above you said. It's loans. Students, with very little information or guidance are handed tens of thousands of US dollars a year to "pay for school". They can do any program, pay for any housing, pay for any food (my son in his first semester racked up a $7000 food bill, because cafe's took student food cards). Schools take advantage of the monstrous amount of debt students can get into. There is no reason why a student needs to be tied down if they make smart decisions. The problem is the same today as when I was 18. 18 year old college students aren't always making smart decisions.

giantg2 6y ago

One thing that goes along with the loan issue is what is being 'taught' to kids as they grow up. Parents, primary schools, and secondary schools all try to ingrain the idea that "you have to do well in school so that you can go to college and get a good job". They are essentially brainwashing children into thinking that college is the only option. There are technical positions that pay better than many jobs that require a degree (auto mechanic, diesel-electric mechanic, electrician, construction, police, etc). The opportunities provided by technical schools are being systematically suppressed by the overwhelming message from teachers that one needs a degree to be successful. I don't think I've ever witnessed a more evident example of institutionalized bias. On a side note, I know a guy that is a diesel-electric mechanic. He had little debt and was able to graduate to start making money sooner. He has awesome benefits and made a starting salary that is higher than I make now (I'm in software dev, 8 years in, one promotion, and a MSIS). I also know a guy who two years into a construction position and will make more than me (lower rate, but he's overtime eligible).