(Host)
Lately, a debate in Washington has erupted over whether the interest
rate on government student loans should jump from 3.4% to 6.8%, but as a
former state official and now president of FairPoint Communications in
Vermont, commentator Mike Smith, thinks this debate misses the point…
(Smith)
Whatever the interest rate, our attention shouldn’t be focused on
finding ways to make it easier to acquire more debt – but rather on ways
to lower the cost of a college education so everyone can afford it
without going deeper into debt. Part of the solution seems to lie in
technology since technology has the ability to allow colleges to share
resources and thereby reduce both personnel and infrastructure outlays
that in turn will result in savings and lower tuition costs.
Opinions
vary as to how quickly and extensively technology will dramatically
change the higher education landscape, but we’re already seeing a shift
in how a college level course might be delivered in the future. Harvard
and MIT recently announced that they’re investing $60 million and
jointly forming a non-profit to offer educational courses on-line. This
follows a trend that Stanford University and others have started in
collaboration with the private sector . And free tutorial classes
through Khan Academy are already popular, especially among high school
students.
Some experts think that corporations will eventually
get into the business of higher education and bypass existing education
structures altogether. Others predict there will be only a few physical
universities left in the world come the middle of this century because
technology will allow these institutions to reach students worldwide.
With no need for dorms, cafeterias, or libraries, infrastructure costs
will be greatly reduced. There will also be a drastic reduction in the
need for professors, who will in turn be better educated and better able
to teach, especially when given sophisticated online and video learning
tools to use in the classroom. A smaller infrastructure and lower
personnel costs means a dramatic drop in cost – thus enabling more
people to afford college, or so the theory goes.
While this
futuristic model may seem somewhat far-fetched, many of the underlying
principles are already taking hold. Nowadays, most colleges and
universities offer on-line courses. Here in Vermont , Norwich University
has long had on-line graduate degree programs. Champlain College is a
leader in the use of technology in the classroom. And Community College
of Vermont has pioneered the use of distant learning.
Of course
any changes in higher education will have a particular impact on Vermont
since higher education is a major sector of our economy.
But
here lies an opportunity for Vermont to lead the way and shape the
future so that changes will have less impact on our economy and at the
same time make higher education more affordable. For example: At least
four institutions in Vermont have nursing programs: Vermont Technical
College, Castleton State, Norwich, and the University of Vermont. It
makes sense for courses to be shared through technology by students at
all of these institutions.
This kind of change is never easy,
but the way things are going, doing nothing isn’t an option – especially
for those paying for a college degree, and institutions trying to
attract future students.