I find it pretty interesting that universities can charge large sums of money to attend, but then go ahead and give away the content for free on the internet.

I find it pretty interesting that universities can charge large sums of money to attend, but then go ahead and give away the content for free on the internet. Parents and students, who may be going into significant debt to pay for their education, are also funding the widespread distribution of the same. Do they have a say in the matter? Perhaps it should be put up to vote. The only reason I can think that universities would really get behind this is the vanity of professors who want their ideas out there, or they're trying to create demand over the internet so they can charge for it later. "Knowledge wants to be free but room, board and our test proctoring system is certainly not." Strikes me as bizarre, something has to give in this system - either the fees to US schools, or giving away courses for free.