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Ask HN: What is the possibility of disrupting 'colleges' like 'Full Sail'

2 points by wturner 13y ago

I worked at a digital art college called Ex'pression for a number of years and to make a long story short its tuition has ballooned to $100,000 and is business has been contracting. Most of it's business is held together by students enrolled in the sound program and a good majority of what they teach could be done online. I'm curious if anyone thinks this might be a niche area for disruption, or if the real disruption is just the swath of education resources already online irrespective of if its sound/audio specific.

bigbossman 13y ago
Not sure if this is "disruption," but I bet the trend in entertainment-focused degree programs is toward deals with for-profit entertainment companies. For example, take a look at the WWE's partnerships with Full Sail. Right now, Full Sail students are producing and designing programs for the WWE's development and training center. http://corporate.wwe.com/news/2012/2012_05_14.jsp http://corporate.wwe.com/news/2012/2012_05_14.jsp
- wturner 13y ago
  Thanks for pointing this out. It's useful. I know that some of these code bootcamps basically have deals with larger companies and get paid to serve as a filter mechanism for them. Not sure if that would work with the entertainment aspect of the audio world as a reliable hook toward an education business. I say that because the level of indifference culturally in the industry (in my experience) is too great. The WWE/Full Sail example is within a broader context of full AV setup work, and of course Full Sail has a lot of resources to play with as well as partnerships already in place etc.
phaus 13y ago
Simply making an art degree affordable would be a good start. The problem with art/design/fashion/music degrees is that tuition tends to be higher than more "boring" degrees. What makes it even worse is that the market is already too large. Creative people tend to keep working until they die, so you don't see the same levels of attrition that you do in other fields, you simply end up competing with people that have refined their skills over 20-50 years. After one finishes paying 120k+ for tuition alone, that person will have about a 50-60% chance of finding employment, and that includes employment that's not even remotely related to the field. If you do find a creative gig, the average income is around 28-32K.
- wturner 13y ago
  I agree ( obviously) but as a side point it's my experience that these ( audio ) schools don't teach 'art'. They teach basic technical application. If individual students then want to apply what they learn to their (or someone else's) art that's their business. It's too subjective to do it any other way.

2 points by wturner 13y ago

bigbossman 13y ago

Not sure if this is "disruption," but I bet the trend in entertainment-focused degree programs is toward deals with for-profit entertainment companies. For example, take a look at the WWE's partnerships with Full Sail. Right now, Full Sail students are producing and designing programs for the WWE's development and training center. http://corporate.wwe.com/news/2012/2012_05_14.jsp http://corporate.wwe.com/news/2012/2012_05_14.jsp

wturner 13y ago
Thanks for pointing this out. It's useful. I know that some of these code bootcamps basically have deals with larger companies and get paid to serve as a filter mechanism for them. Not sure if that would work with the entertainment aspect of the audio world as a reliable hook toward an education business. I say that because the level of indifference culturally in the industry (in my experience) is too great. The WWE/Full Sail example is within a broader context of full AV setup work, and of course Full Sail has a lot of resources to play with as well as partnerships already in place etc.

phaus 13y ago

Simply making an art degree affordable would be a good start. The problem with art/design/fashion/music degrees is that tuition tends to be higher than more "boring" degrees. What makes it even worse is that the market is already too large. Creative people tend to keep working until they die, so you don't see the same levels of attrition that you do in other fields, you simply end up competing with people that have refined their skills over 20-50 years. After one finishes paying 120k+ for tuition alone, that person will have about a 50-60% chance of finding employment, and that includes employment that's not even remotely related to the field. If you do find a creative gig, the average income is around 28-32K.

wturner 13y ago
I agree ( obviously) but as a side point it's my experience that these ( audio ) schools don't teach 'art'. They teach basic technical application. If individual students then want to apply what they learn to their (or someone else's) art that's their business. It's too subjective to do it any other way.