5 ms·

Will edX Put Harvard and MIT Out of Business?

13 points by iProject 15y ago

LyleK 15y ago
So much for all the professors on food stamps. Now they have to compete with free classes from Harvard. http://chronicle.com/article/From-Graduate-School-to/131795/ http://chronicle.com/article/From-Graduate-School-to/131795/
diminish 15y ago
the first nobel prize winner graduate of edX will change everything. i sometimes think, should online universities also be strictly selective?
- UK-AL 15y ago
  Why? Selective education is used in order to focus limited resources on certain people. That isn't really problem online, unless you want to be an ass and restrict people's abillity to improve themselves for no reason. That's why it's so scary for universities and elites. One of the moral validations for restricting the life chances of certain groups of people has been removed. Others will pop up I'm sure.
- grayed_comments 15y ago
  Isn't most of the "prestige" of a nobel prize winner normally directed at the university at which they were conducting research (assuming it is an academic heavy field) at the time?
  - Turing_Machine 15y ago
    In my experience, every institution that has any connection whatsoever to the Nobel Laureate claims him or her. Undergrad, graduate school, research location, even high school (one local high school claims multiple Nobel Laureates -- unusual, but I don't know if it's unique).
peter_l_downs 15y ago
No [0]. [0] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betteridges_Law_of_Headlines http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betteridges_Law_of_Headlines
- dfriedmn 15y ago
  Hah, was going to write the same comment ("No.")
- peter_l_downs 15y ago
  Also, from the article: As long as students who take edX are blocked from the branding and professional networks that their parents pay so dearly to obtain, such top schools have nothing to fear from giving away what the teachers are getting paid modestly to deliver. University teaches a lot more than the course material.
mrbill 15y ago
Forbes is just outdoing themselves with the headline bait lately.
- LyleK 15y ago
  Agreed. If they thought it would put them out of business, would they do it? It makes more sense to ask if it will put community colleges out of business.
  - RedwoodCity 15y ago
    Online education has existed for at least 10 years, and in recent years community colleges have been unable to keep up with enrollment. California community colleges are so over enrolled they wanted to start charging more money for popular classes. If college were entirely about static material such as readings and lectures libraries with video tapes and textbooks would have put them out of business decades ago. Most people need help understanding the material and apparently benefit from personal interaction. Finally many physical sciences and engineering labs are impossible to conduct outside of the setting of university of college. Would you like the next surgeon you visit to have a certificate on his wall from YouTube Medical School.
cdrxndr 15y ago
edX does more to nudge out no-name schools than prestigious universities - and if anything will likely be a strong revenue generator for top universities going forward. A few scenarios: * Would you pay tuition to be taught by [well-meaning] no-name professor Dave at no-name Community U? * Would you be willing to pay a nominal fee to receive a certificate for edX achievement? * Would you be more willing to pay for a certificate from Harvard/MIT, or UVA? The online education trend will act as a channel for the most prestigious schools to capitalize on their brand without diluting their stature. And we'll see them making hand-over-fist money by outcompeting community colleges and other online programs that don't have the weighty reputations.
1053r 15y ago
The reason to attend MIT or Harvard (as an undergraduate) is not to take MIT or Harvard classes. It is to hang out with MIT or Harvard students, have discussions after class with MIT or Harvard undergraduates, grad students, and professors, be challenged by having those people as peers. It is to have an entire network of well connected people all over the globe in the highest reaches of every organization on Earth for free upon graduation. Lastly, (and perhaps least), it is to have a piece of paper that certifies that you are smart and work hard. Fundamentally, the elite schools are in no danger from these online education initiatives. It is the state schools, community colleges, and for profit schools that are in danger. If a school can't figure out a value add beyond simple education (which the elite schools have had for centuries), that school is in trouble.
- waterlesscloud 15y ago
  While I agree with most of your points (though it's also possible to imagine ways around them), it seems a bit much to say that the classes themselves are not a very large part of the value these institutions offer.
- astrofinch 15y ago
  $200,000 is an awful lot to pay for this networking possibility. There's no reason why putting high leverage individuals together should cost so much money. What would a competitor with universities on the networking front look like? Keep in mind that $200,000 will pay for a lot of plane tickets, so the competing service could involve lots of world travel and still be much cheaper than elite schools.
  - pitt1980 15y ago
    seems like the Theil Fellowship gives participants a harvard quality social network (if not better) http://www.thielfellowship.org/ http://www.thielfellowship.org/ down market, something like http://codeacademy.org/ http://codeacademy.org/ might give you a state university qaulity network for a fraction of the cost
    - 15y ago
dgabriel 15y ago
In the worst possible scenario, edX may nibble at the edges of the Harvard Extension school enrollment.
xxiao 15y ago
possibly, in fact, why do kids need go to college at all in the near future?
LyleK 15y ago
Most people are not going to be able to follow the classes from MIT and Harvard. (Certainly, there are a lot of people who can't get into the schools who could follow the material just fine.) Remember, this material is already available in books, but that didn't put the universities out of business. But if you look at how many people are struggling with math classes and having to hire tutors, I don't think it is fair to assume that by watching videos from MIT lecturers would suddenly make it all make sense.
neovive 15y ago
With online education really gaining traction, the major university brands need to be out in front of this trend. With Harvard and MIT throwing their names and money into the mix they buy themselves a chance to steer the direction of the trend and become major players. Sitting on the sidelines and watching things change around them, completely outside of their control, was not a good strategy. This parallels many other industries in which large established brands face obsolescence or major competition in the face of recent technological advancement. I'm sure someone at Harvard or MIT modeled out quite a few scenarios to justify the cost.
jmvidal 15y ago
I love all these free online classes. But, what's going to happen is that profs like me are going to continue using them in our classes in the same way we have been using textbooks, which will liberate a little time for us to provide more one-on-one help. At least, that is my prediction. But, you know, predictions are hard, especially about the future. [1] http://www.jose-vidal.com/2012/05/online-classes-are-just-new-textbook.html http://www.jose-vidal.com/2012/05/online-classes-are-just-ne...

