3 ms·

It's because no one wants to pay 50k for a online only liberal arts education. Without in person attendance, these schools are totally screwed.

• Balgair 6y ago
  Dr. Michael Munger of Duke was on EconTalk recently and talked about his 'Four Buildings' view of the university. I think that this lens is an incredibly useful way to look at the problem. Briefly, the Four Buildings of the University are 1) The Clock Tower - It coordinates times for shared experiences, 2) The Stadium - It gives a shared tribal identity to a group of people, 3) The Student Union - A sorting hat for people that are 'in' and further subdivides interests, great for dating and close friendship, 4) The Admissions Office - Very important, tells the rest of the world this person was evaluated and found exceptional. Note that The Classroom is not on the list. Some of these buildings can be done remotely-ish (Admissions, the Clock Tower - maybe), but the others absolutely need to be in person (Stadium, Student Union, Clock Tower - mostly). Justifying these Four Buildings, remotely, at $50k/yr, is a very hard sell, but a great idea for a social-Startup. https://www.aier.org/article/after-the-virus-universities-will-survive/ https://www.aier.org/article/after-the-virus-universities-wi... https://www.econtalk.org/michael-munger-on-the-future-of-higher-education/ https://www.econtalk.org/michael-munger-on-the-future-of-hig...