Yes, historically, people are not as “successful” on average when they drop out of school. Yet, using this as an argument reverses the cause and effect. Currently, the only reason that there are not many people succeeding who drop out of school is because society still largely looks down upon it. In a world where education was entirely self-directed, people would be generally happier and different, because people would be able to come to conclusions on their own, without being subject to adhering to what the teacher wants to hear or see on a graded exam or paper. As self-directed learners begin to realize that they can showcase their creations through LinkedIn, Seelio, blogs, and person al websites, the credentialing power that Universities current control slips; and fast. People within the higher education system already realize this, and are grasping to hold on.

As students continue to realize that they can educate themselves much better outside of the classroom, the University as we know it will change forever.

And that the University has lasted the 19 years since the advent of the web does not mean it will survive further in its current state. Higher education develops many of the world’s new techs but is slow to adopt them itself. Books are no longer the sole province of robe-class monks, lectures no longer restricted to the wealthy. HE needs to do more to stay relevant than simply argue “we were relevant yesterday”. UM is trying on various fronts; it remains to be seen which will succeed, and if it will be enough.

Those in academic disciplines understand what a university is about. Computer programming, while intellectually challenging, is simply not an academic enterprise in the same respect. It’s a practical enterprise — a very useful one, at that! But programmers commit a gross overextension of their own experiences when they argue that the university as a whole is disposable because they don’t feel that they’ve ever needed it.

Gadflies like Mr. Fontenot have been propagating these polemical arguments since the advent of the web, but the fact is that universities are here to stay.

The argument against education suffers from a belief that all students might be self-directed; many aren’t. Many need to grow up and accept that others have important concepts to teach them. And of the drop-out examples listed, how many come from poor families? It’s easier to dropout and Make It when your parents are investment bankers, not so much when they’re crack addicts. For some of us, a degree is the only way to get a foot in the door – it’s otherwise slammed in our faces because of our accents, the way we look, or other employer prejudice.

One problem with both sides of this argument is they avoid answering real problems facing education. University needs to understand Industry’s need of skills-equipped labour. Students need to understand the desireability of critical thinking. Cost must be controlled: $1200/credit hour to learn Calc from a foreign PhD candidate, plus $200 for the book on a subject that hasn’t changed in 300 years equals a broken system. While there are professors who actually know how to teach, too many focus on their research at the expense of their students. While there are students who actually know how to learn, too many focus on the shortest path to a passable grade. And we still have an education disparity gap wherein students from lower economic classes don’t even consider going to college, let alone make it into elite universities. Who does the outreach into these communities? Does UM faculty receive any training on the specific pedagogical needs of such populations? Do students receive specific training on how to think? And how does an employer distinguish between the graduate that just skated by versus the one that really learned? A few more letters after “BA” tells me nothing; i need to quickly understand what a graduate knows and why one graduate is better than the other candidate. The graduate should also understand/communicate his strongpoints, not feel lost when presented with real-world problems. And the professor should know how to enable each student to reach the end goal – grades are silly; get the knowledge to the customer, your student.

Kahn speaks of one way forward in the latest Communications of the ACM; are there others?