13 points by iProject 15y ago

LyleK 15y ago

So much for all the professors on food stamps. Now they have to compete with free classes from Harvard. http://chronicle.com/article/From-Graduate-School-to/131795/ http://chronicle.com/article/From-Graduate-School-to/131795/

diminish 15y ago

the first nobel prize winner graduate of edX will change everything. i sometimes think, should online universities also be strictly selective?

UK-AL 15y ago
Why? Selective education is used in order to focus limited resources on certain people. That isn't really problem online, unless you want to be an ass and restrict people's abillity to improve themselves for no reason. That's why it's so scary for universities and elites. One of the moral validations for restricting the life chances of certain groups of people has been removed. Others will pop up I'm sure.
grayed_comments 15y ago
Isn't most of the "prestige" of a nobel prize winner normally directed at the university at which they were conducting research (assuming it is an academic heavy field) at the time?
- Turing_Machine 15y ago
  In my experience, every institution that has any connection whatsoever to the Nobel Laureate claims him or her. Undergrad, graduate school, research location, even high school (one local high school claims multiple Nobel Laureates -- unusual, but I don't know if it's unique).

peter_l_downs 15y ago

No [0]. [0] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betteridges_Law_of_Headlines http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betteridges_Law_of_Headlines

dfriedmn 15y ago
Hah, was going to write the same comment ("No.")
peter_l_downs 15y ago
Also, from the article: As long as students who take edX are blocked from the branding and professional networks that their parents pay so dearly to obtain, such top schools have nothing to fear from giving away what the teachers are getting paid modestly to deliver. University teaches a lot more than the course material.

mrbill 15y ago

Forbes is just outdoing themselves with the headline bait lately.

LyleK 15y ago
Agreed. If they thought it would put them out of business, would they do it? It makes more sense to ask if it will put community colleges out of business.
- RedwoodCity 15y ago
  Online education has existed for at least 10 years, and in recent years community colleges have been unable to keep up with enrollment. California community colleges are so over enrolled they wanted to start charging more money for popular classes. If college were entirely about static material such as readings and lectures libraries with video tapes and textbooks would have put them out of business decades ago. Most people need help understanding the material and apparently benefit from personal interaction. Finally many physical sciences and engineering labs are impossible to conduct outside of the setting of university of college. Would you like the next surgeon you visit to have a certificate on his wall from YouTube Medical School.

cdrxndr 15y ago

edX does more to nudge out no-name schools than prestigious universities - and if anything will likely be a strong revenue generator for top universities going forward. A few scenarios: * Would you pay tuition to be taught by [well-meaning] no-name professor Dave at no-name Community U? * Would you be willing to pay a nominal fee to receive a certificate for edX achievement? * Would you be more willing to pay for a certificate from Harvard/MIT, or UVA? The online education trend will act as a channel for the most prestigious schools to capitalize on their brand without diluting their stature. And we'll see them making hand-over-fist money by outcompeting community colleges and other online programs that don't have the weighty reputations.

1053r 15y ago

The reason to attend MIT or Harvard (as an undergraduate) is not to take MIT or Harvard classes. It is to hang out with MIT or Harvard students, have discussions after class with MIT or Harvard undergraduates, grad students, and professors, be challenged by having those people as peers. It is to have an entire network of well connected people all over the globe in the highest reaches of every organization on Earth for free upon graduation. Lastly, (and perhaps least), it is to have a piece of paper that certifies that you are smart and work hard. Fundamentally, the elite schools are in no danger from these online education initiatives. It is the state schools, community colleges, and for profit schools that are in danger. If a school can't figure out a value add beyond simple education (which the elite schools have had for centuries), that school is in trouble.

waterlesscloud 15y ago
While I agree with most of your points (though it's also possible to imagine ways around them), it seems a bit much to say that the classes themselves are not a very large part of the value these institutions offer.
astrofinch 15y ago
$200,000 is an awful lot to pay for this networking possibility. There's no reason why putting high leverage individuals together should cost so much money. What would a competitor with universities on the networking front look like? Keep in mind that $200,000 will pay for a lot of plane tickets, so the competing service could involve lots of world travel and still be much cheaper than elite schools.
- pitt1980 15y ago
  seems like the Theil Fellowship gives participants a harvard quality social network (if not better) http://www.thielfellowship.org/ http://www.thielfellowship.org/ down market, something like http://codeacademy.org/ http://codeacademy.org/ might give you a state university qaulity network for a fraction of the cost
  - 15y ago

dgabriel 15y ago

In the worst possible scenario, edX may nibble at the edges of the Harvard Extension school enrollment.

xxiao 15y ago

possibly, in fact, why do kids need go to college at all in the near future?

LyleK 15y ago

Most people are not going to be able to follow the classes from MIT and Harvard. (Certainly, there are a lot of people who can't get into the schools who could follow the material just fine.) Remember, this material is already available in books, but that didn't put the universities out of business. But if you look at how many people are struggling with math classes and having to hire tutors, I don't think it is fair to assume that by watching videos from MIT lecturers would suddenly make it all make sense.

neovive 15y ago

With online education really gaining traction, the major university brands need to be out in front of this trend. With Harvard and MIT throwing their names and money into the mix they buy themselves a chance to steer the direction of the trend and become major players. Sitting on the sidelines and watching things change around them, completely outside of their control, was not a good strategy. This parallels many other industries in which large established brands face obsolescence or major competition in the face of recent technological advancement. I'm sure someone at Harvard or MIT modeled out quite a few scenarios to justify the cost.

jmvidal 15y ago

I love all these free online classes. But, what's going to happen is that profs like me are going to continue using them in our classes in the same way we have been using textbooks, which will liberate a little time for us to provide more one-on-one help. At least, that is my prediction. But, you know, predictions are hard, especially about the future. [1] http://www.jose-vidal.com/2012/05/online-classes-are-just-new-textbook.html http://www.jose-vidal.com/2012/05/online-classes-are-just-ne...